NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- So what's it going to be this year at spring training? "Embrace the Target" Part II? "Try not to suck" some more? Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is beginning to contemplate his 2017 message after the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years.
In fact, Maddon will use every saying that still applies, as once again his team will be the favorite. Maddon knows his message can't be exactly the same, though. Tweaks will be needed.
"So it's gotta be the same, but it's gotta be different in order to be the same, if that makes any sense whatsoever," Maddon said Tuesday from the winter meetings. "That's where my mind is."
Maddon said he needs to put pen to paper but wants the message to happen organically, mostly through talking to people in the organization, including his players.
"Just through conversations ... or something that I read really strikes a chord that permits me to say the right things to the guys," Maddon explained.
As for the atmosphere, even in Mesa, Arizona, where the Cubs train, Maddon is expecting over-the-top adulation from fans. He wants his players to enjoy it, but also to get back to work.
"It's going to be fun, raucous," Maddon said. "It's going to be a big party. I'm talking from the fans' perspective. After all, you wait 108 years for something, you're going to celebrate it pretty good. I'm actually looking forward to it."
Lead-off possibilities
Maddon will have his core players back except for maybe Dexter Fowler, who looks more and more like he's moving on. One order of business will be to find a leadoff hitter.
"[Kyle] Schwarber is not a bad name, Kyle is not a bad name at all," Maddon said. "[Ben] Zobrist isn't a bad name. There are different guys to consider right there."
Maddon reminded reporters he considered leading off Schwarber in 2015 when he came up from the minors even though Fowler was the incumbent. He admitted there weren't any other good options after those two players. He reeled off several other young hitters, such as Javier Baez and Albert Almora Jr., while discounting them in that role.
"I don't know if we can do anything in this offseason that might cause me to think differently, but there are not a lot of other candidates," Maddon said.
Closer question
Maddon was quick to point out that in lieu of a newcomer he has no problem starting the season with Hector Rondon as his closer.
"The thing with Rondon, he hurt his arm and that was really critical towards the end of the season," Maddon said. "I don't think he really recaptured his form after he hurt the triceps in that moment. Ronnie is right there, he would be the natural guy to look for to do that particular job ... [Pedro] Strop, when you start winning some games in a row, and you want to give a guy a rest, Strop is definitely capable doing something like that, too. Definitely Rondon is in the mix."
Maddon has plenty of time to focus on the details, as the Cubs' roster isn't quite complete. The front office continues to search for pitching in the two months before spring training starts. In any case, Maddon's message might be as important as his bullpen decisions. The spring has set the tone for success the past two years.
"The big thing from my perspective is the message I bring to the group the first day -- that's my only concern, what are we going to rally around," Maddon said. "Obviously, you do this [win it all], you relieve a burden. However, you want to do it again, and you want to do it again the next year.
"So how do you motivate and get guys to think in a manner that permits you [to] do what you had done last year, which was pretty special, again? That's where I'm going to be this winter, that's where I'm going to spend a lot of my thought process on because that's going to be very important."