Levine: Cubs' Joe Maddon Not Bothered By Critics

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- To some extent, the bloom has fallen off of the rose for Cubs manager Joe Maddon.

While leading the Cubs to a combined 200 wins and a championship in his first two seasons in Chicago, Maddon has also been reminded that taking criticism is part of his job.

After the Cubs' title, Maddon spent a portion of his offseason explaining his strategy of using closer Aroldis Chapman in the World Series. On multiple occasions, Maddon would respond to those questioning his moves by asking if they remembered the Cubs won the championship.

Now a quarter of the way into a new season in which the Cubs are playing uneven baseball and sitting at 21-20, his decisions again are fair game, though the Cubs are expressing no real concern with 121 games left to play.

Maddon has been challenged lately on his use of personnel, including utilizing Kyle Schwarber at lead-off amid his continued struggles. Schwarber has now been dropped to second in the order.

Maddon has also been criticized by some for not being publicly forthcoming in his evaluation of players' shortcoming, instead being the eternal optimist who protects them.

"That is inevitable," Maddon said about the questioning of his management style. "I hate to say it, but that really doesn't matter to me. I don't read those things. Second of all, part of the job of writing that kind of thing depends on your source. It depends on what that group wants from you as a writer. A lot of time it's about what they think readers want to read. It's entertainment. We are a part of the entertainment industry. When things are good, they write nice things. When things are not going so good, maybe not so nice. It just does not matter. It is a part of what goes on in the industry, and that is how the whole thing works."

Maddon admitted his team has yet to play consistent championship-caliber baseball this season, but his faith in the product and his own management style is unwavering.

"I feel very comfortable about what we do and how we do it," Maddon said. "I am happy about that."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.