Why Chicago Cubs coaching staff fits perfectly with Maddon
Joe Maddon took his lumps with his managing last fall in the World Series, especially in Game 7.
But Maddon has been fitted for a championship ring, and the question to Cubs fans is this: Would you rather Maddon be the manager or not?
Thought so.
Maddon did some things during the Series that were, shall we say, maddening. That includes taking Kyle Hendricks out after only 4 ⅔ innings of Game 7 after the Cleveland Indians put a runner aboard. Then Maddon was criticized for taking out starter-turned-reliever Jon Lester in favor of Aroldis Chapman.
But things worked out in the end, and the Cubs won their first World Series since 1908.
In the early days of spring training, Maddon joked that his Game 7 decision-making — which he said was preplanned — was still a topic of conversation.
“It's coming up again right now,” he said on Valentine's Day.
No manager is perfect, not even Maddon, who should never have to buy a drink again in Chicago. But here are some things that make him the almost-perfect man for the job:
• Like Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, Maddon knows when to let up on the gas. Baseball is a game played almost every day, and Maddon keeps his players fresh by canceling batting practice on many days and giving veterans their rest.
• Maddon has turned the clubhouse over to the players over the past two years, and leaders such as Anthony Rizzo, Jon Lester, Jason Heyward and now-retired David Ross have kept the troops in line.
• Maddon has not been afraid to throw convention out the window, including batting the pitcher eighth many times in 2015 — a possibility again this year — and by his preference for batting Kyle Schwarber first.
The 63-year-old Maddon seems to like being a Chicago celebrity, but he also paid his dues in baseball, coming up through the coaching ranks of the Angels system. If you ask him about towns such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he's certain to have a story or two about such places.
Maddon came to Chicago in the fall of 2014 as a big-name manager, having already been to a World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays.
But unlike other big-name managers, he was open-minded enough to keep the coaching staff he inherited. Maddon was allowed to bring his bench coach, former Cubs player Dave Martinez, with him when he took the job. But Maddon retained the rest of the staff he inherited from previous managers Rick Renteria and Dale Sveum.
That includes pitching coach Chris Bosio, who was part of the ground-floor rebuilding crew in the fall of 2011.
Bosio, a former major-league pitcher, is a baseball lifer who is extremely thoughtful when it comes to his charges. He has been instrumental in the development of starter Kyle Hendricks. He also took a Rule 5 draft pick in Hector Rondon and turned him into a bona fide closer before the Cubs went last July with Chapman and then with veteran Wade Davis this winter.
Cubs president Theo Epstein once likened the hitting-coach position to that of the drummer in Spinal Tap. That is, a job with a new man in the chair seemingly every month. Chicago guy John Mallee has stabilized that job the past two seasons. His biggest job this winter has been rebuilding the swing of right fielder Heyward. His assistant is former big-leaguer Eric Hinske.
If you haven't heard of first-base coach Brandon Hyde and third-base coach Gary Jones, that's probably a good thing. It means they haven't been involved in many controversial decisions on the bases.
Bullpen coach Lester Strode begins his 29th year in the Cubs organization. He has survived several baseball regimes and is a trusted voice among Cubs pitcher and catchers.
Catching/strategy coach Mike Borzello is one of the unsung heroes on staff. Before and after games, Borzello can be found going over videos with pitchers and catchers. He's a big part of game plans.
Henry Blanco, a former Cubs backup catcher, returns for a third season as quality assurance coach. He's as respected now as he was as a player. Staff assistant Franklin Font, a former Cubs minor-leaguer, enters his 23rd season in the organization and his sixth at the major-league level.
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