Maddon Says He Didn’t Want to Come Back, Medical Staff Changes, Trophy Damage, and Other Cubs Bullets

Well that was the coldest trick-or-treat I can remember in recent years, but the big kids had fun running around.

  • Speaking at his annual Thanksmas charity event, Joe Maddon really underscored the mutuality of the decision to part ways with the Cubs after the season. Per the Tampa Bay Times, Maddon said this when discussing his move to the Angels (emphasis added): “I wanted the Angels to know in advance when this all became ready that I would like to go there, and I also wanted the other teams to know I don’t want to interview unless this doesn’t work out because I thought it would be disingenuous to both sides. … I didn’t know how the end of the season with the Cubs was going to work out either. Everyone thinks they knew, but they didn’t, and I didn’t either. When it got down to the last couple days it was really obvious to both sides. I didn’t want to be back either. It was more of a bilateral than a unilateral decision.’’
  • In other words, although for most of the year Maddon did want a new contract with the Cubs, by the end, he was ready to go. Pretty easy to understand when you watched it all play out.
  • Also interesting to see him confirm that he was all about the Angels right away, which, in turn, pretty much confirms that’s why the Angels fired Brad Ausmus after a year (despite what they say). It was Rick Renteria all over again. So I guess look for Ausmus to be managing the White Sox in a couple years. Sorry, Ricky.
  • You can check out the Tampa Bay Times interview for a little more from Maddon on the Cubs’ hiring of David Ross, and the way the “accountability” stuff has been framed.
  • Speaking of managerial moves, the Royals complete the most *chef-kiss-perfect* managerial hiring of the season:
  • We talked about Butterfield and Buss earlier today, but I think I missed the O’Neal news earlier:
  • If the Cubs are overhauling their strength and development program, it makes sense to overhaul the medical side, too, as it has seemingly … not performed super well the last few years.
  • Javy Baez just barely missed The Fielding Bible award at shortstop, which is the kind of bummer very few will care about but I do:
  • Ian Happ has jokes:
  • The pennants never survive the celebration:
  • So, the league always repairs the Commissioner’s Trophy after the damage – seriously, it happens every single year, and there are some valuable pennants floating around out there! – but I kinda think maybe they shouldn’t. Wouldn’t it be cool if the trophy just, sort of, is what it is? Damage and all? It’s part of the story.
  • Then again, if the trophy gets damaged AFTER the initial celebration – like the Cubs’ trophy at a charity concert the next year (oops) – I say you can fix that damage.
  • Ratings decline – it’s almost like starting the games after 8pm ET and not ending until midnight is not exactly a great draw for most of the country (well, among other broader reasons):
  • I laughed:
  • written by

    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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