Joe Maddon Proving To Be What Young Chicago Cubs Need

After causing controversy last winter by hiring Joe Maddon as the Chicago Cubs manager when they already have one, the team moved on confident of their choice. As we head into the last month of the season, it looks more and more like that move was the best move of the offseason.

Chicago Cubs /

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs courted some controversy in the winter when Joe Maddon left the Tampa Bay Rays and became a free agent manager. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer went after Maddon to become the Cubs manager, even though they still had Rick Renteria as their manager.

Even though the Cubs finished last in 2014, Renteria did a great job handling all the young prospects that were called up.

Out went Renteria, and in came Maddon.

Some were upset at how Renteria was treated. The Rays were upset they lost Maddon and felt the Cubs tampered (a charge that MLB investigated and cleared the Cubs of).

Now, as the season heads into its final month, that decision to hire Maddon is turning out to be perhaps the best move made by the Cubs in the offseason. They currently own the last playoff spot, four games ahead of the San Francisco Giants. They have the fourth-best record in baseball, and they have a 86 percent probability of making the postseason.

Maddon is weaving some magic on the north side of Chicago. He is making moves that are starting to change the atmosphere at Wrigley Field.

It started all the way back in Spring Training. When the Cubs made another controversial move by sending Kris Bryant to the minors to start the season, it left some of the players scratching their heads. What does Maddon do? He hires a DJ and has a dance contest instead of having practice.

It may be something that cynics would dismiss, but it cleared the players’ heads.

In late June, the Cubs were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals. They blew leads and got blown out, and they were feeling down on themselves. Maddon talked about having baseball magic, and, what do you know, a real-life magician appears.

These are examples of ways Maddon tries to keep his players’ feelings up. As corny as some feel those moves are, they keep the atmosphere light. They are in the middle of a playoff chase and there is enough tension in that.

Maddon also makes moves on the field. When he feels a pitcher is not having his best stuff, he will not hesitate to pull him. Ask Hector Rondon. He got pulled out of a game after pitching to one hitter. Ask Jason Motte. Maddon did the same to him when he looked shaky. He yanked him and had someone else close.

Ask Jason Hammel.

Hammel has been upset because Maddon pulled him early in a couple of his last appearances. Hammel has struggled in the second half, and Maddon is managing like he is already in October. He has no trouble pulling someone, even if it is in the third inning.

Maddon was recently asked about having high expectations for his young team. He wants his players to have high expectations and to think of pressure as positive.

"Expectations, I want us to always use that as a positive word. I do believe it’s a positive word. Pressure should be a positive word. It’s not a negative word because if you’re feeling those type of things, it’s probably something attached to them…So I want us to channel those thoughts, those words in a positive way and not run away from them,.Why would you run away from expectations? I want our guys to expect the best. I also believe that moments like this should bring out the best in you. They really can, or they should. To this point, we’ve processed the moment pretty well."

Yes, they have, Joe. They are a year ahead of when most experts expected them to contend.

Maddon keeps everything positive, keeping the players from getting too low during down times. They’ve been able to rebound after some tough stretches. They lost a hold of the last Wild Card spot, then quickly regained it.

Things are rocking at Wrigley again. In fact, things are going so good in Cubs nation that the team has already contacted their season ticket holders about ordering playoff tickets. PLAYOFF TICKETS!

Hopefully Maddon can keep the magic going into October. What we already know, though, is that hiring Maddon was the move of the offseason, and the Cubs are the better for it.

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