NEWSLETTER
The unavoidable irony (more Alanis Morissette-style than literary) of talking about silly conversations about Joe Maddon’s job security is that, in so doing, you are perpetuating those silly conversations about Joe Maddon’s job security, regardless of what you *actually* think about his job security.
I never thought Maddon was going to be fired after this past season, and I thought suggestions to that end were silly. HOWEVER, I’ve been saying it for weeks now, and it’s not going to go away: so long as Joe Maddon enters 2019 without an extension, the questions about his longevity in the organization are going to persist. He’s under contract through 2019 (only) for $6 million, and neither the front office nor Maddon’s camp have seemed all that eager to aggressively discuss an extension to this point. So, then, as he projects to head into 2019 as a lame-duck manager, of course there will be a deluge of conversations about Maddon’s future and what the Cubs are planning to do.
To that end, I have sympathy for Maddon and his agent, Alan Nero, because Nero is quite right when he tells Paul Sullivan of the Tribune that this drumbeat will continue ceaselessly throughout next season. It’s going to be very annoying, especially for them. But such is reality of the situation:
Joe Maddon's agent rips media speculation on Cubs manager's future: 'You guys fired everything up' https://t.co/1MvHxNsEXm
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) October 17, 2018
The interview with Nero is very much worth a read, as it underscores the apparent perspectives of all sides that are actually parties to this relationship: they are not concerned that Maddon is entering the final year of his deal without an extension. They’ll talk when they talk, but there is no urgency right now. Nero, like Theo Epstein did at his season-ending press conference, denies that there was ever any serious friction between Maddon and the front office. Maddon’s been fantastic, and everyone is happy.
Nero reiterated the perspective on an interview just now with Bernstein & McKnight on The Score:
Alan Nero on speculation surrounding Joe Maddon's future: "None of this has come from Joe or Theo (Epstein). It has come from the media. It's all hype and fabrication."
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) October 17, 2018
"What the big deal? This will all be settled in the next few months. I think Theo and Joe will sit down, and we'll get in there and do what has to be done to get an extension." -Alan Nero, Joe Maddon's agent
— Bernstein & McKnight (@Bernstein_McK) October 17, 2018
Alan Nero makes clear that Joe Maddon and the #Cubs will discuss an extension later in the winter. At this time, he adds, "What's the big deal? This will all be settled in the next few months, and we'll be having a different conversation."
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) October 17, 2018
Again, I totally get why that’s the perspective coming from the involved parties, because if neither side is itching to get another deal in place at this moment – and we’ve been given no inclination that they are – then it serves none of their interests to be out there rattling cages, or even acknowledging that this is an awkward situation.
But that won’t stop the topic from popping up periodically all offseason, and then hot and heavy during Spring Training, and then REALLY hot and heavy if the Cubs get out to a slow start (or hot start, actually) in 2019. Sometimes the chatter will be thoughtful and reasonable, while other times it will be lurid and useless. We’ll do our part to discuss this topic in a fair way, but I certainly am not going to avoid it entirely just because Maddon’s contract still has another season on it.
Perhaps all of this will be mooted by an extension at some point this winter.
