WASHINGTON -- It’s a strange day when visiting with President Donald Trump creates the least drama of all.

That was the case for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Their morning began by designating veteran catcher Miguel Montero for assignment hours after he mouthed off about teammate Jake Arrieta.

Then came the visit to the White House, before the Cubs took on the Washington Nationals in the third game of their four-game series. After Cubs starter John Lackey again threw what amounted to batting practice in the Cubs' 8-4 loss -- he gave up three home runs to the Nationals and leads the league in that category -- the Cubs got the worst news of the night: Kris Bryant is hurt. A fluky ankle sprain just adds to a strange year as the Cubs try to defend their title.

The day the Cubs completed their storybook 2016 season with a World Series win could not feel further in the past. This year has been anything but a storybook, though manager Joe Maddon refuses to give in to a "woe is us" narrative.

"I grew up in the minor leagues," Maddon said. "Things happen, and you have to fix them when things happen. You don’t cry. Of course, suboptimal, no question, but when you come up the way I’ve come up -- A-ball manager, Double-A manager -- stuff happens. You have to react. You can't cry about it."

Maddon may not be willing to cry about it, but you can’t blame a Cubs fan for shedding a few tears. First, a popular player criticizes another one and is let go, and then the Cubs' best player awkwardly steps on third base while catching a lazy popup and twists his ankle. Bryant’s play could not have been more routine -- until he stepped on that bag. X-rays were negative, but the Cubs were unsure whether Bryant would need a stint on the disabled list.

You can’t make this stuff up.

"We have to win another game tomorrow," Maddon said. "[Bryant] won’t be starting. We’ll try to figure it out in another way."

Maddon has spent the whole season trying to figure things out, but now it's become a game of whack-a-mole. And he has to live life without Bryant, at least for a game or two, while breaking in a new catcher at the same time. Montero was replaced by rookie Victor Caratini, meaning Willson Contreras is the elder statesmen of catchers -- and he doesn’t have even a full year under his belt.

"It’s going to put more on our plate, for sure," Lackey said. "There’s a learning curve in this league. I don’t care who you are."

Lackey certainly doesn’t need any more on his plate. He’s barely hanging on as it is. He can bark at the umpire or be curious about why balls are traveling so much on him this season, but the bottom line is that everyone plays under the same conditions. If the Cubs were counting on Lackey to settle things down on a busy day, they were mistaken.

"Anytime he was going to a certain spot, it was sinking back to the middle," Maddon said. "The pitches were flat. It probably led to more contact."

At least Lackey is healthy, though Cubs fans may not find that so reassuring. It certainly isn’t the case for Ben Zobrist, Jason Heyward, Kyle Hendricks and Addison Russell. And add Bryant to that list.

Slowly, the Cubs will get those players back. After Wednesday’s loss it was announced that Zobrist would start a rehab assignment in Double-A as he recovers from a wrist injury. Russell (shoulder) could be in the starting lineup on Thursday, as he’s needed in the infield even more now that Bryant is down. At some point Maddon is counting on seeing most of his World Series team back on the field, save Montero, of course. And he’s always looking at the bright side. Even losing Bryant for a couple of days could have upside, according to Maddon.

"The way I look at it is, get him off his feet, literally, for a couple days," he said. "And I still believe it’s going to benefit us in August and September. Let’s keep moving it forward."

It’s all the Cubs can do right now. There’s no turning the clock back.