Chicago Cubs: Five areas David Ross will improve in 2020

Chicago Cubs: Ross will bring tough love to the Cubs in the best possible ways

Maddon is one of the great managers in the game because he’s totally different and unpredictable every single day. He’s unconventional, unorthodox, and marches to the beat of his own drum. He doesn’t care if you like him (okay, maybe he does at times), or if you think he’s crazy.

With Maddon as manager in Chicago, players might have been part of a petting zoo in the outfield, pajama party road trip, or wine discussions in the manager’s office. As great as all of those things were and as much as the entire “lovable loser” Cubs organization needed it, the culture change that Maddon brought wore off. Even gold has a way of losing it’s luster…

Maddon’s organic and laidback approach was discussed last year by David Ross while on-air for ESPN, and the conversation has a certain irony to it now that Ross has been the one charged with changing the culture of the clubhouse at Wrigley. While extolling his former manager’s virtues, it was also apparent that Ross provides a stark contrast or foil to his former boss.

Already, many of the Cubs have discussed what it will be like with their former friend and teammate at the helm, and it’s been all positive stuff. In fact, the soundbites coming out of camp sound a lot like, for the past couple years, the Cub kids were being looked after by their fun, existential, and a little bit eccentric uncle who lets them put their feet on the coffee table and crack open a few brewskis.

Now, however, it’s time for mom and dad to come home and set the fair and productive household rules back to normal. Not to say that the chickens have come home to roost or anything like that, but Ross will definitely bring his own culture and voice to a clubhouse that had gotten used to (and probably enjoyed) a very relaxed style the past few years.

If Javier Baez and the other Cubs are to be believed in terms of their lax preparation in the past, perhaps this will ultimately mean more wins just because the Cubs are more attentive to details and better prepared as soon as the first pitch is thrown every game.