Chicago Cubs: Five areas David Ross will improve in 2020

Despite parting ways with one of the most successful managers in Chicago Cubs history, there’s plenty of reason to expect renewed success in 2020.

It’s ironic, really. After a bunch of somewhat diplomatic and passive-aggressive back and forths between Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon in the media over the past week, Epstein and fans have to be even more ironclad in their steadfastness that David Ross is just the man to be steering the ship for the Chicago Cubs in 2020.

It’s not that Joe Maddon was a bad manager or even that he had a bad rapport with the club. After all, the man brought more success to the Cubs in his first two years than anyone had previously done in over 100. Add a couple more playoff runs and 471 total wins, and it’s no secret that the future Hall of Fame manager will go down in Cubs lore as one of the best and most beloved managers of all time.

That being said, it was time. The back-and-forth and communication chasm of the past couple weeks through the media have solidified it. Maddon supposedly knew it it was over for him in Chicago, and it’s something that most fans have had to slowly (or more quickly in some cases) come to terms with over the past five months. I have to admit that as the season wore down, I wasn’t always happy that it seemed he would be parting ways with the Cubs.

However, with the Davis Ross hire (that now looks even better with the Astros scandal and not going with Joe Espada), I’ve slowly but surely come around to the idea that while some things will obviously change, there will also be a ton of continuity and familiar faces who have shared lots of success on the North Side. And, maybe, just maybe, the changes that do occur will renew vigor and engender winning a few more games. Let’s discuss.