Morning Maddon: Cubs Reportedly Did Speak to Renteria Before Negotiating with Maddon

joe maddon raysSpooky, scary. We may or may not get a Halloween announcement about the Chicago Cubs’ managerial situation. Nibble on a Take Five while you await word, and check out the latest …

  • Dave Kaplan unleashed a stream of very interesting information on Twitter this morning (and it thus feels appropriate to say, hey, you should follow Kaplan on Twitter (just before you follow me)). With respect to the timing of any announcement or press conference, Kaplan noted that details could still be in the process of being hammered out this weekend, which could take an announcement today off of the table, and added that Tuesday’s election could gum up the works of a press conference early next week since Tom Ricketts might be involved in helping his brother’s gubernatorial bid in Nebraska on Monday and Tuesday.
  • Presumably, though, we would already know of the hire long before the press conference. Speaking of knowing things, Kaplan adds, adamantly, that the Cubs’ front office did speak with Rick Renteria – by way of Jed Hoyer flying out to California for a face-to-face meeting – before they engaged in discussions with Maddon about being the manager. That would clear up some confusion about whether Renteria has been kept in the dark – there have been conflicting reports on that front – and would certainly make you feel a lot less icky about how this has played out. It would also sound a lot more like what I would have expected from this front office, in terms of the way they handle people. Speaking to Renteria first had to be very difficult – “we really like you and want you to stay on as the manager … if we can’t get Maddon” – but it was always likely the right course of action.
  • Kaplan then spoke about these items on his show with David Haugh, and added that his understanding is that Renteria is very disappointed, but he understands that it’s a business, and Joe Maddon is Joe Maddon. Kaplan said he hears the Cubs would be happy to give him another job in the organization, but they’ll also understand if he wants to go elsewhere if there’s another job that opens up. (My expectation all along is that it would just be too uncomfortable for Renteria to stay, and wouldn’t really be good for either side.)
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    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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