Nov. 01--By the time Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer boarded a plane for Southern California the morning of Oct. 24, the team had reached the point of no return pursuing Joe Maddon.
With nothing guaranteed, Hoyer headed west that Friday to meet Rick Renteria so he could tell the Cubs manager personally about plans to replace him with Maddon. Only one night earlier, before the news broke publicly, the Cubs had received a call from Commissioner Bud Selig's office confirming Maddon had exercised an out clause in his contract with the Rays.
Surprisingly, baseball's biggest free agent was available. Suddenly, the Cubs mobilized.
No page in "The Cubs Way" manual advised officials how to address something like this. So President Theo Epstein and Hoyer followed their guts, responding the only way baseball executives serious about winning the World Series would respond. They should apologize for nothing, even if the move offended the game's old guard.
Of all the words the Cubs have used to say they are committed to ending a 107-year championship drought, Chairman Tom Ricketts committing as much as $20 million to lure Maddon was the boldest action that backed them up.
"This was unique," Epstein told the Tribune. "I just read in your paper about the Terry Bevington/Jim Leyland situation (with the White Sox in 1996), and I actually didn't remember that. We looked for precedent and didn't find any. So we used common sense.
"We were brutally honest. We felt we owed it to the organization to pursue this, and at the same time Ricky hadn't done anything wrong, so we had to treat him with candor and respect and class."
The Cubs had to do it all quickly, too, because 10 teams expressed interest in Maddon within 24 hours of the news breaking. But before Epstein felt comfortable approaching Maddon or agent Alan Nero, he insisted the Cubs inform Renteria in person. So Epstein dispatched Hoyer to California while he stayed behind to "start preparing our story" to present to Maddon.
"We wanted to make sure we met with Ricky before we engaged Joe or his representatives," Epstein said.
The Cubs offered Renteria a chance to stay in the organization, but nobody expects that to happen. More likely, Renteria will let the Cubs pay him to go away and end up in the familiar role of bench coach somewhere. Epstein predicted Renteria will manage again, successfully, and benefit from the boost to his reputation. From Hoyer's first visit to Friday's final phone call, Renteria reacted in a manner that reminded the Cubs why they'd hired him less than a year ago.
"In handling it, Ricky showed what a remarkable human being he is," Epstein said. "He told us that he understood, that he appreciated the opportunity and the way we handled it and there were no hard feelings. He wished us well. He handled it a lot better than I would have."
Once Renteria knew on Friday the 24th, the Cubs spent that weekend setting up a meeting with Maddon, who had confided to friends how special he considered the job he was about to take. They met Oct. 27 in Florida under much different circumstances than the last time Maddon impressed Epstein interviewing in 2003 for the Red Sox managerial position.
Epstein eschewed details about his past relationship with Maddon or this recent pursuit, reserving Monday's introductory news conference as the appropriate time to elaborate on his new manager. He preferred to praise his former one, whose baseball martyrdom weighed heavily on Epstein's mind Thursday night crafting a smart, succinct 536-word statement released Friday.
"We were faced with doing the right thing for Ricky or the right thing for the organization," Epstein said. "That is a difficult choice. It was clear in my mind that the reason I am in this seat is to make those tough calls. We have made and will continue to make difficult decisions, but you can't go wrong if you always make the right decision for the organization."
Now, the Cubs organization looks poised for sustained success starting as early as 2015. Hiring Maddon, the long-term answer, heightens expectations Epstein raised by announcing to season-ticket holders plans to contend for the National League Central title next year.
After completely overhauling the scouting operation and overcoming talent deficits in the minors, the Cubs finally possess a legitimate infrastructure they traditionally lacked. After adding Maddon and signing free agents such as pitcher Jon Lester and catcher Russell Martin, the Cubs finally can stop talking about what's next and start focusing on what's now.
"It's exciting to be entering that phase where our goal is to go out and compete and win," said Epstein, whose Cubs are 200-286 since he arrived. "I'm not ashamed at all of what we've done. I think we've done five, six years' worth of rebuild work in about three years."
The rebuilding isn't over yet. But maneuvering to get Maddon should make the Cubs more confident than ever about completing the job.
dhaugh@tribune.com
Twitter @DavidHaugh
