Theo Epstein seems surprised by Joe Maddon’s comments about his departure from the Chicago Cubs.
Maddon talked about his Cubs departure as part of a feature by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez that you should definitely read.
In the feature, Maddon, who is now the manager of the Angels, talked about why he left the Cubs and said it came down to philosophical differences.
“Philosophically, Theo needed to do what he needed to do separately. At some point, I began to interfere with his train of thought a little bit. And it’s not that I’m hardheaded. I’m inclusive. But when I started there — ’15, ’16, ’17 — it was pretty much my methods. And then all of a sudden, after ’18 going into ’19, they wanted to change everything,” Maddon told Gonzalez.
Maddon also said he knew during last season that he didn’t want to return as the Cubs’ manager.
Epstein, who has been with the Cubs since after the 2011 season, gave a response to reporters Tuesday. Epstein said he was surprised to hear that Maddon knew during the season that he wouldn’t return.
Theo’s reaction to Maddon telling ESPN he knew midseason he didn’t want to return in 2020: “If that’s how he feels, especially with the benefit of hindsight, then I’m not going to dispute it. But that doesn’t really reflect the conversations we were having up until the very end.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) February 11, 2020
The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney also quoted Epstein as saying he would take the high road in response to Maddon.
Theo Epstein’s initial response to Joe Maddon’s comments to ESPN that the Cubs wanted more control over “just about everything” the manager was doing: “I’m going to take the high road here, and that’s easy for me to do because I love Joe and I value our friendship.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) February 11, 2020
There is nothing acrimonious between the two men; both sides probably knew it was best to move on. And maybe Maddon didn’t vocalize it, but perhaps he knew deep down that he was ready for a change.
Epstein spent much of last year threatening big changes, and those threats did not produce positive results for the team. Maybe things will be different this year.
