I also believe it will not make one bit of difference in the win column.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think Renteria got everything he could out of that team. I don't remember getting angry at him a lot during the season. He moved quickly on fixing "bad Closer" issues with Veras. Something Sveum had a problem doing with Marmol if I remember correctly.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Chill out, Bro

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Aaaaaarrrrr you're driving me nuts.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

I believe in turning up the heat on Theo to win and taking away excuses.

This hire accomplishes that. It had better make a difference in the win column, but you'll never know for sure as the team players will change.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Are you giving Maddon an excuse by suggesting they may change for the worse?

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down to get it!

they won't be much worse but they won't be better. Unless they give up on playing the kids. So no, I expect the Cubs to win by 2016 but not next year. I do expect more wins than I would have expected without Maddon, even though he'll have to play strikeout machines all season.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Until we see what transpires in free agency and trades that may take place before spring training, it's impossible to project much now. But I believe Maddon is the perfect choice as Manager, because of his proven track record of developing young players. That is what the Cubs need. I think Renteria did a nice job of that last season himself. Even after the team traded 40% of the starting rotation, he had them playing hard and actually better than before the trades. But he has no track record of developing young players into a group that gets to the World series as Maddon does. He has no track record of multiple appearances in the playoffs with a team payroll that is a fraction of the other playoff teams. Maddon was just too good to pass up. Any chance to upgrade a position, whether it's a starting pitcher, a position player or a coach/manager, must not be ignored. If it means 2-4 more wins in a season, that may be the difference between a post-season berth or not. The time for winning draws near.....

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Go Cubs!!!!

His wins above replacement is something like +2. That shows just how bad advanced metrics can be. They believe managers are worthless.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I would really love to see where Buck Showalter's WAR is. Especially after he had (edit: three) of his former teams finally make it to the WS the season after he left.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

This just blew my mind.

Didn't they hire Joe Maddon because of his use of advanced metrics? Yet, advanced metrics says he doesn't matter.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Keeps getting weirder.

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Maybe Wrigley Field should replace the brick-covered ivy with hedges.

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So now the Cubs have the genius manager who thought Sam Fuld would make a fine leadoff hitter.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

not worthless, just not numerically verifiable

on a baseball level, many believe Theo has done a great job, yet he has the worst W-L record of a Cub GM in my memory

even in business, you see guys make big bonuses despite what appears to be unsuccessful years to the uninitiated

Good management is difficult to quantify

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

This hire isn't about manager wins or advanced metrics it's about removing pressure. There is an ungodly amount of pressure on these young players to perform and Theo needed to hire someone to deflect that pressure. No one better than Joe Maddon and his sideshow act. He's a $25M shield for the players and front office.

How can you say they will be better or worse? You don't even know the team yet.

Because the kids need 1 more season of development. Regardless of the pitchers they may sign the hitters won't be ready yet. Expecting more than 81 wins doesn't seem realistic to me. I'm excited about 2016 and beyond.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Ok, well the core of young kids pretty much played .500 ball in the second half. If they add 2 starters and a position player or two, wouldn't you think they would be better?

Even if they kept the exact same team, and played .500 ball the whole year they would be better.

I expect better but I don't expect the playoffs.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!