'I just don't know where he's going to get heat from': Chicago Cubs players want Maddon back
Backing for Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon seemed strong in the clubhouse following Tuesday night's 2-1 loss in 13 innings to the Colorado Rockies in the National League wild-card game.
The Cubs bowed out of the postseason for the second year in a row after winning the World Series in 2016.
In four years as manager of the Cubs, Maddon has a record of 387-261 for a .597 winning percentage. His Cubs teams are 19-18 in four years of postseason play.
During the season, USA Today reported that Maddon's job status could be in jeopardy if the Cubs didn't make a deep postseason run.
Maddon's five-year contract runs through the end of next season, making him a "lame-duck" manager heading into 2019.
Cubs president Theo Epstein said the off-season would be the time to discuss a possible contract extension for Maddon.
Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer fired Rick Renteria in the fall of 2014 to bring in Maddon, who was able to leave the Tampa Bay Rays when their general manager, Andrew Friedman, went to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After Tuesday night's loss, Maddon received support from a couple of key players.
This year the Cubs lost pitcher Yu Darvish and closer Brandon Morrow to injury. Pitcher Tyler Chatwood, a free-agent acquisition last winter, could not find the plate. Third baseman-outfielder Kris Bryant battled a shoulder injury. And Morrow's replacement, Pedro Strop, missed the final 2½ weeks with a hamstring injury.
"I just don't know where he's going to get heat from," first baseman and team leader Anthony Rizzo said. "I think he's managed his (butt) off this year with what we've been dealt with, as far as losing Yu, as far as losing Morrow, as far as Stropy going down late. We've just lost so many guys, KB not being healthy all year. And we still figured out a way to win.
"That's all a credit to him (Maddon) because without his leadership here, guys aren't playing the way they've played. (Rookie) David Bote's not coming up here and playing the way he plays without Joe's leadership and without the leadership this club has. I feel for the whole organization just not coming through. I think Joe's best year was this year as far as managing all the moving parts."
Javier Baez, the Cubs' MVP candidate, also voiced support for Maddon.
"You don't control that," he said of speculation. "They don't say that when they make a good move or when he wins the game. They didn't say that in '16 when we won, when he came and everything would change. We love our manager. The way he talks to us and lets us to do whatever we want, lets us be us out here.
"I think he has to do a lot with what we do out there because we got to be ourselves. When you do something right, he will tell you. When you do something wrong, he will tell you the same way. And that's what makes him better because he's honest, and he wants you to get better too."