PITTSBURGH – Jon Lester’s “Play Stupid” campaign makes sense to Joe Maddon.
They were the haves and the have-nots in the American League East while Lester pitched for the super-rich Boston Red Sox and Maddon managed the small-market Tampa Bay Rays.
The Cubs committed $180 million to Lester and Maddon to give the next phase of their rebuilding project some credibility. Lester looks around and sees the same nothing-to-lose attitude and young blue-chip talent that transformed Maddon’s 2008 Rays from a last-place team into a World Series contender.
“I kind of like he said that we played stupid, because I think that’s actually complimentary,” Maddon said.