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Cubs Fire Rick Renteria - MLB Trade RumorsThe Cubs have announced the firing of manager Rick Renteria. The move doesn t come as a large surprise, given recent reports that the team has agreed to terms with Joe Maddon to become their new manager. Renteria had completed just one season of the three-year contract he signed to become the Cubs manager last offseason.Within the press release announcing the move, Cubs president Theo Epstein made the following statement: Today we made the difficult decision to replace Rick Renteria as manager of the Chicago Cubs. On behalf of Tom Ricketts and Jed Hoyer, I thank Rick for his dedication and commitment, and for making the Cubs a better organization.Rick’s sterling reputation should only be enhanced by his season as Cubs manager. We challenged Rick to create an environment in which our young players could develop and thrive at the big league level, and he succeeded. Working with the youngest team in the league and an imperfect roster, Rick had the club playing hard and improving throughout the season. His passion, character, optimism and work ethic showed up every single day.Rick deserved to come back for another season as Cubs manager, and we said as much when we announced that he would be returning in 2015. We met with Rick two weeks ago for a long end-of-season evaluation and discussed plans for next season. We praised Rick to the media and to our season ticket holders. These actions were made in good faith.Last Thursday, we learned that Joe Maddon – who may be as well suited as anyone in the industry to manage the challenges that lie ahead of us – had become a free agent. We confirmed the news with Major League Baseball, and it became public knowledge the next day. We saw it as a unique opportunity and faced a clear dilemma: be loyal to Rick or be loyal to the organization. In this business of trying to win a world championship for the first time in 107 years, the organization has priority over any one individual. We decided to pursue Joe. While there was no clear playbook for how to handle this type of situation, we knew we had to be transparent with Rick before engaging with Joe. Jed flew to San Diego last Friday and told Rick in person of our intention to talk to Joe about the managerial job. Subsequently, Jed and I provided updates to Rick via telephone and today informed him that we will indeed make a change.We offered Rick a choice of other positions with the Cubs, but he is of course free to leave the organization and pursue opportunities elsewhere.   We have clung to two important ideals during our three years in Chicago. The first is to always be loyal to our mission of building the Cubs into a championship organization that can sustain success. The second is to be transparent with our fans. As painful as the last week was at times, we believe we stayed true to these two ideals in handling a sensitive situation. To our fans: we hope you understand, and we appreciate your continued support of the Cubs. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago It was Maddon s agent that let the cat out of the bag and they weren t gonna fire their manager until they had a replacement in hand. Victoria Roberts 8 months ago Teams do it all the time. It s a better way to conduct business. Fire person A, hire person B. Not the other way around. BDLugz 8 months ago They haven t hired Maddon, and the Cubs have been in discussions with Renteria about this since last Friday. It s not like he was blindsided. People running with 1/3 of the facts and not understanding sports business comment wasteland incoming. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago Theo was not in the market for a new manager. Maddon became a surprise FA and made it clear that he was prepared to sit out 2015, if he didn t get the right situation. You don t fire your manager if you are NOT looking for a new one and then not until you have an agreement in place. Everything went as it should given the situation. AdamAE24 8 months ago 90% of people who say the Cubs were wrong to do this to Renteria, probably couldn t have named the Cubs manager on August 31st of this year. MB923 8 months ago 90% of people who watched the playoffs probably didn t know who Ned Yost was until Game #163. CandyMaldonadoLand 8 months ago The Cubs are a sinking ship? I think if you said that to any baseball analyst, you d be politely showed the exit. domingus 8 months ago maybe, but the cubs still have a long way to go before they aren t the titanic WhoKilledTheRallyMonkey 8 months ago I know Joe Maddon is considered one of the best managers in the game but Renteria did a very good job with the Cubs in 2014. If it ain t broke don t fix it, this move was unnecessary. David Coonce 8 months ago Good manager with players, not a great in-game tactician. He ll get another chance Infield Fly 8 months ago You know, this wouldn t be the first time the Cubs will have gone for a marquee name manager. I m thinking of Louuuuu Piniella here (and to some degree Dusty, I guess). I have to wonder, given their history (and despite recent ownership and front office makeovers), what impact will it have on the team going forward?With that said, I still find the whole execution of this move tacky, tacky, tacky. Grant Michalski 8 months ago Renteria did a good job with developing players, but his in-game management could use some work (lineups, bullpen usage, pointless sac bunting). That said, it was his first season managing, and a learning curve is to be expected.I liked Renteria, and would have been happy to see him at the helm in 2015, but as Theo said, the organization has priority over any one individual. I don t think anyone is happy about what this means for Renteria but the Cubs had to make the best move for the organization, and grabbing one of the best (if not the best) manager in the business falls into that category. Z_Aug 8 months ago Are people gonna be upset if they sign John Lester and demote Edwin Jackson? Jackson is still under contract, still has a job if you will. I fail to see a lot of differences in that. Scratch 8 months ago Well, Edwin Jackson was a terrible pitcher last year while Renteria was not a terrible manager. However, Renteria is not as good a manager or a name (to bring in FAs) as Maddon. oh Hal 8 months ago And when Maddon makes the same in games moves they will be hailed as genius that just didn t work out. That s baseball you know. Trock 8 months ago I completely disagree. It seems like the Cubs orginization handeled it appropriately (kept in contact with him and let him know up front their intentions) and Maddon is one of the best managers in the game (and could be considered one of the all time greats) This team is perfect for him because that is all he has done with the Rays had to manage propsects and he is damn good at it. This will most certainly help the Cubs odds of pringing in the right ace type pitchers to help solidify the team. Cubs have a real shot of making a splash in a year or 2 into the playoffs. Phillyfan425 8 months ago Anybody else think it would be a little funny if Maddon took a job somewhere else? Brandon Miller 8 months ago No, they haven t officially hired him yet. Why does everyone think they officially hired him before letting Renteria go? They will announce the hiring Monday. The Pirate 8 months ago All I can say is, Wow. I knew I d see this coming, but I really didn t know how it would be handled and how the announcement would come out. I wish Rick all the best, and I hope this doesn t derail his managerial ambitions in anyway. On a side note, did anyone notice how there weren t many managerial controversies this last year for the Cubs? Doc JeanO 8 months ago Wonder how Renteria feels about it? Of course, he won t say anything negative about the Cubs, but I d be pretty burned after they gave me a vote of confidence to then be fired a week later. Jeff Scott 8 months ago Who knows? He s entitled to be angry. I don t think being angry and honest about it would reflect negatively on him at all. You have to feel for the guy. Tom 8 months ago Rick deserved to come back for another season as Cubs manager, andwe said as much when we announced that he would be returning in 2015. We met with Rick two weeks ago for a long end-of-season evaluation anddiscussed plans for next season. We praised Rick to the media and to our season ticket holders. These actions were made in good faith. BDLugz 8 months ago Announcing Rick was coming back in September, and giving a vote of confidence when the best (or one tbraysfanshop.com of) managers in the game became available are dramatically different things. The Cubs were silent since Friday, unlike the Dodgers, Cardinals, etc. who all gave their managers votes of confidence. Tom 8 months ago Uhhh how is it different? I met with the guy after the season ended and told him he deserves to come back after doing such a great job, but that s just my way of telling him he doesn t have the job. I would find these things quite confusing. They gave him a vote of confidence, then they essentially rescinded it. It s still a vote of confidence. oh Hal 8 months ago Epstein is like a robot. Its a stream of management cliches and politically correct monologue. UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago Sorry, I said this once already but they did Renteria wrong. Mike 8 months ago Totally agree. Told him that he did good things, then another guy is available and they say Oh well you good, but we want this guy. Maddon is a really good manager, but honestly, I don t think he ll have much success with the Cubs. They play in a division that usually has 3 or 4 teams who compete for the division title each year. They ll have to be really good to win a division title. They have talent, but I feel as if ego gets in the way of that. UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago Just my opinion but it shows a lack of class on Maddon s part as well. You just don t interview for a position when someone still occupies that position. Maddon should have said don t talk to me until their is an open managerial position. He shares part of the responsibility for the way this was done. Infield Fly 8 months ago As I ve said before, you really have to wonder how long this has been in the works. With the way everything went down, it would seem that negotiations have been going on in the shadows, with Renteria still on board. Business or not (and I have heard all the arguments), that s just tacky. Grant Michalski 8 months ago So should free agent players not talk to teams who already have a full 25-man roster? David Coonce 8 months ago Except most job interviews work that way. And Renteria gets 1.8 million over the next two years to do nothing. It s not like they threw him out on the street. Victoria Roberts 8 months ago In my mind if they wanted to replace Renteria they should have terminated his services and then began negotiations with Maddon. The fact that they waited until Maddon had agreed to a contract and then let that info be out there for a while, and then fired Renteria reflects very poorly on the organization. Marc 8 months ago If they terminated Renteria and didn t land Maddon, the Cubs would look worse than they do now. The lesser of two evils. Victoria Roberts 8 months ago No they wouldn t. They would look like a club that took a chance and lost. Now they just look like a club that wants to have its cake and eat it too. Marc 8 months ago Maddon is an upgrade at manager. To fire your manager because you re interviewing one makes no sense. I m not saying what s ethically right or wrong, I m saying what s good business is to keep your B manager until you 100% have the A one. Marc 8 months ago Good ethics are nice to have, but aren t required. Nike is doing quite well with it s sweatshops. Marc 8 months ago I m not talking ethics, since those lines are crossed constantly. Business-wise, this makes perfect sense. Marc 8 months ago So the Yankees should not pursue a 3B because A-Rod has been reinstated and is under contract? No. If you can improve, you do so. UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago Marc, you are grasping a straws to try and justify and unjustifiable position. Your comment isn t worthy of a response. Grant Michalski 8 months ago Actually, it s a pretty perfect analogy. How is the situation he outlined any different except for the names involved, or the fact that in one case we re talking about players and in the other we re talking about managers (not seeing why that should make a difference)? UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago Yep, you may find it hard to believe but even Yankees fans have a right to their opinion. And whether you like it or not or are willing to admit it or not the way the Cubs handled this situation is just plain wrong. Marc 8 months ago How dare the Cubs sign their manager before a better one unexpectedly becomes available ArlenianPropaneMachine 8 months ago Yes, how dare the Cubs show commitment to their pre-existing manager? Shawn Johnson 8 months ago So Billy Beane insulted two of his starting pitchers, when he traded for Samardzija and Hammel?? What part don t you get? Do you get the part that the Cubs were NOT looking for a new manager and Maddon suddenly opted out of his contract? How about the part that since they were NOT looking for a new manager, it made no sense to fire the guy you have until you get , the better guy (who suddenly became available), to agree? You are trying to compare this situation to that of Gibson, Gardenhire and Porter, who were all recently fired and you just can t. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago Please understand. The Cubs were NOT looking to replace Renteria. If dumping Renteria had been the plan the whole time, they would have fired him when the regular season ended. Marc 8 months ago Exactly. Then the upgrade of Maddon became available, they landed him, and made Renteria obsolete for their organization. ArlenianPropaneMachine 8 months ago If they were planning on sticking with Renteria had Maddon not been available, they should have stuck with Renteria and allowed teams with REAL managerial vacancies to interview Maddon. That s the ethical thing to do. Giving Renteria the boot when that wasn t the plan was just plain disgraceful, good baseball move or not. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago Also, the only team without a manager is the Twins and there is no way they give Maddon $5 million a year. Red_Line_9 8 months ago It s a little trickier than termination. They could have attempted to reassign him within the organization To special asst. to the gm..etc. Cubs were in an interesting spot. I think Maddon being available sped up the process a bit I think they d have moved on from Renteria as they turned the corner on the field to a Joe Girardi. Renteria might have been aware of that process. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago From the reports I am reading, Renteria was n the loop the whole time and this move was NOT a shock to him. MS 8 months ago Nice statement from Epstein. It s a tough spot, but ultimately the Cubs front office has a responsibility to get the best man available. Hope Renteria lands on his feet. CandyMaldonadoLand 8 months ago That is, if karma is an actual thing that has real consequences. DippityDoo 8 months ago So in Theo s future lives he might get paid to not work? Like the opportunity that RR has now? WhoKilledTheRallyMonkey 8 months ago Did the Cubs already sign a contract with Renteria for 2015? If not they should be required to pay him in 2015 anyway after publicly committing to him for the 2015 season. Victoria Roberts 8 months ago Manager salaries are guaranteed, so they still have to pay him. WhoKilledTheRallyMonkey 8 months ago I know they are guarantied but was he already under contract for 2015? disgruntledreader 8 months ago He s got two years left on his contract. The Cubs are on the hook for it. Marc 8 months ago And I thought they were going to have two managers after coming to terms with Maddon Non-story. bucsws2014 8 months ago Renteria will be a manager again by 2016, if not sooner as a mid-season replacement. He did a nice job. I hope he spends a year as Hurdle s bench coach in Pittsburgh and maybe succeeds Hurdle. As far as the Cubs go, I can t blame them for going after Maddon, and the letter posted seems to state the case well. CandyMaldonadoLand 8 months ago While I do think the organization made a good baseball decision, I still feel like Renteria is a valuable manager and will definitely hold that position elsewhere soon enough. I loved his positive attitude and the way he treated his players. Michael Son 8 months ago In a few months, this whole saga will be forgotten. I personally don t get the voices expressing special concern for Renteria. This was a business decision (made transparently) and a good one that should have big positive implications for the organization. It shows free agents that the Cubs will do what it takes to win.Theo s statement said it well: In this business of trying to win a world championship for the first time in 107 years, the organization has priority over any one individual. DippityDoo 8 months ago No different than say, chasing Russell Martin to replace Wellington Castillo. I agree this is an upgrade and glad they are doing it. Phillyfan425 8 months ago People see it differently because its managers. Players have a certain lifespan that everyone knows. Nobody is going to be shocked if a much better player comes along and you take that guy over a worse player. People feel differently when it comes to managers. I don t know why it s different , but this rubs a fair amount of people the wrong way (probably, the overwhelming majority of people outside of Chicago). BDLugz 8 months ago Because it s an unusual situation and people have a difficult time understanding that while unusual, it s no different from player assets in the long run. Phillyfan425 8 months ago No. And I haven t said I have a problem with it. I m just explaining why I think some do have a problem with it. BDLugz 8 months ago Handled perfectly you just don t like the outcome. There s a difference. ArlenianPropaneMachine 8 months ago Telling someone their job is safe one week and casting him aside like a bag of moldy oranges the next? Plenty to love about that! Marc 8 months ago Cast aside, with the remaining amount of his contract to be paid in-full. Tough gig. Also, he can increase his income by managing elsewhere. BDLugz 8 months ago Things change in business. You understand as a manager your job is safe until it isn t. The Cubs gave a no name bench coach a shot to manage on one of the biggest stages in baseball, and he did a fairly good job with it. Good enough to boost his value and give him future opportunities. Good enough even to come back to the club to fulfill his contract.The best manager in the game then opted out of his contract. The Cubs could have gone right to Maddon and started negotiating, but instead flew to San Diego to discuss the situation with their coach and be transparent and honest with him. They ended up hiring Maddon and offered Renteria a spot in the front office, or told him they d release him and let him pursue work elsewhere if he d prefer.They re giving him a glowing recommendation after giving him his shot to manage not just any team, but the Cubs. He s going to find more work, and soon, and he s going to make more with his new team than he did with the Cubs. It s probably bittersweet for him, but I guarantee you Renteria understands the process, appreciate the transparency, and really thanks the Cubs for the shot to manage and prove himself to all the other teams. The sad fact is, he s a solid manager he s just not Maddon. baybombers 8 months ago Yeah and still gets the entire contract paid to him. He isn t some guy who got laid off from a 20K job. Do you know him personally? He s a millionare. Do you feel pity for his ego or something? Matt 8 months ago Judging by the comments on this board, the Cubs are not allowed to cut Edwin Jackson (even though he will still be paid) and sign a better pitcher because he s under contract. Guess all those Cubs fans can forget about signing Lester or Shields since they aren t allowed to pursue free agents.Face it people, this is a business. Rick Renteria might end up being a great manager, but right now, there aren t many (if any) that would say he is a better manager than Joe Maddon. The Cubs feel they are on the cusp of contending and that Maddon is better suited to push them over the top so they made a change. They are still paying Renteria, they aren t bashing him to other teams or the press, they offered him another job in the organization or permission to take his services elsewhere while still being paid and he took it. So they said he would be back how many owners/GM s have given coaches a public backing only to fire them months later (or earlier than that). It happens all the time!Like it or not this is a perfectly legitimate move that they had every right to make. DippityDoo 8 months ago Exactly! Managers and Players are assets. If you can improve you do. Phillyfan425 8 months ago I m wholly on board with the Cubs being forced to keep Edwin Jackson in their starting rotation as I m sure most of the rest of non-Cubs fans in baseball are, too. Matt 8 months ago So I m sure that as a Phillies fan you are completely on board with Ryan Howard as the starting first baseman for the next two years and he should be replaced under no circumstance.Then again with Amaro as the GM I d say its a safer bet that Howard is given an extension rather than be replaced WhoKilledTheRallyMonkey 8 months ago Your example doesn t properly describe the situation. This is as if Edwin Jackson had an all-star season (not going to happen I know), the Cubs publicly committed to him as their ace for the coming season and then released him several weeks later.Its not the change that bothers me, its first the fact that Renteria had success in his first season and second that the Cubs had already committed to him publicly. Some of us just dislike dishonesty. BDLugz 8 months ago Renteria is more like a Travis Wood. Solid peripherals, and some potential, but leaves a lot of room for improvement (which he may or may not make).Let s not act like Renteria was anything more than a great motivator and a below average in game manager. Z_Aug 8 months ago It was not dishonesty. When they made those statements Joe Maddon was the manager of Tampa. These were events they were unaware was going to unfold. I Want My Bird 8 months ago 1) Isn t there some kind of Rooney Rule in MLB as far as going through the appearance of interviewing minority applicants? I guess not. 2) For all the Cubs apologists on here, appearance is everything, and no this was not handled well. Maybe with today s media it s impossible to keep things under wraps, but Rick should have been let go or reassigned first, then announce a new one. BDLugz 8 months ago The Cubs still haven t spoken a word about hiring Maddon. You can t stop the media from breaking stories, unfortunately. Brandon Miller 8 months ago They haven t announced anything regarding. So he has been let go, and was offered to be reassigned before they announced a new one. Why is this so hard for everyone to comprehend? I Want My Bird 8 months ago It s difficult to ask us to be dumb about no announcement yet . Whenever s someone s asked me to be dumb, I haven t liked it for some odd reason. Phillyfan425 8 months ago There is essentially. All clubs are supposed to interview minority candidates for managerial jobs and above (I think that s where it starts). But like the 2 below me said, they haven t announced anything yet. The tricky part is going to be the small window they ve left themselves (and for their sake, I d hope they already had an interview set up although it would have been purely for show) because they have already announced a press conference for Monday (that speculatively is announcing Maddon as the new manager). UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago For all those fans here that are trying to justify the way the Cubs handled this hiring of Maddon and the firing of Renteria and look upon Maddon as the second coming or as the Cubs great savior . At best even with Maddon the Cubs are no better than a 4th place team in the NL Central. Oh they might make it up to the #3 best in the NL Central by the time Maddon s rumored 5 year deal is done but as for any postseason hopes .dream on. Heck Epstein may be gone before Maddon. Matt 8 months ago Please explain what they did wrong, other than you not liking they got a better manager? UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago Read my comments below. They pretty much explain my position. Matt 8 months ago Oh I ve read them, they make no sense. I find it quite hypocritical that a Yankees fan, the kings of free agency, has a problem with the Cubs signing a free agent manager. Your comment about how bad the Cubs are going to continue to be, in the face of every major baseball pundit saying how close they are to not only contending for the playoffs but the World Series, shows that you re simply upset the Cubs improved. UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago If that s what you got from my previous comments then you missed my entire point. I don t care if they improved, stayed the same or went backwards with this hiring. Let me make it as clear as I can here and now. I don t like the way they handled the situation plain and simple. As I said in my very first comment they did Renteria wrong. Now you are free to disagree with my assessment but no amount of back and forth on your part will change my mind. Or for that matter what would appear to be the opinion of others here as well. Z_Aug 8 months ago Yankees fans become a little butt chapped when another team picks up the best available at any spot. BDLugz 8 months ago Yeah I ll make a bet that the Cubs don t finish worse than the Yankees in any of Maddon s years managing, and are in the playoffs by 2016 at the latest if you d like. Phillyfan425 8 months ago It s a matter of personal opinion. On whether you feel that a baseball organization should be run as a cutthroat business or a social club (or somewhere in between). It s a individual decision that each person draws a different line on. Nobody is really right or wrong here just which side of the line the Cubs decision fell on for you. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago You do realize that the Cubs were only 3 games out of 4th, last year ..right? Are you implying that they will play worse in 2015? UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago They finished 9 games behind the 3rd place Brewers in 2014 and 15 games behind the 2nd place Pirates. Hence my comment they are no better than a 4th place team Do you expect everyone else in that division to get worse while only the Cubs get better? BDLugz 8 months ago The Cubs played .500 ball from May through the end of the year. They also have around 70 million to spend to just keep a mid tier payroll on par with St. Louis. If you think anyone in that division can improve as quickly as the Cubs, you re not paying attention. UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago Why do the Cardinals, Pirates and Brewers have to improve as quickly as the Cubs? They are already better than them and in the case of the Cardinals and Pirates and to a slightly lesser degree a lot better than the Cubs. BDLugz 8 months ago Because a team that can play .500 ball as is with 60-70+ million to spend will be hard to keep up with in the next 2 years no matter how big your head start may have been (which contrary to your belief, isn t as big as you might think). UltimateYankeeFan 8 months ago You act as if the Cubs are going to be the only team signing and competing for players. There are 29 other MLB teams all or at least most of them with money to spend. Many of them competing for the same players the Cubs will be looking at. Having the money and getting the players do not necessarily go hand in hand. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago The Brewers are regressing and the Reds are losing it,,,,,,,,,,,,,yeah, I can see them jump 2 teams. They were 3 games out of 4th WITH Jackson and Veras. If those two were not on the team in 14, they would have already be a 4th place team. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago They played better AFTER they made the trades. Imagine if they didn t have Jackson and Veras Baseball597 8 months ago And here it is, the awkward firing that s not because of any wrongdoing. bigmike04 8 months ago Rick Renteria still get the money they owe him can still get another coaching job elsewhere, probably not big league manager this season.. Vandals Took The Handles 8 months ago The Cubs not only had a chance at an experienced, successful manager, but they found one that is a devotee of statistical analysis. That fits him in perfectly with the FO s way looking at baseball. Add in that he s one of the top 5 managers in baseball today, and it s hard to find fault with the Cubs for what they did. The Cubs job may have been the perfect position for Joe, and Joe the perfect manager for the Cubs. Add in the way the fans love to have fun at Wrigley and around Chicagoland, and this is a win, win, win that will prove to be an exciting story for all MLB fans. oh Hal 8 months ago Is he a devotee of scouting analysis? How about coaching? Can someone be a devotee of everything? Lefty_Orioles_Fan 8 months ago But,but, but,but..still after all the so called nice things they said about him .. they still told him: Hey Rick, you are outta here!It s sort of like when the Corleone s told Tom Hagen that he was out.You re out, Tom .You re out, Rick rhelob 8 months ago The Cubs were very excited when they signed Lou Piniella to be their manager. Lou couldn t make it happen and he quit towards the end of the season to head back to Tampa. I hope the same fate doesn t happen to Joe Madden. Brandon Miller 8 months ago Lou and Maddon are completely different people and completely different managers. They have very little in common besides the fact that both are older white men who went from managing the Rays to the Cubs. Vandals Took The Handles 8 months ago A week or so ago I posted that Terry Francona has had a great affect on the Indians production and turnaround the past 2 years. I got a reply stating that managers somehow don t count, and a number of people gave that comment a thumbs up.So why do the Cubs let a manager go that they admit did a fine job? And why are there so many comments about the situation here? WrigleyTerror37 8 months ago Most people are arguing about morals. Others are arguing about bad karma.The main thing people dont get is that baseball is a business and the business world is ever changing stl_cards16 8 months ago It s not that a manager has nothing to do with the outcome of a game, it s that it is very minimal. That doesn t mean that an organization shouldn t want the best at the position. Vandals Took The Handles 8 months ago The Cardinals are one of the teams I follow closely.I find it hard to believe that someone can follow the Cards, see what Metheny has done in the playoffs and in critical in-season games, and talk about a manager being very minimal. stl_cards16 8 months ago I agree Matheny is not a good manager. Yet the Cardinals have went to three straight NLCS and a World Series with him as manager. Doesn t that kind of work for the manager having a minimal impact. I mean, how good do you think the Cardinals really are? Realitystrikes96778 8 months ago There is no loyalty in sports. If you think you have what you believe is a better player, coach, or player in hand, you make a change. Brutal, but it s always been that way. Loyalty doesn t win games. BYOP 8 months ago Hopefully for Maddon s sake a better manager doesn t opt out after next season. jb226 8 months ago Those who have participated in the other discussions know I m luke-warm on how Renteria was treated. However, this is a classy statement and if they handled everything the way the statement indicates it seems that they at least handled things as best they could.I hope Rick chooses to stay with the Cubs. stl_cards16 8 months ago I think with the way he handled a young team last season, Minnesota should at least consider him. Wayne 8 months ago I know his next two years salary is guaranteed. If he s hired as a coach, say, and his salary is lower, are the Cubs on the hook for the whole thing, or do they make up the difference if he s being paid less than he would be as their manager? WrigleyTerror37 8 months ago Rick would get the check from the new team and a check from the cubs. So he can make alot of money at once if hes hired. Maggiemay 8 months ago This is the sort of thing to point out when people say players have no loyalty. SpartanGSG 8 months ago A century of futility and you simply refuse to see the opportunity here. I don t suppose there is any way to satisfy some Cub fans. Want go for a century more of bad baseball in the world s largest beer garden? Scheesh man, the man will get paid and have an excellent job search in the process WhoKilledTheRallyMonkey 8 months ago Based on his work last year Renteria looked like a lot more than a bring gap coach to me. Victoria Roberts 8 months ago It has nothing to do with Maddon. It s how this situation was handled. If they don t like their manager they should fire him, but you can t hire his replacement first. That s not a good way to do business. Mark Anthony Guido 8 months ago lol are you really giving him credit for turing castro and rizzo into all stars this year? They are talented guys who had a down year prior to last year. They were bound to turn it around regardless of who was manager at the time. Mark Anthony Guido 8 months ago Im not saying rick did a terrible job. But hes getting paid millions to walk away. Why are you feeling bad for the guy? He will have another opportunity to manage, do to his solid stint with a big market club like the cubs. Shawn Johnson 8 months ago Really? I see you have no idea what has been going on for the last 3 years. WhoKilledTheRallyMonkey 8 months ago Rizzo, Valbuena, Castro, Coghlan, Hammel and Arrieta all had the best years of their careers, yes I am giving Renteria some credit for that. Mark Anthony Guido 8 months ago First I give all the credit to Chris Bosio for Arrieta s career year. Hes one of the best pitching coaches in the game. Second, im not saying he did a terrible job, but he didnt blow anyone away. Maddon and the cubs go hand and hand, there like a match made in heaven. Rick is a plastic watch, joe is a shiny new rolex whos known for developing young talent and getting the best out of them. Thats fact. David C. Ruckman 8 months ago Chris Bosio and the Cubs front office deserve most if not all the credit for the pitching staff s overall success the last three seasons, including The Revelation of Jake Arrieta. AdamAE24 8 months ago Apparently he was only making about 800k a year. That shows you how committed the Cubs were to Renteria long term. Phillyfan425 8 months ago ^ Finally, someone who agrees with my opinion Just because someone doesn t agree with your opinion, doesn t mean they don t know what they are talking about. Tom 8 months ago We were talking about votes of confidence, you just wrote They didn t give him a vote of confidence, so . , which is just not true, just look at the quote. They would ve been perfectly happy to use Renteria as manager next year, and he was universally lauded as well. We are not talking about FA players, we are not talking about Maddon, we are talking about whether the Cubs gave him a vote of confidence, so to say they believed he was suitable for the job, which they clearly did, they did not fire him for poor performance, they fired him cause they liked the grass on the other side more. I do not hold anything against what the Cubs did, but how this turns into They didn t give him a vote of confidence, so . Tom 8 months ago I was literally going by your little original reply, which is saying they never gave him a vote of confidence, I refute that, and you change it to since this last week?? Is that what learning to read is? You changing your original statement? Jeff Scott 8 months ago You re missing Tom s point entirely. That they didn t give him a vote of confidence after Maddon became available is true. The point is after the season they DID tell him he would be back next year, that s all he is saying. Yes, the circumstances changed, we understand that. That doesn t mean Renteria doesn t/shouldn t feel like he got the rug pulled out from under him. And there is no need to be snarky about it either. Phillyfan425 8 months ago I have no problem with people picking a side on this (personally, I don t have an opinion on it, because it doesn t impact me). But the opinions based on their feelings aren t wrong. BDLugz 8 months ago Looking back on what happened in September has absolutely no bearing on what is going on now.Should Friedman not have left and Maddon not opted out, Renteria is their manager come April. Things changed on Friday, and that s when THIS story line picks up. Tom 8 months ago Not talking about September, they went so far as to talk to him about it the week before Maddon decided he was out of Tampa. You literally are changing your story, you re originally all about they never gave him a vote of confidence then you change it to since Maddon left , all I did was tell you they gave him a vote of confidence(it doesn t make it any less valid if it happened before Maddon was available, literally nothing else changed), they were happy to have him at that job, it s in Quotes. How you construe this into Attacking the Cubs is your business. Seriously you said they NEVER gave him a vote of confidence, which I clearly showed you they DID. Then you change it to it doesn t count and before Maddon . Doesn t matter, it s still a vote of confidence, even if it has been rescinded, saying NEVER is plain wrong. BDLugz 8 months ago I like how you say literally, nothing else changed except the ONLY thing that makes this a story? Obviously everything we re discussing should be from that point on. I have no idea why you care about what happened before then at all. Nothing is the same after last Thursday when they got the news. Tom 8 months ago So none of the work he originally did that gave him his original vote of confidence exists anymore? Maddon being available doesn t change any of that. It is Literally all that has changed. Phillyfan425 8 months ago IMO, this is a moral issue for a lot of people. That s why the outrage comes up. It stirs up a strong feeling that he was misled and then let go, just because something better came along (with one of the discrepancies being how much better). Basing an opinion off of facts is something that I could tell someone they are wrong on. But basing an opinion off of their feelings (because everyone has different feelings of moral rightness ), is something I feel like they have the ability to simply disagree. Z_Aug 8 months ago What don t you comprehend about this being a unique, surprise situation? If Joe Maddon didn t opt out of his Tampa deal Renteria would still firmly be in the manager s role for the Cubs. As a lifelong Cubs fan, I m totally ok with how things were handled and am satisfied with Theo s explanation. MB923 8 months ago It has nothing to do with Maddon It has Everything to do with Maddon. As Z_Aug said, if Maddon doesn t opt out, Renteria is for sure the Cubs manager in 2015. Phillyfan425 8 months ago To be fair, I am. And sadly, it has become an American thing to say if you don t agree with my opinion, you are wrong . But that s a whole different conversation. Evan 8 months ago Ya but giving your word has an organization then changing when a better option comes along gives Reteria the right to be bothered because it s bad business to go back on your word. Pretty much the Cubs said we love Renteria we want him back .OOOO Shiny new thing, who s Renteria? BDLugz 8 months ago I agree completely Renteria can be upset if he wants! Sports fans have nothing to look at here, because this happens daily with players. It s just a unique spot with a manager. Evan 8 months ago But the unique spot is what makes it wrong, players aren t really treat like Renteria was. If the front office comes out and verbally praise how amazing a player is and then a week later signs a better one to that exact spot and releases the first player we would all comment on how dumb they sound and how much that player got burned. ArlenianPropaneMachine 8 months ago Anyone who thinks this was handled correctly doesn t know the first thing about ethics. BDLugz 8 months ago Anyone who tries to apply their business ethics class to a baseball team is in for a disappointment. ArlenianPropaneMachine 8 months ago So wrongful termination is fair game for a baseball team? Got it. oh Hal 8 months ago Chris Bosio is one of the best pitching coaches in baseball? That s an incredibly bold statement. brian310 8 months ago Not like they re not holding up their end of the deal he s still getting paid Shawn Johnson 8 months ago Bosio has done some really good work with retreads that the Cubs have traded for young talent. Exclusive Articles Sign up to receive an exclusive weekly article by MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes. Email Address MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com