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Not sure how to post tweets... but Buster Olney is reporting that according to his sources, Maddon exercised opt-out clause and is leaving team immediately. First Friedman, now Maddon. Wow.

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Hopefully this keeps the Rays down for the next few years.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/CBSSportsMLB/status/525686924036427778[/tweet]

Joe Maddon opts out of contract, leaves Rays effective immediately http://cbsprt.co/1pIkzM3 via @cbssports

word is Dodgers are front runners. Looks like the rich will get richer

I'll be shocked if he doesn't end up with the Dodgers.

Wish we coulda snagged Friedman, would have been a cherry on top if Maddon followed him here.

I thought he'd stay in the end. I have nothing but fear and trepidation for Maddon if he goes to the dysfunctional dodgers.

The good news if you're a Jays fan is the Rays players are going to feel abandoned. It was a nice run while it lasted and they may stay competitive for another year or two, but I think 5 years from now they're going to be a perennial toilet team again. Hardly a shocking prediction in light of recent events I know.

Looks like the Dodgers are winning 110 games a year for the next half decade.

This is great news stay out of the AL East if you aren't coming to the Jays

Ken Rosenthal saying Maddon not going to Dodgers; Cubs seen as leaders... if that's true, Cubs have a ridiculous future. Lots of nice young pieces and Maddon will do wonders with them.

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Stay down Tampa. Maybe we can try to trade for Zobrist now.

Randle McMurphy wrote:Stay down Tampa. Maybe we can try to trade for Zobrist now.

And Joyce. Best case, they hire JP and Buck as GM and coach and all Zobrist and Joyce cost are Goins, Nolin, and the rights to Russ Adams' offspring.

It will be interesting to see how Tampa performs going forward. The Rays will probably just promote internally, so they'll still likely have the same principles as they did with Friedman/Maddon, just with different guys implementing them. Of course, we hired Billy Beane's assistant during the height of Moneyball and saw no benefit at all, so working under someone and having the same general beliefs does not mean results will be similar.

Very good news. Glad the Rays lose both their GM and Manager in the same off-season. Hopefully this triggers a new rebuild and the Rays will be irrelevant now for the next couple of years. One less good team to worry about in the AL East for Toronto.

Michael Bradley wrote:It will be interesting to see how Tampa performs going forward. The Rays will probably just promote internally, so they'll still likely have the same principles as they did with Friedman/Maddon, just with different guys implementing them. Of course, we hired Billy Beane's assistant during the height of Moneyball and saw no benefit at all, so working under someone and having the same general beliefs does not mean results will be similar.

Dave Martinez always seemed to be on the same page as Maddon, so I'm sure he gets strong consideration as the new manager.

Mehar wrote:Very good news. Glad the Rays lose both their GM and Manager in the same off-season. Hopefully this triggers a new rebuild and the Rays will be irrelevant now for the next couple of years. One less good team to worry about in the AL East for Toronto.

So what? it doesn't do a damn thing to improve the Jays. You know the Yankees and Red Sox will be improved next season, Boston likely massively so. The Orioles aren't going away, and right now, the Jays blueprint doesn't point to any areas of improvement, just the potential to lose two-thirds of our outfield. Whether we are third, fourth or fifth in the East doesn't do anything for me, since it would almost certainly mean no playoffs for us.