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Cubs' Maddon on Renteria: 'I didn’t like what happened to Rick but it wasn’t my decision'

John E. Sokolowski / USA TODAY Sports

Joe Maddon took Rick Renteria's job as manager of the Chicago Cubs, but it doesn't mean he comes to the Windy City without feeling some remorse for his predecessor. 

“Well I did try to call Rick,” Maddon told WGWG-FM. “I left him a message. But I have not heard back. I’m really looking forward to the moment where I can speak to him. When I do speak to him I just want him to know where I came from on this whole thing and have him understand that I was not trying to take anyone’s job. It was an organizational decision. That was the part of all this that if there was something that bothered me it was that. Otherwise it’s a utopian situation for me.

“I didn’t like what happened to Rick. But it wasn’t my decision to make and I hope in the future I can talk to him and become friends.”

Renteria received a vote of confidence from Cubs president Theo Epstein following the conclusion of his first season at the helm in Chicago. However, the front office moved swiftly after Maddon opted out of his deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, inking a five-year, $25-million deal a little over a week later. 

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