Maddon in the New York Times

by R.J. Anderson on Aug 10, 2008 10:54 PM EDT

“He’s a young team’s manager,” said Upton, obliquely comparing Maddon with his predecessor, the volatile and veteran-disposed Lou Piniella. “He allows us to have fun.”

And this:

Although many of the game’s most intelligent managers love to tinker, Maddon prefers to put his tools down and let those of his Rays take over. “I’m so not into controlling this,” Maddon said with a smile.

Link.

Tweet Comment 20 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Good Article

I always liked Maddon and thought he would be a good guy to turn it around. Talking to him is a pleasure he has that calmness to him. Glad to hear the quotes from BJ about him also.

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls, Riggans Your Thingans

BELIEVE in 08!

by SRQman on Aug 10, 2008 11:04 PM EDT reply actions

Wow, didn't even know Alan Schwarz was with the NYT

Good article.

by Kevin Gengler on Aug 10, 2008 11:21 PM EDT reply actions

For a while

Schwarz wrote a stats based article every Sunday. I have not seen it for a while.

by bobr on Aug 11, 2008 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions

Quote of the decade

Sure, Maddon has adorned the clubhouse with inspirational quotes from the likes of Albert Camus. ("I don’t think he ever played here," Upton said.)

by putupyourDUKES on Aug 11, 2008 12:24 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah I loved that

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls, Riggans Your Thingans

BELIEVE in 08!

by SRQman on Aug 11, 2008 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Camus threw a nasty slider

by RATW on Aug 11, 2008 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Not nasty, the hitters were just apathetic

Samuel Beckett’s slider, however, was just absurd.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Aug 11, 2008 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

yeah

just a shame about his command… seems like he never went more than 6 ip

by daveh33 on Aug 11, 2008 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

this is why

BOSSMAN. forever

by daveh33 on Aug 11, 2008 3:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Good artical in the Seattle Times today as well.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/larrystone/2008103150_stone10.html

Not nearly as well written as the NYTIMES article, but it’s decent.

by putupyourDUKES on Aug 11, 2008 12:36 AM EDT reply actions

Not only a young man's manager

But doesn’t dip, chew, snuff, and for a tobacco free Florida!!

by sofladude77 on Aug 11, 2008 2:06 AM EDT reply actions

Curious, what are rays fans thoughts on Piniella? Iv always liked him as a manager. He probably wasnt the best thing for a young team these days, but its interesting to see the cubs now doing so well too.

by spinz on Aug 11, 2008 3:36 AM EDT reply actions

I was excited when we got him but i didn't think he did a good job with the young players.

9 = 8

by websterjtc on Aug 11, 2008 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

My take is...

Manager’s in baseball are all very overrated. Piniella had zero talent to work with. Give him talent, and he will win games…just like most managers.

by td32 on Aug 11, 2008 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

I thought Pinella did a good job

With no talent, as you so put it, he got the franchise record in wins (obviously since broken), as well as leading the team to their only winning record over a span of half a season (38-33 after the all-star break in 2005, also since eclipsed), and got this teams franchise record for most consecutive victories (12 straight in 2004, which still stands).

No, managers don’t win games, but I have my doubts in thinking that any other manager would have sparked that kind of production out of that group of players. It was certainly sporatic, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

by kericr on Aug 11, 2008 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Piniella

I think he is a good manager and did a decent job with the Rays. I also think the notion that he is not good with rookies or that his fiery temperament makes him impatient is somewhat overstated.

But, I also think he had to go when he did. He seemed convinced that with a few free agent additions, the team he had in 2005 was good enough to contend, and in that he was dead wrong. He was not prepared to accept the new management’s determination to start over again and carry out a long range plan to build a consistent contender. Had he been so willing, I think he might have succeeded here, but as he was adamant against it, there was no chance.

by bobr on Aug 11, 2008 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions

not sure about that tinker comment

I’d love to see some more consistency in our lineup. For everyone that’s ever played sports at any level – the team generally plays better with a consistent lineup.

Injuries haven’t helped – but I couldn’t tell you what our lineup is one day to the next.

by TallMatt on Aug 11, 2008 10:32 AM EDT reply actions

What?

Are you referring to the Rays? Our lineup has been exceptionally consistent all year. Accounting for injuries and platooning in RF and DH, the same 9 players have started close to 100 of our 117 games this year. And Maddon has made clear that he intends to rest people, starting in July I think, to keep them fresh for the Aug/Sept run. He has also always made it a point to give everyone on the roster some playing time to keep them fresh and alert, and that is a strength of any manager.

If you are referring to the batting order, aside from its minimal significance, his tinkering there has been based on observations of players’ streaks and have really not been particularly frequent. Some fans, in fact, have criticized him for not shuffling people quickly enough (e.g. a lot of fans wanted Pena dropped from cleanup while Maddon persisted in keeping him there. Early in the year there were calls to drop Iwamura from leadoff, but I am pretty sure he has batted there every game he has played.)

I am really not sure to what you refer by this statement: “but I couldn’t tell you what our lineup is one day to the next.” I think it is pretty well established what the lineup will be on most occasions.

by bobr on Aug 11, 2008 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions