The Cubs Are Actually Insane to Think a Managerial Change is Going to Put Them on Right Path

The 2019 season failed to go the way the Chicago Cubs had planned...in a big way.

As with any failure in sports, there has to be a fall guy. That man was manager Joe Maddon, who the team announced would not return in 2020. But if the Cubs actually think Maddon was the reason for the team's collapse, they're in for a rude awakening.

Prior to Maddon's hiring in 2015, the Cubs were a floundering franchise, Major League Baseball's version of the Cleveland Browns. The loveable losers never had a snowball's chance in hell of making a World Series run.

That all changed once Maddon entered the fray. During his five-year tenure in the Windy City, the Cubs made the postseason four times. Perhaps more importantly, Maddon led the Cubbies to a National League Pennant and World Series title in 2016, breaking the 108-year curse.

That included four straight 92-plus win seasons before this year's 84-win campaign. When was the last time that happened? THE EARLY 1900s!!!!

There's no changing the "direction" of this team. The roster is more than set in stone, with a majority of the current cast coming back next year, with the notable exception being Nicholas Castellanos, who is a free agent and was their best player far and away after he was acquired at the trade deadline.

The other free agents largely don't matter. Cole Hamels' end to the season pretty much solidified the team wasn't going to bring him back. Brandon Kintzler, Ben Zobrist, Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek aren't needed either.

And how can Maddon be blamed for the pitching woes? Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Hamels should have been more than enough, but they massively underachieved.

And don't get us started on the bullpen. The unit, despite its solid ERA, was far from reliable and blew among the most saves in the league. No manager could've successfully got this 'pen on track for an entire year.

After being eliminated from playoff contention, the Cubs decided Maddon was the reason for it. Now, with Maddon being the hottest managerial free agent on the market, the Cubs will learn the hard way that no one can replicate the success that he brought to a franchise largely viewed as a laughingstock.