Lester Makes His Pitch for Maddon
It isn’t a secret, there will likely be a divorce at the end of the 2019 Chicago Cubs season. This will see Joe Maddon riding his mystery van off into a groovy sunset. There is little chance of a new deal, according to most industry insiders, and 2020 will see a new skipper on the top steps of the Cubs dugout.
The odds didn’t stop veteran Cubs lefty, Jon Lester from pitching his vote of confidence in Maddon after Wednesday night’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“Man, I can’t say enough positives about what Joe’s done, just flat out for this organization,” Lester said. “Up until I think here recently this year, we led MLB in wins. That’s a testament to him. We broke a 108-year curse/streak, whatever you want to call it.
“I think no matter what happens, if he continues here, gravy. I think if he doesn’t, he should be revered as a legend in this town for a long, long time. What he did for this organization — you talk about a rebuild, you talk about signings and you talk about all that stuff, he was the first guy to write his name on that paper. He believed. Him believing made other people believe.
“What he’s done, not only for this organization — but for this city — it was huge.”
Regardless of how you feel about Maddon now, you have to respect what he’s done in Chicago. You also have to give props to where props are due. After all, Maddon was potentially the most important piece in the Cubs rebuild. His sudden availability from Tampa, the immediate pouncing on him from the front office, his long known ability to get younger players to over-perform.
While there have been better game managers in Cubs history, none will be more revered than Joe Maddon.
