Tag / Joe Maddon

by jim

The Starlin Castro Era

Starlin+Castro+Chicago+Cubs+v+San+Diego+Padres+2sR4jFdXnUplBefore Kris Bryant, before Addison Russell, before Anthony Rizzo, there was Starlin Castro.  Hailed as the next big star when he debuted as a 20-year old in 2010, Castro quickly became a bright spot on what had become a disappointing Cub team, finishing 5th in Rookie of the Year voting.  2 years later, he signed a long term deal intended to keep him on the north side of Chicago through 2020.  Unfortunately, continued defensive lapses, sagging offensive production, and, chiefly, the emergence of Russell as the new long term solution at shortstop made Castro expendable.  Yesterday, the Cubs announced they had come to an agreement to send Castro to the Yankees for pitcher Adam Warren and shortstop Brendan Ryan.

Castro’s tenure with the Cubs had its ups and downs.  A 3-time All Star, Castro was the lone young star on the team when Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer took over baseball operations following the 2011 season.  During the long rebuilding process, he, along with Rizzo, were the faces of the franchise.  But his frequent defensive lapses, where he would lose concentration and find himself unaware of what was going on around him, caused embarrassment and occasional punishment.  This past season, as the rebuilding efforts were starting to bear fruit, Castro found himself losing his starting job and relegated to a part-time player at a new position.  His Cubs tenure ended with a 2 for 16 performance in the NLCS loss to the Mets.

The Cubs wasted little time in replacing Castro, announcing the signing of Ben Zobrist to a 4 year deal prior to announcing the trade.  Zobrist had been a favorite of Joe Maddon’s in Tampa and looks to be the starting second baseman for the Cubs heading in to 2016.  Meanwhile, the expectation is that Starlin Castro will now fill that same role for the Yankees.

by jim

2015 BBWAA Award Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersThe Baseball Writers of America have announced the finalists for their awards for the just completed baseball season.  It is a good bet that few of my original predictions for the winners will be accurate.  Hopefully, these new predictions will be slightly better, especially since I’ll have a 33% chance of being right.

American League

Most Valuable Player: Lorenzo Cain, Josh Donaldson, Mike Trout

Mike Trout, who won last year’s award, was my pre-season selection to win again this year. While I think Josh Donaldson will get plenty of support, I’m going to stick with Trout to win.

Cy Young Award: Sonny Gray, Dallas Keuchel, David Price

Well, the one year I didn’t pick David Price as my pre-season pick, he makes his way into the top 3.  That said, I’m thinking Dallas Keuchel, of the upstart Astros, will take home the award.

Manager of the Year: Jeff Banister, A.J. Hinch, Paul Molitor

Once again, I didn’t make any predictions for this award prior to the season.  The three nominees all lead surprising teams into contention for most of the year.  My guess is A.J. Hinch wins the award for leading the Astros to the post-season for the first time since 2005.

Rookie of the Year: Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Miguel Sano

Another award I didn’t predict prior to the season.  This one should be a no-brainer, with Carlos Correa taking home the award.

National League

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by jim

Tamper Free

joe-maddonNearly 6 months after word first leaked that the Cubs were going to hire Joe Maddon as their new manager, Major League Baseball announced that there was no evidence of tampering by the Cubs while Maddon was still under contract with the Rays.  After signing Maddon to a 5 year, $25 million contract shortly after opting out of his deal with the Rays, the Cubs were accused of reaching out to Maddon and letting him know that their managerial position, still occupied by Rick Renteria at the time, would become available should he opt out.

The result is somewhat surprising, if only because of the length of time it took to come to the finding.  MLB had originally promised that the investigation would be quick, and then announced that it would be wrapped up prior to the start of the season.  If there was no evidence of tampering, what have the investigators been doing for the past 6 months?

by jim

The Joe Maddon Era Has Begun

joe-maddonLast Friday, Joe Maddon opted out of his contract with the Tampa Bay Rays and speculation began immediately that he would become the next manager of the Cubs, despite the fact that Rick Renteria still held that position.  While the Twitterverse ran wild with rumors, other teams with ties to Maddon, like the Dodgers and Red Sox, came out in support of their current managers.  Meanwhile, not a peep came out of 1060 West Addison.

On Monday, with the deafening silence from Wrigley Field, Rick Renteria released a statement reminding everyone that he was still the manager of the Cubs and that he was as committed as ever to leading them to that ever elusive World Series title.

Yesterday, hours before the start of game 7 of this year’s World Series, word broke that the Cubs and Maddon had come to an agreement.  No official word was forthcoming from either party, at least until the dust settles on this year’s champion.

Renteria, meanwhile, finds himself out of a job less than a year after being hired and less than a week after being left to twist in the wind.  After leading the Cubs to their best record since 2010, odds are that Renteria will land on his feet.  Joe Maddon is certainly one of the better managers in the game today, and may prove to be an upgrade over Renteria.  That doesn’t change the fact that Renteria got a raw deal from the Cubs over the past week.

by admin

Who’s Next?

2004 – 2011

Rumored for nearly 2 years, the Ozzie Guillen era for the White Sox came to an end last week, as Guillen was released from his contract and allowed to take his talents to South Beach.  Guillen wrapped up his tenure as the third winningest manager in team history, in terms of victories, and the only manager to lead the team to multiple post-season appearances.  That said. his act had started to grow stale and it became apparent that a change was needed in the clubhouse, something to shake up the underachieving bunch that has been run out for the past two years.  So, as Guillen prepares to lead the re-christened Miami Marlins into their new stadium next season, who will take his place on the end of the White Sox bench?

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