Sully dropping the hammer.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/co ... olumn.htmlThere was no reason for anyone to believe Chris Bosio would be let go as Cubs pitching coach.
Joe Maddon gave all his coaches a vote of confidence this week when asked if he expected all of them to return.
"Of course, yes," Maddon replied. "The staff's done a great job. Our staff's been awesome. And they're tight. It's a tightly knit group. There's a lot of synergy involved. Nobody knows everything. Everybody helps everybody. There's a lot of cross pollination. Nobody's on their own little island. I like that.
"The thing I like is that I don't think any of them ever withholds saying something from me that they have on their mind, which I really appreciate."
But something changed in the last few days, and now Bosio is gone and we still don’t know why.
The Cubs have yet to officially announce the move, so president Theo Epstein hasn’t even acknowledged it as of Sunday morning.
Maddon obviously pulled the trigger, but no explanation was given.
Bosio did not return a message left Saturday.
Was there a rift between the two that couldn’t be fixed?
Did Maddon just want someone he was more comfortable working with in the most important coaching position on the team?
Were the meetings between Epstein, Maddon, Bosio and others over the postseason pitching rotation a factor?
There are many questions that need to be answered, and a deafening silence from Wrigley Field.
The fact the Cubs’ pitchers loved Bosio doesn’t mean he should have a job for life, and Maddon deserves to have whoever he wants as pitching coach.
Changes of coaches happen all the time, and it doesn’t mean the Cubs won’t be able to survive with a new one in 2018.
But after all Bosio has done for the organization, an explanation for the firing is necessary, and the sooner the better.
If Bosio was the reason the Cubs’ bullpen couldn’t throw strikes, or the starters gave up too many first-inning home runs or John Lackey was a ninth inning option in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, let’s hear it.
“Accountability” is a word used often thrown around by the Cubs. They want their players to be accountable, as any team should.
Now it’s time for Epstein and Maddon to be accountable and let Cubs fans know what happened and why the move was actually made, especially coming so soon after Maddon’s assertion it was a “tightly knit group.”
Obviously it was not as tightly knit as we thought.
If Maddon didn’t want Bosio back, why not?