Quade Named Cubs Manager; Sandberg's Fate Undetermined

I had a decent write-up on this, but Firefox ate it. Eff it.

Anyway, Quade has been named Cubs manager with a two year deal and a third year club option. No word on what will happen with Ryne Sandberg other than he'll pursue other managerial openings. Of course, the only other team mentioned has been the Toronto Blue Jays and they're interviewing everyone and seemed to be favoring Sandy Alomar Jr. at the moment if the reports that they've brought him in for a third interview are true. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Will Carroll's tweet rumor comes to fruition by the end of it all that Sandberg does indeed become the bench coach.

What can we infer from this move? Well unfortunately, the Ricketts seem serious about this whole let Hendry run the organization corporate philosophy they've been spouting since they took over. Quade is obviously a Hendry favorite joining the organization at about the same time Hendry took over the GM job. Then he was named to Lou's coaching staff despite any known past relationship between the two and finally picked as the interim manager last year when Ryne Sandberg or Alan Trammell could have just as easily been named.

I'm not going to put much stock in the team's magical turnaround last year under Quade. I believe the term, "dead cat bounce" is appropriate. He might be do good, he might do poorly and it'll most likely be determined by the moves the Cubs make this offseason and if some of the minor league talent continues to progress. Ultimately I would have preferred Sandberg get the job of course, he's the guy many of us grew up rooting for and those things just kind of stick with you, but I understand the hesitation as well on Hendry's part.

Godspeed Quade. Enjoy the honeymoon, it won't last.

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Melky Cabrera released by Braves, decent 4th/5th OF type if some trades happen.

at 3pm CST, Quade's deal (not including club option) as long as Hendry's remaining deal.

So by 2013, we can all be fans again. :)

And then only two more years of Sori after that!

I'm amazed that Hendry just didn't go with Sandberg and make all the sentimental Cub fans of a certain age happy. He must actually feel his job is finally on the line.

I would believe girardi would have ben hendry's first choice.

Hendry didn't want Girardi the first time.

That was then, based on his choices this year I would rank it

1 wedge
2 girardi

10 quade

99 sandberg

so he would have been his second choice :)

I would guess Hendry's preferences were


it was the Ricketts that wanted a guy that understood the Cubs history and all that BS.

I'd give Soriano a 2 year extension if it meant we could finally be rid of Hendry


Quade's record of 24-13 in a lost season is only significant if you go down a few layers in the clubhouse, training room and manager's office. That's where changes took place. And that's where Quade impressed the Cubs front office by the direct and powerful way he took control of a team that had gone 5-20 before Lou Piniella went home for good on Aug. 22.

The changes were not subtle. On Aug. 23 the team began to take early batting practice before regular batting practice, and it became routine. Quade made sure that players showed up for medicals on time, and if they didn't they were benched. Veterans began to have better communication with the coaching staff knowing two to three days in advance when they would have a day off. Lineups were posted six hours before game time, something the players had requested while Piniella was still on the job. All of these little things added up to a regiment that defined him to the Cubs front office as the right man for the job.

What did we hit from August 23rd to the end of the season again?

Not to mention it's sort of idiotic to give the job to a guy based on a tryout, when you didn't give tryouts to the any of the other applicants.

Sandberg's tryout was the Pacific Coast League playoffs (or lack thereof).

They "lost a tiebreaker," sure, but they just had to win one of the final two home games to clinch. It's generally a bad idea to revive memories of the 2003 Cubs. Worse, they lost to the Cardinals.

They might have done something in the playoffs. The PCL champ ended up being Tacoma, whom the I-Cubs only saw for one four-game series during the regular season, in which the Cubs won all four games, lopsidedly.

When the season came down to those two home games, Sandberg spent thirteen innings of the first game in the clubhouse after getting tossed early. Awkward!

Of course...how many players were taken from AAA for September auditions with the Cubs?

"how many players were taken from AAA for September auditions with the Cubs?"

If you're asking how many players Sandberg lost to September auditions, the answer is none, really (or maybe one, Castillo). Coleman and Diamond were called up on 8/2, Mateo on 8/9. Barney was called up to replace Fontenot on 8/12. Hoffpauir went up on 8/23, a couple of days after Lee was traded. Castillo went up on 8/10 when Soto went on the DL. Castillo went up again on 9/2, and missed the Memphis series, but at that point the Cubs just wanted a third catcher. (And Chirinos was hitting.)

Otherwise, the Cubs kept everyone on the farm until the races/playoffs were over. Tennessee was coasting in August, and so they lent Chirinos plus two starting pitchers, Bibens-Dirkx and Carpenter, to Iowa.

As someone who takes minor-league wins seriously, I'm glad that the Cubs' front office does, too. You can't lose to Cardinal players and teams at three levels and then expect to beat them in the majors.

So your theory is that losing your starting SS, your starting 1st basemen, your starting right fielder, your starting catcher and two fifths of your rotation has no impact on the team?

My theory is that teams don't bring up players for September "auditions" when there are AAA playoffs at stake. They do bring up players that they need and expect to use. Jay, Salas, Pagnozzi and Stavinoha were all Memphis Redbirds at some point in 2010. Jay was called up on 7/3, and stuck. Salas (19 saves) was called up on 8/24. Pagnozzi and Stavinoha came up when rosters expanded, just before the Redbirds played the I-Cubs in that big series.

On the Cub side, only Castillo was called up in early Sept., because a team likes to have a third catcher.

The question I responded to was: how many players were taken from AAA for September auditions with the Cubs? The answer is one at the most.

Camp took over at short. Dubois took over for Hoff at first and killed the ball. Chirinos is a better hitter than Castillo. As I said, the I-Cubs called up Carpenter and Bibens-Dirkx to sub for Coleman and Diamond. I guess you're referring to Brad Snyder in right, but he wasn't called up until Iowa was finished. Sandberg still had horses.

Ok. Rephrase...how many players did AAA Iowa lose down the stretch? could they...POSSIBLY have done better with Barney, Coleman, Diamond, Castillo? Lol...My point is, perhaps they wouldn't have tied..if they had their whole team? Sheesh...to say that his tryout was a failure because he missed the playoffs? Really?

No one said his tryout was a failure. All one has to say is that he didn't help himself, especially while Quade was wow-ing the audience in Chicago.

I still think what happened to Iowa was more Samardzija's fault--two terrible starts on 8/31 and 9/5--than Sandberg's! When Sandberg lost his cool and got ejected in the second inning of the next-to-last game, needing a win to advance, it might have had something to do with Samardzija's just having given up four runs in the first.

Of course, Quade "wowing" the audience in Chicago....down the stretch of a meaningless season, where the Cubs were hopelessly out of it....isn't really too impressive. See Showalter.Buck and the Orioles.

Meh...good for Quade. I hope that it goes well for him in 2011.

That's funny. Because the Cubs hired Lou Piniella for his ability to get thrown out of games.

If the Cubs front office judged there managerial candidate based on two home games, they are a bunch of idiots. Which is a possibility. And if they judged Quade based on the fact that the pitching turned around over the last 30 games or so, they are a bunch of idiots for that too. Which is a possibility.

the cubs lured quade from the A's after a nearly 20 year career as a manager/coach.

it's not like the guy came out of no where. he left the A's because he felt the A's were being locked into a situation where he wouldn't have a chance to manage. he's stuck around the cubs for quite a while after the fact.

I'd like to paraphrase for ease of reading:

"[T]he Cubs front office...[is] a bunch of idiots".

I concur.


really? you believe all of this?

the 'reply' button is a practical joke, right? was just tryin' to say that the other phil's thoughts on sandberg & the i-cubs...well, they don't merit a reply so never mind...

I like hearing that kind of stuff. Both Piniella and Baker ran extremely loose ships towards the end of their tenures. Nothing wrong with promoting a little accountability on a 144 million dollar payroll.


- 3 other teams asked to interview Quade
- Levine says it was Colvin that balked at playing first base, feeling he wasn't ready yet
- says Trammell has been dragging his feet about joining DBacks coaching staff and good chance he will be back as bench coach

and this absurd stupidity

[Soriano] could be converted to a first base coach... but he's yours until he retires. There's about $72M that guaranteed that. Soriano is a great guy who is loved by the players and coaching staff alike. If he's not what you expected, at least he's not a team disturber.

"first base coach"?!

That's an attempt at humor by Levine.

totally. lol


No other interview offers yet...

Which one of you has already taken firemikequade.com?

any guesses as to our record after the first 37 games next year?

I think it was a great choice. Not that the manager matters in the slightest, but because a 5 million dollar relief pitcher would be much more valuable than a 5 million dollar manager.

"Not that the manager matters in the slightest . . ."

You're immune to evidence. Quade turned the team around. The difference was palpable immediately when the team traveled to Washington (where I got to witness two of the games), especially in game three: 0-0 in the top of the eighth when Quade lifted Dempster for a pinch hitter after only 79 pitches, and the Cubs scored three runs.

Piniella would not have made that move. He would have said, "It's Dempster's game."

Managers can win games, but not if they choose not to manage.


With each of these posts, the movements of enlightement and logical thought retreat a step towards the Dark Ages.

There are millions of idiots who buy lottery tickets each day, not realizing they're being recessively taxed. Just because 1874 of them win, doesn't make it a good idea.

Quade cashed in 24 times in 37 tries. Maybe the lottery isn't a good analogy.

The analogy is that one stupid decision that works out well, doesn't justify the stupid decision.

You're saying it was a stupid decision to pinch hit for the pitcher, leading off the eighth inning, in a scoreless game on the road.

Quade: "I couldn’t live with myself if we’re tied in the eighth we don’t try and do something to win the game."

Sounds reasonable to me.

Of course it does, but you think that Lou Brock was better than Ricky Henderson, so things that sound reasonable to you, are generally wrong.

I never compared Brock to Henderson. I'm pretty sure he was better than Broglio. What are you in a bad mood about?

Tired of an organization making a string of stupid moves, based on things like using small sample sizes as a criteria. Basically people with an inability to learn. What are you not in a bad mood about?

TRN is there really any quantitative way we can tell if Quade or Sandberg (or anyone else) would be a better manager?

At least Quade comes cheap.

No, but we do know quantitatively that Quade thinks it's OK to bat his best hitter 8th.

I agree Quade will come cheap, but Sandberg would have undboutedly paid for himself with ticket and jersey sales.

It's the nature of an audition to be a small sample size--like spring training for Colvin in 2010.

I'm in a very good mood about the Cubs, I think because I've been trying to look at the big picture.

It's the Bears that need a makeover from top to bottom. Good luck getting the McCaskeys to give up their death grip on that team. But because the problems are so big, I don't spend a minute thinking about them.

imo, the most important thing about that incident is the pitcher he took out publicly supported him for manager a few weeks later.

i still don't agree with him being pulled, though...then again i've been scared of the pen all season.

I am hardly immune to the evidence. There have been hundreds of managerial changes over the years that resulted in improved results. The point is, it was the CHANGE, not the manager, that produced the improved results. The Cubs did quite a bit better in Baker's first year, as they did in Pineilla's first year. In the long run, both failed. A manager can have a negative effect on his player, but seldom has a positive effect for longer than a season or so.

I'm in the camp of the "Clean Slate". Two years. No big. I wish we were so lucky on Hendry signings.

I think I mentioned in Sept. that I met Quade in Milwaukee where the players were staying on a Saturday night (we were having pops in the same place). He said he was "having a blast" and was lit up as he talked about the opportunity he was afforded at that time.

So - at least he'll have a pulse, has worked with the youngsters on the team and those coming up. Which has its advantages. And, as Dave P says, might as well save money until more bad contracts go bye-bye.

Of course the sentimental favorite was Sandberg. If they were gonna do two years anyway, why not him though? Did he not work with the same youngsters? That one has me scratching my head a bit. Would like to get AZ PHIL's opinion on the matter.

What say ye PHIL?

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 1:06pm.




What say ye PHIL?


E-MAN: Nobody knows the Cubs younger players better than Ryne Sandberg, but I wasn't particularly excited about the idea of either Sandberg or Joe Girardi managing the Cubs, mainly because I kind of like the idea of bringing outsiders with no previous connection to the Cubs into the organization to run the team (like Leo Durocher & Dallas Green).

That said, I guess Mike Quade didn't do anything in his term as interim manager to run up any red flags, so I'm willing to give him a chance.

What all this does mean is that organization favorite Casey Kopitzke will probably be ultra fast-tracked through the system. He managed the EXST Cubs, Boise, and the Cubs AZ Instructional League team in 2009, Peoria in 2010, and is currently managing the Mesa Solar Sox in the AFL. He could be the Iowa manager in 2011, although AA Tennessee seems more-likely, with 2009 Tennessee Smokies manager Bill Dancy moving up to Iowa. Kopitzke could well be the next Cubs manager if Quade doesn't work-out.

i've spent an hour or so crafting my response to sandberg vs. quade vs. all the other candidates.

...who gives a f**k?

To me, the question of Quade vs. Sandberg starts and ends with the huge disparity in experience. No other factor in Sandberg's favor can overcome the decades of coaching and managing experience Quade has on him.

I'm also suspicious of HoFers being successful managers, but that's a less thoughtful and therefore less serious critique.

experience taught Dusty Baker that walks clog the bases...

gotta get your start somewhere, Girardi had one year as bench coach for the Yanks before Marlins job.

nonetheless Quade has paid his dues and seems well-liked by many baseball folks, the players and most importantly Hendry. He had the benefit of being with the organization since 2003 and the big league team since 2007 and knew exactly what buttons to push to impress the bosses and media.

We'll see how long it lasts...

Quade has had considerably more thoughtful things to say about baseball numbers, though not OBP per se, than I remember hearing from Dusty.


As for Girardi, his first managing job did not end well, and his second got off to a rocky road before he settled in to running the world's highest payroll, which much have its own unique benefits and challenges both.

Anyway, I'm sure more experience would have helped him in that regard.

Um, regardless of our situation, Girardi's first job not ending "well" has about a million times more to do with telling nuttier-than-a-shithouse-rat owner Jeffrey Loria to F$%^ off (albeit I'm sure in nicer words) than his ability as a manager.

In fact if memory serves, he was the NL Mgr OTY (I'm too lazy to google it).

Let's try and not revise history to prove our points.

I hardly revised history, Tony. I said it didn't end well. A great deal of what you need from a Manager includes skills with people. And a good manager, in a any business, will manage well both up and down the reporting structure. I have no doubt more managerial experience would have helped Girardi better deal with Loria. His same rigid tendencies followed in New York, and he had to make adjustments to his approach to better manage his club. All's well that ends well, of course, but Girardi needed that experience to get to where he is now.

Fundamentally my point is that mangers with more experience are better than managers with less. I think Girardi's story supports that point.


Which is clearly proven incorrect by the Cubs most recent manager: as he gained more experience he got worse and worse.

"Which is clearly proven incorrect..."


So it's clearly incorrect to say that managers with more experience are better than those with less because of Piniella? Piniella's decline may not support the point, but it's silly to think it disproves it. For example, I think it's more likely that Piniella just stopped caring.

And I think if you had a business and had the choice between hiring two people, one with less and one with more experience in your field, you'd hire the one with more experience.

Unless you had a fanboy man-crush on the other guy, of course. :)

Fanboy man-crushes sustain the game of baseball. Fact.

"Fanboy man-crushes sustain the game of baseball. Fact."

That's why we fans pay to get in. Yes.

The people who are actually paid to put the team together, however, should use more thoughtful criteria for hiring.


Piniella is one example against your point, no more no less. And it was a fine counterpoint, in fact, that "more experience" is not necessarily who I hire, man-crush or no.

I have no idea, and am too lazy to research, what the Florida Marlins saw in interview with Joe Girardi (or during his playing career or that of bench coach) to decide to make him a Major League manager.

But the fact is, he was voted Manager of the Year in his league in his FIRST YEAR on the job.

Yep, sounds like the guy needs more experience.

But no wait, the (nutso) owner fired him, so obviously he needed more experience....


Seriously dude, "I am going to use one data point to prove my point, even though a contrary data point is staring me right in the face, and then I am going to whine about being called out on it".

That's what you just did. I know it's the internet and all, but does that totally free you of any obligation of logic or thought?

TRN, I'm not interested in your nonsense or hyperbole. So let's drop that.

In fact, lets drop Girardi and Piniella from the conversation. I didn't bring up either.

If you want to say that you wouldn't consider a job candidate with greater experience as stronger than one with less, so be it.

I, and I boldly predict 90% of all other people hiring for said job, would lean to the candidate who has more experience.

This logic is sound, and the magnitude in difference of experience justifies the Quade hire over Sandberg.

Ok. Counterpoint...why was no one knocking down Quade's door prior to this season? With his vast experience of minor league managing?

Fair counterpoint. Quade is likely not the best managerial candidate available this year, among all choices. There's plenty of folks, like Eric Wedge or Fredi Gonzalez or Joe Torre, who have significant major league experience.

But between Quade and Sandberg, who apparently were the finalists, I think Quade's greater experience justifies his hire.

This discussion has made me curious to see where all the managerial hires this year worked in the recent past.


"I have no doubt more managerial experience..."

I absolutely doubt it, your point was somehow that experience would have made Girardi, what, a better Manager of the Year?

My point was, Loria acts an ass, regardless of Girardi's experience level. That's been well documented, I didn't make it up. I don't think there's anyone on earth (including last year's champion Yankees) who think Girardi's dismissal from Florida after being mgr of the freakin year had anything to do with his 'lack of experience'.

Except maybe now you. Unless you were somewhat revising history to prove your (weak) point. My mistake.

More experience is greater than less? When you're making a hire? That's a weak point?

Frankly, Joe Girardi has little to do with that point. Rob brought up his name, and I disagreed with how successful he was out of the gate. You want to disagree with me, fine.

But consider, Girardi did a passable job managing the game. He went 78-84 in his Manager of the Year season. Not a great record, but his payroll was low. Still, his people skills were poor. And that improves with experience. That's part of why he couldn't work with his dipshit boss. Yes, Loria is an ass regardless--but Girardi is better equipped to deal with that with greater experience. And again, his rigid attitude was part of his early troubles with the Yanks.

I'm simply saying that people's skills improve with experience, in every facet of life. That's important when choosing between candidates for a job. If you think that's a weak point of view, so be it.

“But then you can look at a situation like, a guy’s got like a 12 percent chance of scoring if you bunt the guy. I’m like, wait a minute. The guy that’s hitting right now is hitting like .090 against the guy so why not?”

Because he's 1-11, but seven of those outs were screaming liners right at people and he's drawn five walks, you fucking dipshit.

for some reason wasn't on cubs.com...Twitter posts says they want staff in place by end of organizational meetings.

I imagine Rudy, Larry, Dernier as 1st base coach and then just a bench coach and third base coach. Levine indicated earlier that Trammell could be back as bench coach. Dejesus would be in the mix for a job as well.

Once Sandberg gets over the ego knockdown and if another job doesn't present itself, hope he's seriously considered for the bench or 3b job.

sandberg had 4 years to learn spanish...just saying

i'm sure he speaks "baseball spanish" by now, though.

speaking spanish didn't help lou much with the lockerroom divisions, but that can happen when you're rarely in the lockerroom and let the place run itself.

not that sandberg didn't deserve it...as far as i know...he could use that spanish skill, though.

does Quade speak Spanish?

honest question

supposedly, yes.

that said...in the information world (aka, indirect) it's hard to know who knows spanish, who knows conversational spanish, and who knows "baseball spanish."

Though I can sort of agree that it would be good to pickup some Spanish in particular if you live in Phoenix, but the only major league ballplayers who don't speak English at a conversational level should be Cuban and Japanese players who come directly to the majors, and even they should have had the thought that "hey, I should pick up some English if I want to play in the bigs".

BTW, I think Girardi got run out of the Marlins organization because he didn't speak Dutch.

ideal worlds are nice, but if i didn't know conversational/work spanish i wouldn't get hired.

it's a "new world" skill these days. adapt or lessen your opportunities.

they teach kids english in the dominican leagues when they're 16+ and there's more than a few of them that don't "get it" or they're only taught "baseball english."

the "former prospect" who threw that ball into the stands getting himself a little courtroom time barely speaks english and part of his (bad) defense was he was trying to communicate to the other team to stay away since he couldn't tell them in english.

Is there a limit to the number of coaches? Can both Sandberg and Trammell be bench coaches?

who hires the bench coach---quade makes his own choice? hendry? ricketts pulls rank and says sandberg must stay?
and does it need to be someone who thinks like quade, or someone to play devil's advocate? no knowledge of how process works.

by extension, does quade get to insist on some of the current crowd (i.e. rothschild) saying goodbye?

usually the manager gets to bring his dude, but he's new on the block. it might be a bit more organizational...or it might not because the guy has been a manager of some capacity since the dawn of time.

it's worth mentioning that part of the reason quade left the As was because he felt he wasn't advancing fast enough.

I'm sure Quade will do whatever the fuck the Cubs tell him to do and thank them for his first manager's gig. And having a HOF'er that can see things in a way and do things that he could never do, might not be so bad. Sandberg doesn't strike me as the type that would try to stab someone in the back once he gets over the shot to his ego.

That being said, I'm sure he'll have plenty of input on the choice. Levine already suggested Trammell will be back.

no matter what...sandberg has put his time in and paid his dues even if his promotion through the system was quicker than it might be for others.

that said, quade's been at it since 1985...dusty baker was still playing then.

he saw 3 years during the better days in the As system as a 1st base coach...he's "been there" and seen it from guys in the bigs along with his whole cubs up/down tenures.

dc--I've read that it depends on the org, just like sometimes the owner has his hand more in the 'baseball operations' than others.

Basically, Quade has as much leeway as Hendry gives him, which he gets from Ricketts. Think of it like the military or the government.

Think of it like the military or the government.

Oh shit.

LMFAO.... Well-said.

via ye olde world o roto:

"Ryne Sandberg told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that he plans to seek a job within another organization."


``All I can go on is what I was offered,’’ said Sandberg, who spent the past four seasons managing at three minor-league levels for the Cubs – unprecedented for a Hall of Famer. ``I wasn’t offered anything. I can’t make up my own job. I can’t offer myself a job. … I would have managed the Cubs.’’

sandberg is becoming a shakespearean character

to bunt or not to bunt...

The thought of the Cubs spending $5 million on a set-up man or right-handed middle reliever gave me my first case of hives this offseason.

A reliever MIGHT help the Cubs. A manager WON'T help the Cubs

If only baseball were more like Scrabble... It'd be great to throw back the entire Cubs organization and draw a new one.

Wow. What to say.

Well, at least for me, I wanted an answer sooner rather than later, so I'm glad for that.
First, I didn't think in a kajillion years this was how it would happen. I'm pretty sure my vegas bets would have been

1. Girardi (obviously IF he was interested and Hendry offered enough cash)
2. Sandberg
3. Wedge
4. Quade

But with that said, I figured Girardi was a longshot to begin with, so my money was on Sandberg. Like, I would have bet a lot that it would have been Sandberg before Quade, for a million reasons posted here and elsewhere.

A couple points of fun speculation:

This makes me wonder if Carrie Muskat isn't really running the team. She's the only pundit who was saying even before the season was f'n over that Quade was the favorite.

If Quade was the choice, why was the wait so long for Hendry to finish his exhaustive search? Speculative answer--they finally got word from Girardi, one way or the other (Cashman?), that he wasn't leaving NY, which made the decision for them and left just Q and Ryno. That, or Cashman just sent Hendry a copy of his bank statement with a polite note that said "Don't bother".

I REALLY F'N hope that they convince Sandberg to become part of the coaching staff. The question is, will they offer and will he accept? I think the offer will come, because I think his pride has been damaged enough that he'll manage AAA somewhere else (or even take the proverbial "time off" to evaluate or analyst job) before he goes back to Iowa just to spite the organization, and I think Hendry will know it.

The quotes are looking like he really wanted this (I mean on a personal level, as a Cub, not just the MLB-level job) and I don't think "Well, just stick it out back at Iowa" is going to be the right answer. The only way to even attempt to remedy this move with Sandberg is put him on the MLB staff.

Conveniently, that's in everybody's favor; the team saves face, Ryno's in the bigs, and he's right there for if/when Quade tanks. He's obviously not dumb, he'd be a great counterpart to Quade (the "baseball lifer" along with the HOF player--Hell, I'm just wondering who'll play them both when the Broadway play opens after the two of them lead the team all the way...). And if he really wants the job, that isn't an illogical next step towards it. It'd be a high-profile, forgone conclusion that he's next, a la Mattingly in LA (once he followed Torre out there).

The one wrench in this entire works, of course, is when somebody (Toronto?) offers him the job this year, and he takes that instead. And although I don't think this is a royal F U from the Cubs to another hero (see Grace, Mark), it surely won't sit well if that's how it goes down.

If I'm Quade, I'm not 1000% sure I'd have accepted the job. It's like with women and young men. You wanna know why we whore around when we're young? Because no matter how great your last lay was, the next one, or one that could potentially get away, could be even better.

If Q doesn't at least get this team TO the WS in the next two years, he'll just be the _________ that Hendry hired INSTEAD OF RYNE-FUCKING-SANDBERG.

All this said? Should be fun to watch, anyhow. Let Cub hope start anew once again, my friends, as we look toward next year.

If the Cubs had any interest in keeping Sandberg, they probably would have already done so and announced it at the same time. I can understand why they didn't--putting him on Quade's staff would probably undermine Quade. Only a two-year contract with a possible (and popular) successor as your bench coach doesn't sound like a comfortable way to start your first big-league managing job.

That being said, I think it's a mistake by Hendry to hire Quade. Forgoing the "Do managers matter?" debate, Hendry seems to have placed too much stock in what happened in that meaningless final month. Maybe he discovered something in Quade that numerous others missed, but it's more likely that Quade tracks like Wedge, Melvin, and other baseball "lifers" that Hendry loves. Sandberg seemed to be learning the job well and did everything Hendry asked of him. To essentially cut him loose from the organization after four years and some success seems disloyal and wasteful. Hopefully time will prove me wrong, but that only seems to happen when I predict good things for this team...

well i mean, c'mon...quade has been a minor league manager or major league base coach for the past 25 years. it's not like he hasn't paid his dues, too. he's got a A ball championship, a AAA championship, a dominican league championship, and a caribbean world series championship.

if anyone cuts himself loose it's sandberg. i'm sure the cubs would love to keep him around in AAA for the next couple of years or even a 1st/3rd base coach gig if he'd allow himself to do it.

There's no way in hell the Cubs would put Sandberg on the ML staff.

i dunno what to think. if they really are pressuring quade to form a staff quickly then the cubs really are done with him unless he decides he wants to have another AAA year...which i highly doubt.

i expect him to be on someone's MLB staff as a coach or manager...i dunno about the manager chances, though.

Disloyal? The Cubs fast-tracked Sandberg through the managerial ranks, and now he's got a much better resume than he would likely have if he were working for any other team.

I'm not super excited about Quade or anything, but his hiring sends a good message - paying your dues and making the most of your opportunities is more important than a recognizable name.

Imagine if you were in Quade's shoes - you're riding buses and staying in Motel 6's for the past 25 years, you finally get a shot at your dream job and do it well, and then you get passed over because some other guy is a household name? That would have been some serious bullshit. It's not like being a HoF player has anything to do with an ability to manage.

Has anybody wondered why Quade's been riding the bus for 25 years?

okay 20 years before he got a major league gig

Bus drivers like to rub his head for good luck?

Here's a guess: because there are only 30 MLB managing jobs and only 150ish other MLB coaching jobs and you have to wait your turn?

Are you trying to spin Quade's 25 years of experience as a negative?

Amen. As if (insert Fortune 500 CEO of your choosing) is a bum because he didn't get the top job when he was 30 years old, and actually had to spend his entire career learning the skills necessary to run a company. I see no reason why managing a baseball team shouldn't be the same way.

Quade might be a terrible manager, I don't know. What I do know is that just because a guy was an awesome second baseman has no bearing on his ability to manage a team.

Maybe I'm just happy to see the underdog win one for a change, rather than just seeing the rich get richer like everywhere else in life these days.

Doug D-- "just because a guy was an awesome second baseman has no bearing on his ability to manage a team."

Does his managerial record in the minors for 4 years at 3 levels make any difference? Just curious.

Look, I think I agree with the Quade hiring, and I don't know if him OR Ryno will be good or terrible.

The reason Ryno (and some fans and writers) are pissed is that some teams will just hand a HOF'er the keys outright. Hendry didn't, bravo. What he did do was say, go to the minors. Ryno did, and still didn't get the job. That's a legitimate reason to be pissed. If it'd be bullshit for a guy to get passed over by a household name, it's also bullshit for the household name to do what he's told like a good soldier and then still get told "Sorry, this guy has been around a really long time and is cheaper, we're going with him."

Hendry should have just told him try his luck elsewhere, it's not like Quade wasn't in the system then.

quade put in a lifetime's worth of work getting to this level and has a swiss-army knive's worth of experience.

sandberg got fasttracked over 4 years, but he did it quietly, dutifully, and no one bitched about how he did it.

it's a no-win to argue either side, imo...they both make a good case in their own way even when breaking down their merits more specifically.

myself, i don't care. i just hope quade doesn't cost more than 1-ish million...and hopefully less. the players seem to like him. meh...

not to say he's done anything to "wow" me...blake dewitt in the leadoff spot got a little old...lou pinella-like lineups were boring to me. he did seem to get a lot more out of his pen use though that might just be flukey chance...didn't pay that close of attention.

For the last time, I have nothing against Sandberg and I believe he would do just as fine as manager. His managerial record in the minors is great, and I'm sure he'll get his opportunity soon. It probably won't be this year, but isn't that ok? Is it really that horrible that he might have to get a major league coaching job somewhere else for a couple years? Or just have a couple more seasons in AAA under his belt?

The Cubs ran him through the minors way faster than anyone else, and he now has a good resume. Thousands of other minor league coaches/managers/former players/whatever don't get the same leg up that Sandberg did, so I don't think he has any reason to be upset. If he's smart, he'll either go back to managing AAA or get a MLB coaching gig somewhere, put a smile on his face and pay his dues for another couple years, and then if he's lucky he'll get to sit in the big chair.

If he's pissed off because he didn't get the very first major league managing job he ever interviewed for, that's really a shame.

Doug, "If he's smart..."


Doug D,

You're fucking stupid. Sandberg wasn't just a physically gifted player, he was a smart player who did the "little things" that helped his team win. The fact that you don't know that disqualifies you from being a Cubs fan.

Wow, seriously?

What the fuck is wrong with you? If we were discussing the Cubs' managerial hires in person would you just come back at me with "You're fucking stupid"? Why don't you go join Silent Towel wherever he is and wallow in your constant negativity together.

Look, I loved Sandberg as a player. I would have been fine with him getting the job, but it just makes me happy to know that a guy who's been paying his dues a lot longer and isn't a flashy name will actually get a shot. Ultimately, I don't really think the manager is that important anyway.

We can't be sure that we read one's tone correctly on the web, but you sure seem like a dickhead

Neal - you had toned down your insults over the past year. No need to do that. Really.

I was trying to spin that just cause you have experience doesn't make you the right guy for the job (see Piniella, Lou or Baker, Dusty). Just like being a franchise hero doesn't necessarily make you the right guy for the job.

and also that maybe he's been passed over all these years for a good reason...or maybe not.

I wish him well, but just cause he's been in the game all these years doesn't necessarily mean he's the best guy for the job.

That's a totally fair point. I really don't have any idea if Quade will be a better manager than Sandberg. My entire argument is that it's refreshing to see a guy like him win a job for once.

If he's awful, I'll be the first to call for his head, but he couldn't have done anything more than he did to prove himself, and I think it's cool that he's getting his chance.

I am firmly in the "managers don't make much of a difference" camp, but this article, while dated, is an interesting read.


Sandberg welcome back to manage Triple A


first he's heard of it of though...

Quade... consider me underwhelmed.

I would have much preferred the Braves minor league manager that throws rosin bag grenades.

kevin mitchell would have been awesome. kicking dirt is weak. knocking out everyone in arm's length is true motivation.

I am wondering if any of you have done research on "success of interim managers when they then get hired in their subsequent years(s)" over the last 10 years?

All I can think of recently is Cecil Cooper, and Riggs. I know how it turned out for Cooper. Riggs at least got the gig and the Nats record was better than the Cubs this past year. Both Cooper and Riggs were experienced. What others can you guys think of?

I'm sure someone has, but not sure where to find it.

Here's how Cubs interim managers did.


jack mckeon took an intern management job to the WS...then was fired 2 years later...after which FLA did even worse. go figure.

jim tracy took over COL last year and they went to the playoffs...then this season the team tanked a bit.

phil garner took over astros during summer 2004. they lost the nlcs in '04 and world series in '05. only situation which came to mind.

not sure if he was ever "interim".

I believe indeed he was an interim manager and the team was like 10 games out at the ASB.

That NLCS was the one where Lidge pitched "The Pitch" to Pujols to lose the game.

If recent history is any indication, the first thing we should ask of any new Cubs manager is if he knows how to correctly execute a double-switch.

Alan Trammell said today that on the last day of the regular season in Houston Ricketts (who was believed to favor Sandberg as the next Cubs manager) had a meeting with Cubs players about the future direction of the team, and Alfonso Soriano yelled out from the back of the room "We want Quade back," followed by loud applause, and Trammell thinks that's when Quade got his ticket punched for 2011.

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