Grading Joe Maddon’s Sayings For 2017

If it ain't broke don't fix it. 

Joe Maddon has only been in town for 2 years and he is already my favorite Chicago coach of all time. It turns out Mike Ditka was/is kind of a jerk/idiot. What Phil Jackson is doing in New York kind of takes the shine off his time here. Ozzie Guillen was excellent and brought a title to Chicago but I'm not a Sox fan. Joel Quenneville has more titles but looks like he's never smiled in his life.

That leaves Joe at the top. He's funny, treats everyone with respect, and most importantly, he guided the Cubs to a World Series. When Joe got to town he started reeling off these sayings that would be the team's motto throughout the year. They were great. My favorites from the past season have been "Don't Let The Pressure Exceed The Pleasure" and "Try Not To Suck." I especially loved the "Try Not To Suck" one because it got Cardinal brass in a tizzy and wouldn't let Cub fans in their park with that shirt on. Be lamer St. Louis. You can't.

Joe unveiled 3 new slogans for this year. Let's break them down.

DON'T FORGET THE HEARTBEAT

This one is excellent. If you don't know the story behind this one here's the Cliff Notes. Game 7 of the World Series. Cubs are down and there's a rain delay. The players have a little meeting and apparently Jason Heyward gives an inspirational speech that would put Patton to shame. He ends it with saying "Don't forget the heartbeat." Goosebump City. Population: Everyone. This grade is easy. A+

AUTHENTICITY

I'll be honest with you. Don't really get this one. Is it to remind them of where they came from? Not to get too big of a head? It doesn't have an apparent meaning to me right away. I'm sure Joe has a great explanation for it but compared to his others this one is kind of weak. Not knowing the meaning behind it hurts this grade. C-

BE UNCOMFORTABLE

Love this one. If there's something that can kill a baseball team it's getting too comfortable. This one is going to ring true in the dog days of the summer. In July when everyone is just going through the motions. It's also kind of the way Joe manages. Constantly moving guys around the outfield (having a pitcher play left field is the epitome of this), having a different batting order every game. It's his way of keeping everyone on their toes. I may actually buy this shirt. Final grade. A

All in all a pretty good report card for Joe right there. It's fun being a fan of this team and the manager is a big reason why.

Unrelated. WROK will be airing all Cub games this year. We're kind of excited.