On April 8,  the Chicago Cubs entered the day 5.5 games back in the NL Central, with a 2-7 record, and in fourth place overall.

Since then, the Cubs are 27-12 and currently sitting in first place of their division.

This incredible turnaround for one of the worst starts in franchise history (and I know that seems hard to believe for many older Cub fans who have witnessed many pathetic seasons), has really been a multitude of things, from the success of their lineup to the dominant starting pitching.

But the man that really deserves credit for the Cubs turnaround has been Joe Maddon, who has been questioned a lot over the past year or so not only by the fans of the Cubs, but by the front office.

Maddon’s five-year contract is set to expire at the conclusion of this season and so far president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, has yet to budge on discussing an extension with the skipper.

In the words of the great Deion Sanders, “PAY THAT MAN.”

While I understand why Theo was reluctant back in the winter, being that the Cubs were kind of stuck in an awkward position on the future of their team after a disappointing finish to the season, I believe it is imperative now that the Cubs need to extend Joe’s contract as manager of the Cubs.

When it comes to managers, Maddon is at the top of the sport, and letting him walk without discussing a full contract extension would be by far the stupidest move made by the organization — the stupidest most likely since they let Greg Maddux walk in free agency after he won the Cy Young, or when they traded Lou Brock to the rival St. Louis Cardinals for washed-up Ernie Broglio, or even recently with the Cubs signing Yu Darvish over Jake Arrieta.

Maddon is the right man for this job. The players respect him, the players have gotten used to his philosophy, and he is the man who led this team — the Chicago Cubs of all teams — to a World Series. He has already done it once before, and if he is still the skipper of the Cubs, he certainly gives them a chance to do it again.

So, Theo Epstein, instead of playing hardball, sit down with Joe in the coming weeks and discuss an extension. The least you can do is try and get back the best manager in the franchise’s history, because with him, he is the right man for the job.