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Rick Renteria: 'No Hard Feelings' Toward Cubs

(CBS) Publicly addressing his firing as Cubs manager in October 2014 for the first time, Rick Renteria made clear he has "no hard feelings" toward anyone in the organization for how his departure was handled.

After saying they intended to bring back Renteria for the 2015 season, the Cubs fired him to open up room to hire Joe Maddon, who'd exercised an opt-clause in his contract with the Rays after executive Andrew Friedman left to run the Dodgers' baseball operations department.

Renteria expressed an understanding of the cold, hard business it can be.

"Everybody knows the business has different things that arise," Renteria said Wednesday on a conference call to address his hiring as the White Sox's new bench coach. "I'm totally, completely happy with the opportunity that the Ricketts family and Jed (Hoyer) and Theo (Epstein) and everybody gave me to get on the field as a manager with the Chicago Cubs. It was a great experience. Obviously, anybody's who's been in that arena knows that change sometimes occurs, even as abruptly as it might have seemed. Things happen, and there are a lot of kids that are over on that club this year and a lot of people that I worked alongside over there that deserve to have as much success as they possibly can.

"No, there are no hard feelings. When you step away from it a little bit and reflect, it's just business, it's just baseball. It doesn't take away from anything that I believe I brought to the table at the time. I'm looking forward now to moving on. That's done."

The Cubs went 73-89 under Renteria in 2014 with a roster that lacked talent and depth. Renteria did what his bosses asked of him, notably helping to develop youngsters Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro.

Renteria sat out the 2015 MLB season but did keep a watch on the Cubs from afar. The Cubs won 97 games and advanced to the NLCS under the direction of Maddon, who pushed the right buttons time and again and is an NL Manager of the Year finalist.

He admitted to having some sentimental feelings about not being able to coach them in 2015.

"It would be foolish for anybody that's doing something and giving themselves to a task to not feel like you get the wind blown out of you a little bit," Renteria said. "But again, you take a step back and you regroup. I'm sure quite frankly that there was no intent on anybody's side to create a difficult situation. It just was what it was. Quite frankly, that's something in the past. There's no hard feelings. There's nothing like that. There never was. When something like that occurs, you just want to take a step back and give it some space and some time.

"It was a great year for the Chicago Cubs. I was very, very happy to see all those kids have success."

Would the Cubs have played as well under Renteria as Maddon?

"That's a question of speculating on one's talents," Renteria said. "That's an unknown ... The reality is I wasn't there. Joe Maddon was there. I'm very happy for all of them."

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer flew to California last offseason to tell Renteria of his firing in person. In addition, Maddon "reached out" via a phone call to Renteria after the latter was fired. Renteria didn't call back but did text Maddon a response.

"There was really no need for us to speak," Renteria said of why he didn't phone back. "He was going through a lot with the transition."

Renteria expressed his enthusiasm for his new job with the White Sox, and it was certainly a mutual feeling.

"His reputation and everything else has always been top-notch," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said.

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