Rozner: Cubs got their money's worth in Maddon

The extreme right wing of the Sabermetrics Party believes only in the black-and-white world of numbers.

The far left wing of the Scouting Party believes in eyes on the player and only eyes on the player.

Of course, they are all fools. Anyone who doesn't use the best of both is missing out on so many possibilities.

No one believes this more than Theo Epstein.

Enter Joe Maddon, a remarkable centrist in a seat that matters - on some days - as much as the one in which Epstein sits.

Maddon is a stunning combination of schools old and new, which has to make uncomfortable those who believe there is only one way to manage a baseball team.

"You have to be able to utilize all that's at your disposal," Maddon insisted when he met the Chicago media. "I'm a 'Blink' kind of guy."

Well, Maddon is certainly the first Cubs manager to reference a national best seller that argues, "The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," in which author Malcolm Gladwell offers up the dangers of analysis paralysis versus the powers of the adaptive unconscious and the mental processes that work automatically after collecting and studying information.

"I believe in intuitive thinking," Maddon said. "But I also believe that your intuitive thinking is the product of all this other stuff that you've accumulated over a period of time, including the analytics that you just picked up two days ago.

"Or maybe it was the session I had at Gene Autry Park on the back field with Mark McLemore in 1985. You have to draw on all those different experiences in order to come to a conclusion in that 'Blink' moment."

Simply put, Maddon wants and uses everything at his disposal, but in that moment when he has to make a decision he wants to make the call without having to consult an analytics cheat-sheet. Maybe because the answer isn't in there or maybe he just doesn't want to be directed in that instant.

Maddon wants at that critical moment to use his instincts as a manager with four decades of experience, knowing somewhere in his head and influencing his decision is everything that Epstein has given him.

"It's not just about a number, but the numbers are really good and they really point you in the right direction," Maddon explained. "But then again, there are human beings involved, too."

That's the old-school part. Managers have information we don't about players who may not be feeling 100 percent or playing well for reasons we're never told about, from injuries to personal problems to the inability to perform in difficult situations.

"Sometimes, when a player's not playing up to his abilities, that number means nothing. It means zero," Maddon said. "When a player's pretty much around where he's supposed to be - that number is corresponding to what he's doing right now - I'm really into that number. That's up to me to make that determination in that 'Blink' moment."

Don't misunderstand, because for all of his baseball knowledge, Maddon loves what the metrics bring. It may not be half the equation on some days when players aren't quite right, and it may be an overwhelming percentage on days when it all falls into place.

"I love it. I've already been asking Theo and Jed (Hoyer) questions about it," Maddon said. "I think it's a big part of today's game. It's going to continue to grow. But, again, I think you need to balance it between the human being and the number.

"That's something we were really getting into in Tampa Bay right before I left. It was an interesting leap, trying to combine a number with a person somehow, and on a daily basis almost trying to give that number life.

"I know that's crazy stuff, but I think it's doable. I'm totally into it."

That's a dream come true for Epstein, who only asks that his manager understand and devour information. After that, he wants his manager to manage.

"Joe is a combination of just about everything we look for in a manager," Epstein said. "Everyone associates him with new school because they've used analytics in Tampa and they're so open-minded and so progressive.

"But this is an old-school baseball guy right here with a wealth of knowledge. It's hard to find old school and new school in the same package."

At 60 years old, Maddon is the complete package, and for $25 million he ought to be. No one needs to remind you that throughout the years the Cubs have spent a lot of cash foolishly.

This is one time they will get their money's worth.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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