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Schuster: Cubs Should Hire Mike Maddux

By David Schuster-

CHICAGO (CBS) It's not my hire to make but I'm ready to give the Cub's managerial job to Mike Maddux.

Maddux came off incredibly impressive in his press conference with the media on Wednesday and I'm told he was just as impressive when interviewing with the Cubs' brass.

If the name Maddux is familiar to Cub fans it should be as he is the brother of Greg who pitched here for so many years. Greg currently is still on the payroll as a special advisor and could be enticed to stick around if his brother becomes the team's manager.

I asked Mike if he spoke to Greg to pick his brain about the organization and he said, "Of Course." However he wouldn't go into any detail about whether he could see the two brothers working together in the organization calling that a "family matter".

One thing is for sure, the Maddux brothers both have a great sense of humor and Mike's was on full display Wednesday.

When asked what kind of impression he had of Theo Epstein he said: "I don't do impressions."

When asked how he would handle Carlos Zambrano he stated: "I heard he's a big teddy bear. Might have to pick him up and burp him".

And though he said he absolutely loves almost everything about Wrigley Field he said the one thing he never could stand was the song, "Go Cubs Go." Of course he could grow to love it if he gets the job.

Maddux has had an incredible and quick track record of improving pitching staffs. He did it first in Milwaukee and most recently has done it in Texas. Yet he was incredibly humble in talking about his own effect. He claimed that all teams have great pitchers but implied that it's the mental makeup of those pitchers that ultimately gets the job done. It's pretty obvious that Maddux has a great way of communicating with his players and that is a big key for any manager.

Pete Mackanin and Dale Sveum have already gone through the interview process and Sandy Alomar Jr. is next up on Friday but for my money I'd like to see Maddux get the job. Not the least of which is that he'll keep us in the media entertained.

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