CHICAGO -- Joe Maddon was driving his RV through Virginia two years ago when he got the news. Andrew Friedman was leaving Tampa Bay to take over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
One pivotal moment on the road to this year's National League Championship Series.
A month after Friedman's departure, Maddon was introduced as the 54th manager of the lowly Chicago Cubs. Friedman hired General Manager Farhan Zaidi in his first big move in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers continued their winning ways.
Now Maddon and Friedman are together again, with a spot in the World Series on the line. The Cubs and Dodgers play Game 1 of the NLCS tonight at Wrigley Field.
"We stay in touch all the time," Maddon said before his team worked out Friday. "I know his family really well. His mom's a trip. I really enjoy the whole group. So Andrew and I are very close."
Friedman's move to sunny LA triggered an opt-out clause in Maddon's contract, and Chicago jumped on the opportunity to put the Pennsylvania native in its dugout. The decision has worked out quite well so far, with the Cubs returning to the NLCS for the second consecutive year for the first time ever.
It turns out there are lots of friends on each side of this year's NLCS.
Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts contributed a famous steal to Boston's run to the World Series title in 2004, stopping an 86-year drought. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer worked for the Red Sox at the time, and they acquired Roberts in a trade with Los Angeles on July 31 of that year.
"I kind of put Theo and Jed together, and they're good friends of mine," Roberts said, "and there's a lot of, a little bit of banter, but obviously I've got the ultimate respect for those guys and they really helped me get a ring."
Roberts and the Dodgers arrived in Chicago on Friday, fresh off a dramatic 4-3 victory at Washington in Game 5 of their NL division series. The NL West champions used six pitchers in the series-clinching victory, including closer Kenley Jansen for a career-high 51 pitches and ace Clayton Kershaw for the final two outs.
The taxing finale in Washington left Roberts few options for Game 1 of the NLCS, and he said Kenta Maeda will get the ball for the opener against the Cubs. Roberts wasn't ready to announce the rotation for the rest of the series, but he hinted Kershaw likely would go in Game 2 on Sunday night.
"Physically, he feels great," Roberts said before the Dodgers' workout. "He's going to go out there and get a lift in and throw and run and do what he does. So, obviously, we're not prepared to make that decision yet, but he's tracking to start when we all think."
Maeda, 28, went 16-11 with a 3.48 ERA in his first season in the majors. But the Japanese right-hander has lost three consecutive starts, lasting just three innings in his first playoff appearance Monday against Washington.
"We've been relying a lot on our relief pitchers to take the load, so I want to be able to -- I'm really just focused on throwing quality innings as long as I can," Maeda said through a translator. "And as long as I keep throwing quality innings, then I would be able to throw longer and deeper into the game."
Sports on 10/15/2016