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Cubs skipper ranks as city's most compelling main man

The Cubs have thrown nary a pitch nor batted a ball in a game this spring, but I feel comfortable saying this: manager Joe Maddon is the most compelling manager/coach in Chicago.

That's no disrespect to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, who has the 'stache and two Stanley Cups.

It's nothing against Tom Thibodeau, who seems to know nothing but coaching Bulls basketball.

Nor does it diminish White Sox manager Robin Ventura or new Bears coach John Fox.

But, sorry, Q, Thibs, Robin and John.

Maddon has needed only a few days of spring training to jump to the head of the class among Chicago's field, ice and court bosses.

How has he done it? Let us count the ways:

Making it matter:

Maddon has been absolutely mesmerizing during his spring-training news conferences. One day he answered questions for 22 minutes, and there wasn't a wasted word.

Not one.

I've covered managers in this town whose pregame chats ended after five minutes because we had nothing left to ask or, more accurate, they had nothing left to say.

You can book it:

The subtitle here should be, “May the force multiplier be with you.”

Maddon seems to be quite the well-read guy. In this respect, he reminds me of a little of former Cubs manager Dusty Baker, who ran a lending library out of his office.

Maddon talked the other day about relief pitcher Jason Motte, who was signed by the Cubs this winter.

“I use the term ‘force multiplier,' ” he said. “I read Colin Powell's autobiography a couple years ago, tremendous read. I'm a big Colin Powell fan. In that, he referenced the force multipliers, people that really made the people around them better. I think (Motte) absolutely fits into that category. We have several of those guys, actually. We have a couple of those guys who are really going to make a huge difference for us.

“To be surrounded by those folks is very comforting because I'm a big believer in the players patrolling the clubhouse, policing the clubhouse. Those are the kind of guys who get stuff done.”

He went to both schools:

Is Joe Maddon old school or new school?

The answer is yes.

We'll let Cubs president Theo Epstein explain. Epstein interviewed Maddon for jobs in Boston and in Chicago.

“Our heads were spinning after the interview,” Epstein said of the Red Sox conversation with Maddon years ago. “We were so intrigued by not just the creative thoughts he has. He is new school, but he's also old school. He's a proven baseball guy.”

The 61-year-old Maddon admits to having diplomas from both schools.

“For me, old school has nothing to do with being stuck,” he said. “It has everything to do with being respectful and loyal and those kinds of things and having a really strong work ethic.”

He's got the music in him:

While Cubs players stretch on the “agility field” at their sprawling spring complex, Maddon has music blaring full blast from a speaker that would knock your neighbor's house down if you put it in your backyard.

The Rolling Stones, Rush, Jimi Hendrix and George Thorogood have been among the featured selections.

“When you get into these complex kind of situations, things kind of can get dead sometimes,” he said. “So let's liven it up a little bit. First thing in the morning let's wake up. Let's get it going, get the blood flowing. You got this wonderful facility coming through the weight room onto that agility field. Let's liven it up a little bit more, just get a little bit of a rhythm going on.”

No fear of modern analytics ...

There still isn't universal acceptance of analytics or “sabermetrics” or whatever you want to call statistical study among some fans, media and baseball people. Madden said he started using them as a coach breaking in.

“I had one of the first laptops ever and I was, like, roundly laughed at and criticized,” he said. “‘How is a computer ever going to win a baseball game?' I said, ‘No, no, no, no, no. It's about analyzing information, etc.'

“I mentioned to the boys the other day how I like to use analytics and numbers to support making adjustments. If I'm a hitting coach or a catching coach and I know that your weakness is receiving a ball in a certain area and I know that because, look, it's been proven. So I'm able to go out there and work on that with you.

“If Branch Rickey in the '40s had all this information, this stuff would have been done, 50, 60, 70 years ago if it was available. It ... wasn't ... available. It's new stuff. It's color TV. It's air conditioning. It's power brakes. When it's never invented, you can never miss it. Now, you utilize it. To run away from technology and change and advancement, why?”

... Or of sports psychology:

The Cubs have beefed up their sports psychology or “mental skills” department, and Maddon is all for it.

“Here's the thing about sports psychology that people sometimes get confused with or see it as being a weakness: ‘This guy went to a sports psychologist. Oh, my God, he must be weak. There's must be something wrong with this guy,' ” he said. “Furthest thing from the truth. To me, it's just another coach, just another skill. We have hitting coaches. We have pitching coaches. We have infield coaches. We have coaches for everything, catching coaches.

“A mental-skills coach really can help you develop the routine sometimes that causes you to step out of the batter's box or get off the rubber or take that little extra moment to recapture your thought process and slow things down.”

Convinced now about Maddon? If not, you will be soon enough.

• Follow Bruce's baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon watches during a spring training baseball workout Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) Associated Press
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