Cubs manager Joe Maddon may be riding out the final few days of a memorable tenure — or wrapping up a disappointing season before attempting to spur a bounce back in 2020. He discussed the still-uncertain situation today on 670 The Score (Twitter feed).
Maddon made clear that there’s no resolution to this point. But he indicated that he expects one in the near future, saying his future would be addressed “over the next couple days.” As for the outcome, he says he’s “very optimistic.”
It’s not entirely clear whether Maddon intended that as an expression of optimism in a new contact or a characterization of his general state of mind. But he left no doubt of his own preferences. When asked whether he wished to stay in his job, Maddon responded:
“Of course. That’s what I signed up for in the beginning. It’s always the intention, to stay for a really long time.”
Maddon certainly cast a sunny disposition in his chat, calling the club’s slide out of postseason position “frustrating” but otherwise suggesting he’s quite pleased to be in Chicago. Maddon spoke effusively of Cubs fans and the team’s front office. And he cast his gaze to the future.
“I’m no less motivated now than I was on the very first day on the job,” says Maddon. “To be given the opportunity to be the manager of this organization is quite the honor.”
If that reads almost like a publicly stated interview talking point, it may be just that. Most MLBTR readers expect him to depart, though we’ve yet to hear anything close to a strong hint of the organization’s intentions. The outcome of his situation could be a key domino impacting other managerial situations around the game.
Good riddance. Time to bring someone in that will hold players accountable.
Get Lou Piniella back. Or better yet, Frank Chance’s corpse.
Lou looked like Frank Chance’s corpse when he quit the Cubs.
Face it cubs fans. Lester is washed up, Rizzo is on the decline, Jason Heyward is vastly overpaid and Bryant is leaving in two years.
Which means we still got 2020 and maybe 2021 to compete.
Not that I’m disagreeing with you in the other points, but Rizzo is on the decline? His OPS is just .001 points lower than his previous career high, and he has the 2nd highest wRC+ among 1B’s this year.
Rizzo posted a 4 WAR season…..
Idiot trolls need love too.
Molina and wainwright getting younger? Carpenter not declining with that crap contract? Cole, Strasburg, rendon , castellanos and a bullpen can solve a lot of problems
Lol do you seriously think they would be willing to pay for Cole, Strasburg, Rendon, and Castellanos? Did you follow the last off-season even a little bit?
Yea, they’re not signing all 4 of those guys.
Probably signing Castellanos and roster filler tbh. Doubt they are players for the big FAs
Bryant is likely to leave in about 3 months through a trade.
Rizzo on the decline? Umm, no.
Agree on Heyward.
Bryant will be traded before his contract is up.
I’m a die hard Cards fan but the Cubs have some major talent on their team. I’m puzzled as to why they are finishing the season where they are? Their pitching was better this year and their lineup is feared by many pitchers, just don’t get it? It will be interesting to see what takes place this off season
Thomps07 can you elaborate on your contention that Rizzo is on the decline? Seems like an odd statement
I’ll tell you why wood. Not a single hitter on the Cubs besides castellanos and zobrist are worth a damn at situational hitting, and both of those players will be gone after this year. Lester hit a wall this year, Heyward is having a better year and still isn’t worth the money. Oh yeah this is also the absolute worst bullpen I’ve ever seen in baseball. If they had even blown half as many saves they would be sitting in first place right now. Madden and Theo have got to go clean the house trade Bryant because you know with Boras he won’t sign an extension and will most likely leave to the highest bidder in FA. As a lifelong cubs fan I am hoping for a lot of FA spending, but strongly fear that Ricketts has locked the piggy bank mainly because of the amount of bad contracts Theo has doled out, and the fact that we don’t have one single pitcher on the team from our system that would of helped save money.
You must not have watched much baseball if this is the worst bullpen that you have seen. The Tigers were pretty terrible for a long while and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting
Please stop doing drugs if you think the Cubs are signing all of them guy! The Cubs would be lucky to be bring back Castellanos.
@midway_monster85 – you say Zobrist and Castellanos are the only two players “worth a damn at situational hitting”. Well, let’s have a look at Castellanos with the Cubs:
w/ 2 outs, RISP
.263/.333/.368, 0 HR 7 RBI in 21 PA’s
Late & Close
.182/,217/.227, 0 HR 1 RBI in 23 PA’s
In fact, Castellanos has been awful with the Cubs in those situations. He’s doing most of his damage when the Cubs are already ahead (.366/.395/.662).
I’m also a Cards fan and personally I can’t stand Maddon but I do respect him as a manager! I just wonder if there is a problem between the players and the manager or if it might be that the players felt they were just playing for a lame duck manager!
Hahahah my God some of you Cubs fans are so delusional. If you think you’re getting all four of the above players you’re smoking some seriously nice bud.
They have 31 blown saves…. I personally have never seen a worse bullpen. Figure in the Cubs have the second highest payroll in baseball, and it is just embarrassing. 220 million dollar payroll and the Cubs are gonna miss the playoffs. Tampa Rays payroll is 60 mill
Thanks Cam for further proving my case they only have one professional at bat the overall point was the Cubs in general are terrible at situational hitting.
Its because they don’t do the small things that win championships
Kimbrel was awful. Hamels and Lester showed their age in 2nd half. Zobrist missed 4 months. They made WAY TOO MANY errors and ran the bases poorly. Almora keeps regressing. They lost Contreras and Baez for a while. Bote regressed. They can’t find a leadoff hitter. Other than that, yeah, they’re awesome.
Heyward’s assessment of the Cubs versus the Cardinals future was flat out wrong when he cited that as the reason he jumped ship for Chicago.
He lacked the confidence and clearly the ability it took to be the man in St. Louis and bridge the gap between veterans like Yadi and Waino and the next generation of Bader, DeJong, Flaherty etc.
So he took a cheap shot at both generations otw out the door and joined a team that won the 2016 WS despite having him on the team b/c he didn’t earn that damn ring.
Not drafting pitching along with crap FA signings killed the dynasty before it ever got started.
It’s funny an organization of losers,.you finally get someone at the helm who propels you over the top and that all your concern with? 108 years of losing this guy comes in and in a few seasons boom champion. I’m hoping the cubs go 108 more without a championship
You’re about to be bombarded by a bunch of people who will claim Joe almost cost them the WS because they think they can manage a team better by looking at stats like batting average and RBIs.
very well said–joe—–and probably not a single person that goes with the fact that he actually was down 3-1 and won the whole thing. That little detail seems to never make the conversation. Honestly, as a LIFELONG fan—I am truly appreciative of the way this team has played since day one and it truly is amazing that they haven’t won the last 12 world series with the 1,591,273 managers that they have on the internet.
But the lineup changes and bullpen management!! GRRR ARGGH. I know better since I play MLB The Show!
But wait…there’s more! Last season Dave Roberts used more lineups than Joe yet made the world series. How dare he?
I mean he did nearly lose the World Series with his mismanagement of the bullpen in games 6 and 7. That is not up for debate, it’s fact. However, he also guided the Cubs to 3 straight NLCSs and 4 straight playoff appearances. Both of which have never happened in the history of the team. I’m not a fan of the Cubs but I really question why they would get rid of him. Consider the alternatives? I think the Cubs should resign him for 3 years, let him ride it out with this core. Bryant, Baez, Contreras, Schwaber, Hendricks, Rizzo, Kimbrel, all are free agents between 2020 and 2022.
Ouch! Memories of that World Series haunt me and all Tribe fans. It would have been nice if Indians outfielders had played better in Game Six….but…they didn’t, the Cubs won that game and the final game and Joe looked smart enough at the time!
Rajai who needed that dinger to make up for his earlier misplays.
And to this day, as a Cubs fan, I will never understand why Francona went with Bauer in Game 5.
Or wearing out your closer by bringing him in game 6, which was a waste.
Or bring in a SP during a game, which he’s historically bad at, with a runner on base, which he’s even worse at, for a pitcher who was doing well at the time.
Well said hammer, he hit that two run shot but cost them three in the field. Allowed bryant to score on a 190 foot pop up, butchered Contreras fly into a double and played Bryant’s fly in the 10th like nobody was on base. Cubs took advantage of him all night long.
Because his time there has run its course.
I could see Ricketts or Theo only allowing him to be extended two more years with a pay cut, but Joe could probably get three years somewhere else.
It’s not up for debate? Shut up. You don’t know how his pitchers were feeling. If his decisions work out, than he is a legend, and if they don’t then he mismanaged.
Are you serious number 2 and 3 starters out
Salazar and Carasco
Starting catcher went down before series, Gomes.
Great player, Brantley a real lifetime 300 hitter,
Now killing it with Houston.
Cubs have none.
And Franconia never complained
Of course bullpen overused.
Franconia again fighting with 1000 games lost to starters this year from injury and 100 million less in payroll.
Franconia is real class.
But Howie Jon Lester pitched just fine
Great point Yankee. I mean who is he to say its not up to debate? Wow.
You do understand that he can make bad decisions, still win, and be a legend right? He made really bad decisions with his bullpen management in the world series. Yes, they still won. But that doesn’t mean they were good decisions.
So the fact that isn’t up for debate is about something that almost happened but in reality did not?
Which also cannot be debated because you are of the opinion that he mismanaged the situation even though it totally worked out anyway?
Using that logic it seems like it worked out just the way he needed it to or that the Indians are the ones who blew it by failing to capitalize.
I think you are fuzzy on how the whole good/bad thing works … it’ll dawn on you.
Please tell me more about all these winners making bad choices otw to legendary status.
A chunk of the blame goes on Theo for green lighting a bunch of trades to deplete the farm.
Trading Tories sucks now but at the time made sense.
After that it has gone down hill.
Soler will never justify what he has made to date and will opt into arb. But deciding to go after Morrow vs resigning your guy was questionable at best.
So I will start with signing Chatwood and Morrow vs resigning Davis: result mixed. Col destroyed Wade but outside of there he is eliete. So bad choice.
Signing Yu. We are seeing right now great move. Injury is not the judge unless you are injured the tinure of the deal. Morrow.
Trading Cease and Eloy for Q. Bone head 101. Deals are judged by the end result and this one is not close. 2 top 100 prospects for a MOR. Stupid.
Following year getting Hamels for chump change was brilliant but pulling his opt. Well was a newly wed move. He regressed back to what he was pre trade. Injury or not.
So over all I blame this on Theo more than Joe. NYY have been injured but upper management kept it’s talent intact where they were able to adapt. The Cubs did not have that same depth and have suffered.
So it might be semi Joe not whipping the horse enough but when the system depth has been used in bad moves over and over with the outgoing players playing every day baseball
Davis elite outside of Colorado? The guy got creamed in Los Angeles (22.24 ERA), St. Louis (27.00 ERA), Miami (81.00 ERA), San Diego (15.43 ERA) just to name a few. He was serviceable in 2018 (4.73/3.55 ERA split) but will never justify the contract that Colorado paid him.
Hamels pick up I think was bad. Three months of excellent pitching wasn’t a good enough indicator to cost 20M, and they saved the Rangers 4M by doing that.
The Cubs have a plethora of talent. They’re just too homer happy and don’t work together as a team to get results. Rizzo has a 2 strike approach and makes contact often as a result. Bryant and Schwarber think they can swing harder at two strikes and make a difference.
This guy likes the koolaid
You mean picking up Hamels option? If so I would agree with that. He wasn’t worth it but sometimes you just deal with the present. So where do we go from here. We don’t have any ready pitchers in the minors that I know of. Do we trade Bryant? We could get a haul for him. Atlanta is going to need a 3rd baseman if Donaldson doesn’t come back and the Braves farm system is loaded with prospects. I was listening to Dave Kaplan and it was mentioned what about trading Baez? I just don’t see that one happening. Am I the only one who looks at Kyle Schwarber and sees Adam Dunn? If he could get is batting average in the 260 -270 range he would be devastating. We need to play small ball. When the last time you saw a hit and run or a double steal? Yikes what a bad year.
they will
By accountability, are you looking for someone like Joe Girardi to wear his dominatrix gear and spank Kris Bryant or something?
Yes, and massage his sore knee and ankle.
YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT????????????????????????
(besides, I’m in the way of knowin’ that KB enjoys it….)
You’re a moron! Good riddance??? Joe’s NEVER had a true lead off hitter. Joe’s only actually had a true closer ONCE, he won the world series!!! There were MULTIPLE HOLES in the rotation and bullpen these last two seasons. We got shatwood, morrow,Darvish (who just remembered how to pitch a few weeks ago) and a laundry list of call ups from the minors who didn’t help! THEO SIGNS THE PLAYERS, NOT JOE!!! Joe can only manage who he had. But he’ll take the fall for theo’s incompetence!!!
no lead off hitter? Dexter Fowler says hi.
Only one closer? Meet Hector Rendon, Wade Davis, and Craig Kimbrel.
There weren’t holes in the rotation, it was just old.
Darvish has been really good since May…..
Do you actually watch the Cubs games?
Wondering which players you think need to be “held accountable”
Yeah cuz Renteria or Sveum were much better hires by Theo. Resign Joe and here’s a thought, actually get a closer and a lead off hitting center fielder and some quality bullpen arms.
What future?
He’s a free agent with several jobs opening up.
Phillies will be open soon enough and is as close to home as Joe will ever get.
Giants and Padres may be landing places, too.. It’s even possible the Pirates job may open up, but that would be a last resort for him if he really wants it as I don’t think they would pay Joe what he wants. I think Joe would turn down the Mets. More dysfunction than the Cubs.
Pirates on a shoestring budget or Phillies who opened the vault and will continue to in order to win with Harper? Tough decision there for a PA boy…
They won’t put him down when his contract expires like an old dog.
His laid back act and him always needing to be in the spot lite has grown old. Good bye Joe
His future is brighter without the cubs
yes, perhaps he can go somewhere where he is more appreciated. think Matheny will find the same reception.
Aren’t laid back and in the spotlight somewhat contradictory?
How does Joe need to be in the spotlight? He is the manager if the Cubs. The spotlight shines.
It’s amusing to me that fans are completely befuddled that managers or GMs are fired after they win. It’s almost as if winning isn’t the only thing that matters to teams, which smart people noticed years ago.
Teams and fans get spoiled.
Right or wrong he’s done on the north side. What will be more interesting to see is where he ends up. Maybe the White Sox let Rodriguez go for Maddon???
Rodriguez? You mean Ricky “no respect” Renteria.
It would be a common thing in Chicago if that happens.
Lol. Oops.
If that happened to Renteria again it would
be quite a psychic
blow!
The White Sox next manager might be Omar Vizquel!
Guys with longer careers have accomplished less. With the Cubs, that’s all of them. With the Rays, that’s all of them. But whatever, maybe it’s time.
I’ve always liked Maddon and wish the Angels would have kept him instead of hiring Scioscia (who do you think was really the brains of 2002?).
I think San Diego would be happy to have an analytically inclined, laid back, proven winner at the helm as they promote their next wave of talent and hope to compete.
Kept him over Scioscia. I worded that horribly.
No worries…..
If Maddon let the prima donna Javier Báez do whatever he wanted with no accountability, how do you think he would fare with Manny Machado in SD?
I wouldn’t rule out Maddon back to the Angel’s. Ausmus has 2 yrs left, but they could easily move him back to front office and sign Maddon. Maddon was signed as an Angel catcher (A) in 1975 and with the org thru 2005. 30 years as a Halo…great bookend to his career to come back and coach Mike Trout.
As a Red Bird fan I hope they don’t bring him back. Have fun in San Diego Joe.
Philly is more likely.
I am a life long Cubs fan (62 years) and would hate to lose Joe. All managers have flaws and none are perfect. Does Joe do some unconventional things that make you scratch your head or second guess him, you bet! Has Theo and Jed given Joe a flawed team to work with, YES!
No leadoff man, aging starting staff and very thin bullpen.
Joe can only play with the players he has on the roster.
Joe absolutely deserves some of the blame, but so does Theo, Jed and yes Tom Rickets.
Joe is a very good manager and I would like to see him back with the Cubs.
Exactly!
I like Joe’s results over all. I like the way that he publicly speaks.
But his in game decisions tend to be chaotic.
But on the other hand he preaches living in the moment and the players buy into it.
It is a hard call to be for sure. Maybe he needs a bench coach with a bad cop persona
I like when he manages the cubs and when they suck. It makes everyone happy.
I don’t care either way. The players seem to love him, but change is inevitable. While I don’t agree with his strategy all the time, he knows how to manage people. No manager is perfect, and at a certain point, it’s time to move on.
I think a few more petting zoos and some make-believe dress-up would get that team right back into the thick of things next year.
Maddon and Girardi both too pricey – Cubs go old school and bring in Jody Davis.
Joe will have a glass of wine, some cheese and crackers, and go manage the Phillies…….
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. You honestly think someone could do better than Joe? He has won more games in the time he’s been here than many others combined. You cannot win every year. Injuries, ball bounces a different way, lousy call by the umps. You name it and it can happen to any team. Everyone needs to relax. A few trades and FA pickups and this team will be fine. This is the first year he will miss the playoffs since he’s been the manager. Lighten up everyone for goodness sake!
Everybody involved from the fans to cubs management and Old Joe knew he was a lame duck and would be gone, yet he carried himself like a pro addressing his job status on a daily basis. Old Joe likes to peacock and digs himself quite a bit. However, the guy was the most successful manager in cubs history, hats off to him. He took this iteration of the cubs as far as he could. I’m sure he will find a soft landing place and manage next season.
I still think they won in spite of Maddon. The way he used Chapman almost cost them the series
Lucky for them the Tribe were sputtering and then blew it.
Oh Polish Hammer so Joe and the Cubs did not win it? Cleveland lost it?
@ gmen—check the stats for Andrew Miller in that series. EXACTLY the same as Chapman’s……yet NEVER do you hear about the big home run he gave up in game seven. Never, ever do you hear Francona’s use of his pen criticized or questioned—and he lost the series!
Thank you Mike for saying that so I do not have to
Epstein will continue his string of destructive decisions by removing Maddon. If he follows that decision up with a series of significant roster moves, he’s basically admitting that the cubs’ poor performance is a player personnel problem, not a management problem. The Ricketts family will be watching, and taking notes.
I like Joe and, while I disagree with some line-up choices, such as Schwarber batting leadoff, I don’t think the front office has done him many favors as of late. People want to criticize his bullpen usage, but he had little to choose from this year. The FO went out and signed Kimbrel, Maddon put him in the situations he was signed to help with, and he just couldn’t get it done.
At this point, I think Epstein and the FO deserve more criticism than Maddon. With that being said, maybe a new manager could breathe some life into this team. Despite what detractors want to say, a lineup that features Rizzo, Bryant, Baez, and Contreras is pretty stacked. Unfortunately, they’ve failed to develop consistent complementary pieces around them. Let’s not even get started on their perpetual failure to develop starting pitching.
I won’t be devastated if Maddon leaves, but I don’t think that he’s the problem.
I know cubs fans haven’t realized this yet, but Rizzo is done. He’s not even a top 10 1B anymore. He’s lost the ability to turn on inside pitches for power due to his bad back.
Oh ChiSoxCity is that the best you got! Check out his OPS big guy then try again
Yeah. I mean, that just has no basis in facts / reality. I liked it better when you tried to be good at trolling. Gotten tired, my friend?
The whole team is average. Like when you finish the year with two teams ahead of you and two teams behind you. Average. They will spend more and more and more but ultimately make the same mistake again by overpaying for overrated players. Think about what the A’s could build for a team with all that money. Your problem isn’t maddon, it’s your front office.
This.
The Guys a proven quality manager with a solid record to back it up over a long period of time. The problem for the Cubs has been adding ageing pitcher after ageing pitcher the last few seasons and injuries. The core is still there Bryant, Baez, Contreras
it’d be great to see Joe come back home to the Angels for his 32nd year with the Angels.
So does this mean the hitting and pitching coaches are safe? Whew, for a minute there I was certain it couldn’t be the bad player development and evaluation or terrible FA signings by the FO. It just has to be Maddons fault because Epstein and Hoyer were so disappointed in the “underachieving” players.
Unless they got a deal with Girardi already agreed to. They need to keep Joe. Anyone other than those 2 ends up managing them next year. I’ll be pissed.
Don’t want Maddon in Philly. Already have endured two years of I’m-the-smartest-guy-in-the-room with Kapler. Much prefer Girardi, but he probably prefers the Cubbies.
Besides, who cares who the manager is so long as he doesn’t eff things up. Give me a fast horses and the jockey is just along for the ride.
Cubs need to seriously look at some of the elite free agents. Phillies, too. Not sure how much cheese the Cubs have to spend, but the Phillies have cheese a-go-go to spread around. They need to sign Cole and Rendon.
Uh, you’re a “Phillies” fan, and I’m the King of England.
ChiSoxCity: I am indeed a Phillies fan. Probably started following them long before you were born. To wit, at one time, Willie Jones was my favorite player.
Whiz Kid! Puddin’ Head!
I know servais just got extended, and I like him as a manager overall. But to me Seattle feels like the dark horse. Maddon has proven what he can do with young talent and the mariners have a ton of it coming in the next 1.5yrs.
Shift Servias to the front office and let maddon do his thing.
The Maddon “thing” ain’t been working so hot lately. Mariners might be better off with you, big daddy, at the helm.
Oh bro. I say it all the time.