re: Joe Maddon opts out of contract as Rays manager

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Cardinals, winners deserve winners.

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who's to say RR doesn't stay with the Cubs? I know that's far fetched, but it's not out of the question, and the Cubs have the money

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But then you're telling Maddon, you've got to keep chris bosio (because c'mon, that's a must) and make RR your bench coach.

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Just talked to Joe Maddon.

He told me that after Andrew Friedman resigned, he had a two-week window to decide whether to exercise opt-out. He was unaware of specifics until Rays' Matt Silverman informed him.

I asked him specifically about Cubs. He said, "I don't know. I have to talk to people. I have interest everywhere right now. I've got to hear what everyone has to say."

Asked him if he would sit out a year. He said, "I'd love to manage. If the right opportunity does not present itself, I would want to work. But I would hope it would be a managing position. If not, there are other things I can do that would make me an even better manager when I get the opportunity again."

Asked if it was uncomfortable for him to have his agent, Alan Nero, contacting teams with managers already under contract. He said, "For me, it's not my responsibility to think for other organizations. I'm controlling what I can. I had this two-week window of opportunity. It's about myself, my family, my charities. At the end of the day, I would never ask or tell an organization what to do. That's not my business."

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