The Cubs finished their first round of interviews for the managerial opening, and it appears that the list of candidates has been set.
Philadelphia bench coach Pete Mackanin, Brewers third base coach Dale Sveum, Cleveland’s bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., and Texas Rangers’ pitching coach Mike Maddux make up the list, officially. There are those that consider Terry Francona to be a candidate as well, though Theo Epstein has already said a formal interview wouldn’t be necessary.
The four have already had their first interviews with the team, and a decision is likely to come at some point during the week. However, indications around the league and blogosphere, as well as the post-interview interviews that each candidate had to undergo, have left Mike Maddux looking like the favorite to take the job.
Let’s assume that Sveum will get the job of replacing Francona in Boston, as the Red Sox have already had him in for a second interview. We can also likely assume that Francona won’t be taking over as the Cubs’ skipper, as Theo has been pretty adamant about the fact that he doesn’t want to overload the organization with Boston personnel.
That just leaves the three candidates: Mackanin, Alomar Jr, and Maddux.
Mike Maddux, older brother of Cubs great Greg Maddux, seems like the most logical candidate, simply due to his philosophy. Speaking in his meeting with the media after his interview with the Cubs, Maddux even sounded like a guy that had a job in Chicago if he wanted it.
Maddux brings the type of philosophy that Theo and Jed Hoyer are looking for in a manager, with a pitching mentality and the statistical approach. As a pitching coach, Maddux turned the staffs in Milwaukee and Texas into top tier units, as both morphed into perennial playoff contenders.
The biggest question surrounding Maddux is whether or not he’d actually take the job, if offered. Through his interview, Maddux cited family reasons that could keep him in Texas. It is curious, though, that Maddux had taken himself out of the running for Boston’s managerial vacancy before interviewing with the Cubs.
Either way, we should know more about how Theo and co. intend to fill their void at skipper before the week is out. Given how well his interview was rumored to have gone, and the mentality he brings, Maddux could be the man for the job, assuming he wants it. Then the question becomes whether or not Greg could join him on the staff.
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