Cubs coaching roulet part of a MLB trend

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Judging by the turnover in the Cubs coaching staff, I'd say the Cubs front office was a tad unhappy about the outcome of the 2017 season. After pitching coach, Chris Bosio, was shown the gate, hitting coach John Mallee and third base coach, Gary Jones, joined the parade out of Chicago. Their replacements are guys from Joe Maddon and Theo Epstein's past.

Something for Joe and Theo

To the surprise of no one, Jim Hickey will be the Cubs new pitching coach. Hickey had a long, successful run as the Tampa Rays pitching coach. Nine of his eleven seasons with the Rays were spent with Joe Maddon. Replacements for Mallee and Jones come from the Red Sox organization. Chilli Davis will be the Cubs new hitting coach, and Brian Butterfield will be the new third base coach.

The Theo must be angry

At a press conference after the Cubs were eliminated from the playoffs, Theo Epstein indicated Joe Maddon would have the coaching staff of his choice. That may well be what Maddon has, especially with JimHickey, but Chilli Davis and Brian Butterfield seem to have Epstein's finger prints on them. I really don't think Theo is happy with the regression of some players. Javy Baez's lack of plate discipline comes to mind.

How secure is Joe Maddon?

If the Cubs have another season like 2017, I'm not sure how secure Joe Maddon's job would be. Prior to the 2017 season, Maddon has led scrappy, undermanned teams beyond expectations. The 2017 Cubs were front runners who were suffering from a championship hangover for half the season. Maddon should share some responsibility for that. Maddon didn't seem to adapt to the situation at hand. His constant tinkering with the lineup seems to have slowed the development of some younger players. Managerial jobs aren't always has secure as they may seem.

Joe Girardi, a case study

Joe Giardi is a case in point. After a 10 year run at the Yankees helm, Girardi finds himself out to pasture. I'm not a Yankee fan, but Girardi seemed to do an excellent job. The Yankees seemed to be over-performing bases on their talent. Giarardi took a lot of heat for the job he did in game two of the Yankees series against the Indians, but the fact the Yankees came back to win that series would seem to mitigate that.

And then there's Dusty

So, where could Girardi wind up? He would seem to be a good fit for the Washington Nationals, who have an opening. Dusty Baker was let go by the Nationals for being Dusty Baker. Ironically, that's the same reason Dusty Baker was hired in the first place. Dusty has always had the reputation of being players manager whose strength wasn't handling a pitching staff or in game strategy. At 68 years old, I'm not sure Dusty gets another managerial gig. 

It seems like if you're a big league manager and your team doesn't win the world series, your job is on the line. That's a pretty high bar.