Cubs evolving under Joe Maddon's ‘mad scientist' method

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Joe knows.

It probably won't catch on the same way "Bo Knows" became a catchphrase around Bo Jackson's career, but "Joe Knows" has become the perfect sort of tagline for the upstart Cubs finding their way into contention in 2015 under manager Joe Maddon's tutelage.

Because Joe knows how to get the most out of his players and how to create an environment for rookies and veterans to thrive.

Following a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, the Cubs own the fourth-best record in Major League Baseball, a position they would not be in without Maddon.

"It's just fun to go out there and play loose," Cubs second-year pitcher Kyle Hendricks said. "These are big games, but we know there's still a lot of baseball left.

"Joe knows. He puts that kind of relaxed mentality and just go out there and have fun and guys are really running with it."

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Anthony Rizzo is having an MVP-type season under Maddon, in part because of the easy-going nature in the clubhouse.

"Just a sense of calmness at all times," Rizzo said. "He doesn't really ever show - to us - that he's ever worried about anything.

"It pays off big time. Especially being a young team. You make a mistake, you know he's mad, but he doesn't show it."

Maddon is a baseball lifer. He knows how difficult this game is and he understands the fickle nature of hot streaks.

"[It's] Joe's aura," outfielder-turned infielder Chris Coghlan said, "and what he allows his clubhouse to be. His best asset is coming in and giving the freedom and letting everybody know: Hey, you're going to make mistakes. It's impossible to be perfect. All I ask from you is to be present.

"You mess up, it's not like the end of the world, like I'm going to get benched or I'm going to get scolded for it.

"You do work and you prepare and trust that it's going to play in the game."

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Part of how Maddon keeps things loose is going way off the map, like inviting a magician into the clubhouse to get his team to forget about a tough stretch on the field.

He's been doing stuff like that for years. With the Rays in Tampa Bay, Maddon brought a snake into the clubhouse one time. And he's a huge fan of themed road trips, like the times he had the Rays all wear robes or old-school train attire (top hats and all) on the plane, as former Tampa Bay pitcher Wade Davis (now with the Kansas City Royals) recounts.

"When I was there, he was just starting the beginning of his mad scientist ways, or whatever you want to call it," Davis said. "He'd call you into the office, just to sit down, have a glass of wine, get a cigar."

Why does it work?

Davis thinks it's keeping things fresh and mixing it up before they get stale, which is easy in a 162-game season.

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Rays pitcher Chris Archer agreed.

"For a younger club, it's so different," Archer said. "It's a breath of fresh air and I think that's why you're gonna see the young Cubs reach their potential quicker than usual. We're witnessing it now.

"It's so refreshing to walk into the clubhouse and feel comfortable, not feeling like you have to walk on eggshells around the manager and I think that's the biggest thing."

Jon Lester, winner of two World Series with the Boston Red Sox, is as serious and professional as they come, but even he has bought in to Maddon's style, gimmicks and all.

"Let Joe do his thing," Lester said. "It's worked in the past, and we'll just show up and play."

With less than two months of the season remaining and a lineup featuring four rookies, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein is happy to have Maddon making the calls and leading the charge.

Maddon made his first truly bold move on the field in Chicago over the weekend, benching Starlin Castro and moving Coghlan to the infield to make room for Kyle Schwarber's bat in the lineup every day.

[MORE: Anthony Rizzo believes Starlin Castro will be fine]

"It's a huge asset to have someone like Joe because he's not restricted by convention or by fear of how somebody might react to something," Epstein said. "He's not afraid of how the the media might react. He's not afraid of how we would react [in the front office]. He's not afraid of how the players would react.

"He can get out in front and handle things with the players in a great way. It just frees him up to see the game, to feel the game and to make the right moves preemptively if it's appropriate. That's always great.

"When you run into situations where you're not making the right move for other reasons, it doesn't feel good in the middle of the pennant race. So he's always going to do the things that - in his mind - put us in the best position to win. That's a good feeling."

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