Chicago Cubs: Manny Machado is not the Cubs' cup of tea

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In the last week alone, superstar Manny Machado has come under fire for his actions and comments. This should serve as a warning to the Chicago Cubs.

Manny Machado has drawn near-limitless criticism recently for his questionable comments and play during the National League Championship Series. No one doubts his ability, talent or potential in any way.

However, attitude and chemistry are most definitely factors in whether or not to sign someone to the kind of mega deal he will likely command this offseason as a free agent. Whether it’s fair or unfair, adding Machado to the Chicago Cubs clubhouse is no longer a viable option going forward.

Joe Maddon has one rule when you step on the field. Respect 90. We all know this. We all like this. As a fanbase, we acknowledge this is a pretty good mentality when playing baseball. It satisfies both purists and new-age baseball fans. You’re getting paid millions of dollars – just run to first base. Nothing starts to separate a clubhouse like a guy giving a half-hearted effort on the field while other guys are busting their buns.

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Why does any of that matter? Well, it’s germane because the great young megastar debate of 2018 is upon us. Bryce Harper or Manny Machado? Both have had instances of questionable hustle. (Although, with Jonathan Papelbon serving as judge and jury in Washington, maybe Harper’s moment was a bit overblown) Regardless, only one has come out and said he’s not going to be “Johnny Hustle.” That’s Manny Machado.

When asked about not running out a ball in the NLCS, Machado responded with the poignant statement that he’s “not going to be that Johnny Hustle kind of guy.” Alright, then.

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Well, Manny, you just lost yourself a boatload of money.

Will Machado still get paid? Of course, and handsomely. But, I’d venture to guess that he lost himself a couple suitors and drove down his own price, discounting his own ability and potential. He also drove a wedge in between himself and his future teammates.

More importantly for all of us, he drove a proverbial wedge in between himself and future fans, because nothing burns angry armchair quarterbacks more than guys not running to first base.

Nothing burns those “get off my porch” types and glory-day mongers more than someone actually coming out and admitting they don’t care about playing hard and they’re not about that life (and, it also usually annoys most of us who aren’t necessarily those types and just care about our team and its success).

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

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It would be great if some team president or executive-type, when asked about the possibility of signing Machado in the offseason, fired off a press release or called a news conference to say, “Manny isn’t our cup of tea,” to paraphrase Manny’s own comment about hustling.

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In addition to his comments on hustling and playing hard, he has also been involved in a couple of noteworthy plays in the NLCS that some have deemed “dirty.” In fact, almost everyone has called them dirty. Christian Yelich, the 2018 National League MVP (yes, I think we can say that right now), went on a tirade about how dirty it was.

Now, we’ve all been down this road before, namely when Chris Coghlan or Anthony Rizzo chose to slide in a manner not consistent with or in the gray area of current baseball rules. Whether you are old school or not isn’t really the issue at hand here. The issue is more that this has become a trend with Machado.

It’s also an issue because it isn’t just about one dirty slide anymore, as he clipped (or kicked, if you’d rather) Jesus Aguilar at first base while running out a routine ground ball to short in Game 4 of the NLCS. There was clearly no reason to do what he did, and Major League Baseball agreed as they fined him an undisclosed amount for doing so.

When asked about how hard Machado was playing against his team in regards to that moment and play, Brewers skipper Craig Counsell leveled one of the best lines of the postseason when he uttered, “I don’t think he’s playing all that hard.”

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That should be all we need to know about Machado. Great player, great potential. Not so great attitude and work ethic. Probably not so great in the Cubs clubhouse or from the optics of the Wrigley Faithful. Probably not the guy you wanna sign for 10 years and $300 million.

Also, probably not the negative press or optics we need coming off a season in which we lost our starting shortstop to domestic abuse allegations and suspension. We need to recapture the chemistry, clubhouse and magic that enabled us to break the curse in 2016, not start another dry spell.

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To use Manny’s own words, instead of taking their tea with Machado and sugar, perhaps the Cubs will decide they like their 2019 (and beyond) earl gray with cream and Harper. If we are going to sign one of these two megastars, it just might end up working out better in the clubhouse and for Joe Maddon‘s group in the long run if we take a wide berth around Manny Machado.

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Chicago Cubs: Manny Machado is not the Cubs’ cup of tea