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Joe Maddon Insists Expressing Anger Is No Way To Motivate Cubs

(CBS) Cubs manager Joe Maddon doesn't like his team's 41-42 record entering play Wednesday. He doesn't like the inconsistencies of his starting rotation. And he certainly doesn't like his offense's .238 batting average that's the second-worst mark in all of baseball.

With all that said, Maddon can still promise you this: He won't be using anger as a motivational tactic.

"I've never really advocated that method," Maddon said in an interview with the Spiegel and Parkins Show on 670 The Score on Wednesday. "I know how I liked to be coached growing up. Like I said, if there's something to be relayed where you're disappointed in somebody -- and that would come from effort, more than anything, that doesn't come from lack of performance -- and that's where you have to be careful. When you want to be critical of players, don't criticize their effort. If you want to be critical of players or professionals, you might want to criticize their performance, but that doesn't require anger. That probably requires more work or a breaking down of a situation. Anger has no real place in regard to motivation.

"I've always been much better suited to motivation through communication as opposed to intimidation. That's a really (temporary) method. For the group out there that really likes anger as a method of motivation, I promise you it's very (temporary) in a 162-game season."

Joe Maddon with Spiegel & Parkins

The only scenario in which Maddon could ever envision expressing rage about his team or players would be if they're not putting in the work. And that's certainly not the Cubs' problem, he said.

"I've only gotten to that point professionally when I thought a team didn't care or was not putting forth the effort," Maddon said. "That's when you get angry, because that's probably the only way you would shake them up. But there's not one guy on this team that I can tell you that doesn't work properly, that doesn't go out there with the right intent out there on a daily basis.

"I promise you it's a bad method (to get angry). It's a bad method. It doesn't have any lasting impact."

Maddon also pointed out that getting angry at umpires himself to spark his team is an unlikely answer as well.

"This is my method, man," Maddon said. "It's been pretty successful for a long period of time. I know the best coaches I've ever had are the ones that communicate with me."

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