Joe Maddon’s hiring to shake up St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs rivalry

The Chicago Cubs are expected to announce the hiring of Joe Maddon as their new manager and it will shake up the rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.

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This is a good thing. Don’t get me wrong. In a world where every New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game gets a national television audience, the Cardinals and Cubs aren’t all that far behind.

The hiring of someone like Maddon, who replaces the now-fired Rick Renteria after just one season, will certainly help a Cubs team that will see a lot of young prospects rising through their system.

Entering the 2014 season, the Chicago Cubs quite a few players listed on the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects: shortstop/second baseman Javier Baez (7), third baseman Kris Bryant (9), outfielder Albert Almora (18), pitcher C.J. Edwards (42), outfielders Jorge Soler (49), and Arismendy Alcantara (89). A July trade saw the acquisition of shortstop Addison Russell (12) from the Oakland Athletics. That’s a total of 7 of the 100 top prospects.

Factoring in those players who have graduated from the top 100 prospects and the 2014 MLB Draft, the new ranks for Cubs prospects are as follows: Kris Bryant (3), Addison Russell (5), Albert Almora (36), Jorge Soler (48), C.J. Edwards (53), and catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber (72). The Cubs now have six of the top 100 prospects in baseball per MLB.com so Maddon is going to have a lot of young talent to work with. We know he’s worked with young talent in the past as the Tampa Bay Rays won their first and only American League pennant in 2008.

Since Theo Epstein left Boston for Chicago, the Cubs have stocked up on young talent via the draft and international signings. I know, I know. St. Louis fans are supposed to hate the Cubs and it sickens us in September to root for Chicago if it means helping the Cardinals advance to the postseason. Imagine the Cardinals and Cubs going at it each other in a way that a rivalry is supposed to work!

Imagine the National League Central race being neck-and-neck and down-to-the-wire between the Cardinals and Cubs. We want the rivalry to get back to the days like when it was must-see-baseball in the 1960s and 1970s when Bob Gibson and Fergie Jenkins faced off against each other on the pitching mound.