Rozner: Cubs' Maddon makes the complex simple

He may be one of the most complex personalities to ever pass through Chicago.

And yet it's the simplicity with which Joe Maddon approaches each minute of the day that removes all complexity from the moment.

Maddon stresses staying in the moment and he practices what he preaches to his players, enjoying each game each day, and being ready for that situation with extraordinary preparation.

It's what he asks of his players and what he asks of himself, while insisting that everyone involved enjoys the process and has fun playing baseball.

In that sense, not that complicated, right?

There's all kinds of managers and we've seen all kinds on the North Side, many of them less that competent.

A manager doesn't have to be good at everything, but he has to be good at some things and there are so many items on the agenda.

Managers have to manage ownership and manage management, getting his bosses to give him the players and accommodations necessary to be successful.

A manager also has to manage the media and manage fan expectations. He has to manage his coaching staff and manage the clubhouse. He has to manage the dugout, a pitching staff and - finally - he has to manage the game itself.

And considering how well he must do all those other things first, the actual managing of the game might be the least important, while being absolutely the most visible.

If all the rest of it doesn't go smoothly, game strategy can become irrelevant.

No manager is capable of doing every one of these perfectly, and some obviously are better in certain areas than others.

But Maddon is awfully good at most of them.

Much of it has to do with his love of the game. He really wants to be at the park every day deeply involved in a baseball game, but it doesn't stop him from being deeply involved with and communicating with his players.

He is the reason they also love coming to the park and playing a game, making sure they don't get caught up in the big picture while keeping a firm grasp on what indeed is the ultimate prize.

The players are aware of it, but not stuck on it. They're too busy having fun, staying in the moment and kicking the living snot out of the National League right now.

He has the players seeing every game like that game is important, without allowing them to place more significance on a particular situation over another.

How is that possible? Process.

Be prepared, have a plan, and through preparation execute that plan in that moment.

Then move on to the next moment.

But always have fun doing it.

Maddon has a wonderful amount of energy and passion for managing personalities. This is time-consuming work, and most managers don't spend that kind of time getting inside their players' heads.

They're just not that engaged.

But Maddon is an extraordinary communicator, so he stays connected to each player and because of that he conveys a process that allows them to play at a high level for a long period of time without burning out, something that can easily occur during the course of eight months of baseball.

He keeps the mood light and fun, while making certain that take their jobs seriously.

It's this constant communication that allowed him to bench Starlin Castro and then get a significant contribution from that player at a different position, just when the Cubs needed it most last season.

This connection to all of these different areas Maddon must manage is what makes this work so well.

Much was made of the crazy Bryce Harper weekend, when the best player in baseball rarely got a chance to swing, walking 13 times in a four-game set and six times on Sunday alone.

But the truth is Maddon had no Barry Bonds-type plan for Harper. Maddon was staying in the moment and managing that moment, and it just so happens that on Sunday the moments Harper arrived at the plate were moments that could have cost the Cubs the game.

And those were the moments in which Maddon decided to see if Ryan Zimmerman could win the game for Washington. He could not, and it worked out well for the Cubs.

But the biggest point here is the way in which Maddon approaches every situation in every game. He understands that one moment affects the next and if you're not paying attention as a player or a manager, that moment can cost you bigger moments, maybe a game and ultimately much more than that.

He wants his players prepared for that moment and he would ask nothing less of himself.

Maddon has a reason for everything he does. He may not always tell you what it really is, but he has a reason and rarely is it a hunch.

He might go by the book. He might throw it out. He might use a metric, or he might see something in a pitcher's delivery or a hitter's mechanics that speaks to him at that moment.

He might know something about a player's mindset, physical health or personal life that at that moment causes Maddon to make a call.

But ultimately he has a reason for what he does, and that's all you can ask from a manager.

From some we've seen, that's clearly asking too much.

From Joe Maddon, you can expect nothing less.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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