Today’s column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) Winning a franchise’s first World Series title in more than a century is some tough business.
And so is being a Major League Baseball manager.
Rick Renteria learned a harsh lesson on both counts this afternoon when the Chicago Cubs finally confirmed the worst-kept secret in baseball by officially firing their manager after just one 73-89 season, during which he led the team to seven more wins than a year prior and did nothing wrong except not be Joe Maddon.
As team Cubs president Theo Epstein explained in a difficult-but-classy statement released by the franchise: “Rick deserved to come back for another season as Cubs manager, and we said as much when we announced that he would be returning in 2015.
We met with Rick two weeks ago for a long end-of-season evaluation and discussed plans for next season. We praised Rick to the media and to our season-ticket holders. Those actions were made in good faith.
“Last Thursday, we learned that Joe Maddon – who may be as well suited as anyone in the industry to manage the challenges that lie ahead of us – had become a free agent.”
And the moment that the superstar skipper of the Tampa Bay Rays entered the job market, it spelled the end of Renteria’s ever-so-brief tenure on the dugout bench at Wrigley Field.
Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …