Maddux Out on Red Sox, Still In on Cubs

With all the talk of C.J. Wilson and Yu Darvish and all of the other free agency talk revolving around the Texas Rangers, there's an important part of the team that might be exiting stage left.

Mike Maddux, the Rangers pitching coach of three seasons, has met and exceeded expectations after coming from the Milwaukee Brewers, where he was wildly successful.

Maddux has helped the Rangers develop into a team in which pitching is actually a strength, something not seen around these parts since the 1970s, when pitching ruled the league. He's seen the Rangers' staff ERA drop in each of the past three seasons to 3.78 this year.

And now he's a hot managerial candidate.

On Monday, Maddux withdrew his name from consideration for the Boston Red Sox job vacated by two-time world champion Terry Francona, who was let go following this season after the Red Sox's historic collapse which later was chalked up to fried chicken and beer. He was set to interview in Boston today, but released a statement saying it was too far from his wife and two college daughters here in the Metroplex.

But Chicago might be a different story, and Maddux is still set to interview for the Chicago Cubs job that is open after former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein took over as the Cubs GM recently.

Maddux would be a rare commodity should he go on to have a successful managerial career. Former pitchers of significance just don't make good MLB managers, those are reserved for former catchers and middle infielders.

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Rangers fans should be happy for Maddux, and his awesome mustache, if he does move on, but they should be happier if he decides he likes where he is and likes what he's doing in grooming a young pitching staff in a place where pitchers went to die until recently.

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