Feb. 23--From the time Jason Heyward and Anthony Rizzo arrived at the Chicago Cubs' spring training complex, the two young stars have been seen chatting frequently around the batting cage and in the outfield while shagging flies during batting practice.
It's a different scene than the old days that manager Joe Maddon recalled, and both styles of communication suit him.
"The old guys would talk about 'these young players are out of the locker room so quickly,'" Maddon quipped. "'They should sit around and have a couple beers, and I'l sit in the corner and smoke a cigar. And we miss that.'
"Any time you lose, that's the reason you lost."
So now you have this newer method right now, not necessarily sitting around and having a beer but to have a group of guys willing to share thoughts and ideas like that because they like each other, and they like being here and being a part of this and they're opening up. Part of my job is to encourage that discussion."
Maddon stressed that communication is the theme, whether it's in the outfield or "sitting around a bucket of longnecks."
"Now you come in and tool around a food room with a juice bar and maybe a video game, and that's replacing a bucket of longnecks," Maddon said. "I think it's great. I think it's awesome. And they're 26.
"And they're elevating their methods of approaching the day already. Can you imagine four years from now what that's going to look like -- with good health, of course."
