LAS VEGAS -- Joe Maddon walked through the throng of reporters on Tuesday afternoon wearing one of his designer jackets. This one was black with white sleeves and a famous photograph of Salvador Dali covering the back. The portrait was surrounded by splashes of vibrant colors and Dali's wide eyes peered through a catcher's mask.
It was vintage Maddon, who sat down for a wide-ranging discussion on Day 2 of the Winter Meetings at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. The Cubs manager did his best to brush aside the fact that the team has put talks of an extension on hold, and chose instead to steer the focus on the task at hand. That includes, in Maddon's view, getting back to his coaching roots in the season ahead.
"I definitely don't want the emphasis on me," Maddon said. "We want to get beyond all this. I am very happy with my stature and my status. The Cubs have taken extremely good care of me and my family to the point that I could never repay them enough."

Until Maddon signs a new contract, however, it is inevitable that much of the emphasis will be on him and his approach in getting the Cubs back on track following last season's abrupt exit from the October stage. Maddon has a few new coaches -- pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and hitting coach Anthony Iapoce among them -- and there is a strong chance Chicago prioritizes internal improvement over big-ticket offseason additions.
That means Maddon and his staff must pore over what happened to the offense down the stretch, look in the mirror in terms of how things were handled and formulate plans and adjustments for 2019. The Cubs manager noted that he has had more conversations with players, coaches and front-office members than is typical for this stage of the offseason. He said the ideas are flowing, including his own about returning to a more hands-on managerial style.
That includes enhancing his already-strong communication skills. Along those lines, Maddon said he has been reading "Managing Millennials for Dummies." After hearing some laughter, the Cubs manager made it clear this was not one of his jokes.
"That's classic Joe," said Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein.

Maddon's current reading material aside -- he is also working through a book titled "Anti-social Media" -- Epstein said having the manager more involved on the coaching front is an important step.
"He's not content. He's looking to get better," Epstein said. "The good news is that this is a situation where the players just want more of Joe. They like Joe. They love the impact that he has on them when he speaks to them and when he's doing real hands-on leadership. You're in trouble when you players who want less of the manager. That's when you're in trouble. We have players who want more of Joe and they're going to get it."
Maddon echoed that in his comments on Tuesday.
"With all the new coaches this year and still a lot of young players being developed," Maddon explained, "I think it's more important that I get more involved on the field a little bit more often. Now, it's not going to be a dramatic difference. I don't want to paint that kind of a picture, but my roots are to be on the field. My roots are I do like to coach, and there's a distinct difference between managing and coaching, like you all know.
"So, having this opportunity to get back out on the field more in a coaching role a little bit more often, I'm looking forward to it."

Maddon also wanted to dismiss the idea that the lack of a contract extension has anything to do with he and Epstein not seeing eye to eye philosophically.
"The concept that Theo and I have any kind of disengagement or lack of philosophical sameness is untrue," Maddon said. "We have great conversations and we're definitely almost 100 percent on the same page all the time. It's a great conversation. So when you hear things like that ... just know that we are on the same page and philosophically really aligned well.
"So when I have to answer those questions to my mom, that makes it more difficult."
That elicited some laughter from the gathered crowd.
"When Beanie hears that stuff, that's what bums me out a little bit," Maddon quipped.
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Beyond Maddon's contract situation, much of the focus this offseason has been on the Cubs' perceived financial situation. Even before any additions, the team's payroll projects to be in the neighborhood of the $206 million luxury-tax threshold, and likely higher. Barring trades to shed contracts in place, it does not appear that the Cubs can target a marquee free agent like Bryce Harper.
As has been the case with Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer in recent conversations with reporters, Maddon emphasized the fact that -- while the Cubs do have needs to address this winter -- the bulk of the improvement needs to come from within.
"We feel like we have a lot of that stuff already there that we've got to get more out of," Maddon said. "We have it. These guys are that level of a player. They're going to show that within the next couple of years. So from our perspective, and I totally agree with this, we have what we need.
"Of course, [the front office is] going to go out and do a couple of things -- absolutely. But, we've got to extract from the group that's already there what we believe are their potentials. And I'm in agreement."
Maddon does not want to only see that process through 2019, either. He said he hopes to be managing the Cubs in 2020 and beyond.
"Let's just win the World Series and see how that all plays out," Maddon said.