Major League Baseball

What's that sound? It's Maddon & the Cubs rattling the NL Central

Published Nov. 3, 2014 5:48 p.m. ET

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ST. LOUIS -— When the Tampa Bay Rays visited Busch Stadium last season, KMOX did a nice promo with Joe Maddon. Having grown up in Pennsylvania, he became a Cardinals fan because when the wind was blowing just right, he could listen to Harry Caray and Jack Buck.

Because Maddon does happy talk as well as anyone, the promo was so sweet you could almost see syrup dripping from the radio.

Well, you can forget all that sweetness now. Maddon officially became a rival of the Cardinals on Monday afternoon when he was introduced as the manager of the Chicago Cubs, a five-year contract reported to be worth $25 million in tow.   

The Cardinals and the rest of the NL Central soon enough will see a different side of the affable, smooth-talking 60-year-old. Yes, he is as personable as any manager in the game. But he also is as fierce a competitor as anyone in the game.

Ask the Red Sox and Yankees. Maddon did not mind mixing it up with the opposition, especially division rivals. More than once, the Rays tangled with the AL East heavyweights after a pitcher on one team plunked someone on the other team and there was retaliation and before you knew it, benches had cleared and words exchanged. Maddon later explained that the upstart Rays needed to go toe to toe with the big boys to prove to themselves they really belonged. Heck, there even were skirmishes in spring training.

The Cardinals won't see Maddon in spring training because the Cubs train in Arizona, but they won't have to wait long to see the new-look Cubs and Wrigley Field. Maddon will make his debut as Cubs manager against the Cardinals on Opening Day, April 6.

As you would expect, Maddon came across with charm and confidence during a news conference held at the Cubby Bear bar across from Wrigley Field. He called National League baseball "very cool" and implied that coming to a different league influenced his decision. He also announced at the conclusion that he would be buying a round of drinks for all in attendance -- "a shot and a beer, the Hazelton (Pa.) way," he said via conference call.

Maddon has all the managerial tools to be the one to guide the Cubs to that elusive World Series title, and his impact should be felt in a hurry. This is a sharp dude with a lot of winning under his belt who doesn't act as old as his birth certificate. "Sixty is the new 40," he said.

He came across so polished that you could understand why the Cubs showed Rick Renteria the door after Maddon opted out of his contract with the Rays.

"It's hard to find old school and new school in the same package," Cubs president Theo Epstein said. "This is an old-school baseball guy with a wealth of knowledge."

Maddon said you absolutely will hear him talking about winning the division and going to the World Series in 2015. "Otherwise, why even report?" he said.

But for all that Maddon brings, he knows as well as anyone that he will have only so much influence over the W-L record. As he said, "Players are paramount."

LET’S GO CARDINALS: Check out these photos of fans and the excitement around Cardinals baseball.

And for all their prized position-player prospects — they have more than anyone — expecting the Cubs to go from 73 wins to thereabouts of 90 is asking a bit much in one year.

The Cubs are said to be flush with funds to spend on the free-agent market after their payroll dropped under $100 million for the first time since 2007. Lefty starter Jon Lester makes a lot of sense because of his past with Epstein in Boston, as does Royals right-hander James Shields because of his Rays days with Maddon.

Still, Epstein said the club doesn't plan to speed up its plan to contend just because they hired Maddon. Growth will continue to be "organic," the new-wave president said.

"Having Joe here doesn't change our plans this winter," Epstein said. "We're out to add talent. We're growing as an organization. We're not going to speed it up or slow it down because Joe's here."

The Cubs finished last in 2014 but gave the Cardinals more problems than any team in the division. St. Louis finished 10-9 against the Cubs, compared with 12-7 against the Reds and Brewers and 11-8 against the Pirates.

A couple of the Cubs' top prospects, right fielder Jorge Soler and second baseman Javier Baez, gave Busch Stadium a glimpse of their potential in a four-game series in late August that the teams split. Soler hit what might have been the most impressive homer at Busch all season when he blasted a Pat Neshek fastball well over the left-field bullpen.

Maddon hasn't seen much of the Cubs, but you can be sure he's heard all about their young talent. The big contract might have been reason No. 1 he left Tampa Bay (he reportedly told the Rays he wanted exactly what he agreed upon with the Cubs), but he has no intentions of taking over a lousy team.

"I know we're going to be very successful with this group of players," he said. "We're going to set our mark high and I'm going to talk playoffs and World Series this year, and I'm going to believe it."

Now that's a sound bite made for a radio promo — just not one that he can expect to hear on KMOX.

You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @StanMcNeal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.

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