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Dark days for baseball in Tampa


laughedatbytime
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First Friedman, now Maddon. The main reason the Rays were able to escape the cellar in the AL East was the brainpower of these guys, and now they're gone. It will be a while before baseball in Tampa is competitive again. In fact, they may need to leave Tampa in order to do so.

 

This kind of sucks...the Rays were the kind of team I could root for.

 

Even if the Cubs do get him (and I think Renteria did a good job last year, but Maddon is the best manager in the game, with the possible exception of Bochy), it's still a sad day for baseball as a whole.

 

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon has exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and is leaving the team immediately.

 

Many will assume Joe Maddon's next stop will be Los Angeles with the Dodgers, but don't be surprised if the Cubs take a run at him, writes ESPN Insider's Jim Bowden.

 

"We tried diligently and aggressively to sign Joe to a third contract extension prior to his decision," Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement Friday. "As of yesterday afternoon, Joe enabled himself to explore opportunities throughout Major League Baseball. He will not be managing the Rays in 2015."

 

In comments that were tweeted by the Tampa Bay Times, Maddon said his decision to leave the club was a combination of financial issues and curiosity over what opportunities will present themselves. Maddon said there was discussion with the Rays on a new contract but "we were still too far apart."

 

"When am I going to get this opportunity to find out exactly what people think under these circumstances?" Maddon said, according to the Times. He said the difficulty of leaving the team was "gut wrenching, almost feeling sick."

 

Joe Maddon brought much success to a Rays organization that didn't have a lot to cheer about prior to his arrival in 2005. The Rays made postseason appearances four times under Maddon, compared to zero appearances under the team's previous eight managers.

 

Maddon's departure comes 10 days after Andrew Friedman, the Rays' executive vice president, joined the Dodgers as their president of baseball operations. Speculation began almost immediately about where Maddon will manage next. A Dodgers source told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne on Friday that Maddon's departure from the Rays has "nothing to do with us."

 

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly signed a three-year contract extension through 2016 in January. At his introductory news conference, Friedman said Mattingly "definitely" will manage the team in 2015.

 

"I'm going into it with the mindset that we're going to work together for a long time," Friedman said. "I've had one manager in the 10 years I've been doing this, and I look forward to working with Donnie for a long time."

 

Tampa Bay was 77-85 this season -- the first year since 2009 that the Rays did not win 90 games. Among active managers, though, Maddon ranks with the best when it comes to 90-win seasons. He has five, two fewer than Terry Francona and Mike Scioscia.

 

Maddon is 781-729 in 11 seasons as a major league manager. He was 754-705 in nine years with Tampa Bay and managed parts of two other seasons with the then-California Angels. He is a two-time American League manager of the year, including in 2008, when the Rays won the AL pennant.

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I thought that maybe Dan Snyder bought them... judging by the tread title.

Stu Sternberg is actually a really good owner. So they have that going for them. And I'm sure Friedman and Maddon made good hires. But this is definitely a major step back for a franchise that has to be considerably smarter than their rivals.

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Yep, this is not great. A week ago maddon said he wanted to manage here 10 more years. Things changed quickly. There's a lot of questions left though. Not sure if they have information that a new stadium is not likely or if the money wasn't right.
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I wish he would have left two weeks ago so my Rangers could have signed him. From the outside looking in; he seemed like a manager that always got the most out of his club. To me, he was the glue in Tampa. This organization will feel the sting of this for a long long time.
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I wish he would have left two weeks ago so my Rangers could have signed him. From the outside looking in; he seemed like a manager that always got the most out of his club. To me, he was the glue in Tampa. This organization will feel the sting of this for a long long time.

As the Jays are in the same division as the Rays, I saw Joe's managing style every time the 2 teams met. He is one of those good managers, whoever gets him will benefit.

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I wish he would have left two weeks ago so my Rangers could have signed him. From the outside looking in; he seemed like a manager that always got the most out of his club. To me, he was the glue in Tampa. This organization will feel the sting of this for a long long time.

As the Jays are in the same division as the Rays, I saw Joe's managing style every time the 2 teams met. He is one of those good managers, whoever gets him will benefit.

I agree. I think he'd be perfect for the Cubs, and that job should intrigue him. I think he'd be great as a manager with young players...it would be analogous to the situation he came into with the Rays...a lot of really good young kids all coming up at the same time. But with the Cubbies, there would be the added bonus of freedom from the financial straits the Rays were bound by.

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Absolutely agree the Cubs should go after him. That would sting for Renteria, of course (especially since Renteria waited so long to get a managing gig). But to your point... Maddon is one of the best out there and he is now available. Plus, he's got the glasses thing going. Maybe he can go full Harry Caray in the dugout!
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