The Maddon press conference didn’t disappoint. Maddon was Maddon. He explained his philosophy: “Don’t permit the pressure to exceed the pleasure.” He emphasized the value of “trust.” He stressed winning right away. The lexicon was what we’re used to: Here an “ameliorate,” there an “Eddie Haskell” reference.
Maddon was on his thoughtful, charm-offensive, cool-hip/yet old school game and none of the questions were particularly aggressive. For all the talk about a big-city media crossfire, the Q&A was largely a welcome wagon of softballs.
When asked about the pressure–the last time the Cubs won the World Series was 1908–Maddon replied: “This is a once-in-a-107-year opportunity. The challenge is so outstanding–how could you not want to be in this city?” He called Wrigley “the cathedral.” He said he looks forward to living downtown and being part of the community–not just a baseball manager. “I love the energy.”
Maddon didn’t miss a beat. He will be no less marketable than prominent Cubs players.
He underscored that he loves the young Cub talent on the field, the franchise’s scouting and development approach and the simpatico, “philosophically aligned” management team. And, yes, until belatedly informed, he didn’t know about the (14-day window) opt-out clause that kicked in when Andrew Friedman left last month.
When the Q&A was formally ended, he grabbed back the microphone for a couple of quick post-mortems. First, a shout-out to “my guys in Tampa Bay. Very grateful for all the years that I spent there … outstanding people … and thank you for everything.” Coming when it did, it sounded like an afterthought. Too little, too late. Too bad.
Then a pertinent, suitable-to-the-situation announcement: “The first round’s on me.” This was, after all, the Cubby Bar directly across from the “cathedral.”