Anticipation and suspense was at an all-time high two days ago when a rumor started that the Cubs were going to name Mike Quade as the new manager with Ryne Sandberg as bench coach, possibly as early as next week. The story was tweeted by Will Carroll, a baseball insider, on his twitter page and retweeted by 57 others, who no doubt had their tweets retweeted. It was also picked up by mlb.com and bleedcubbieblue.com.
Stories started appearing about the new manager and bench coach almost immediately. Some hailing the upcoming announcement as the right choice, some swearing the Cubs would wait until they could talk to Joe Girardi, some saying the Cubs should have picked up Sandberg. Examiner.com chose to wait until this morning and found out thorough a reliable source affiliated with the organization that there was no substance to the rumors. This was further confirmed by a tweet from Carroll later in the day that the information was false. This doesn’t mean that the Cubs won’t make their decision next week, and it doesn’t mean it’s not Quade. What it does mean is that probably the only people who really know are Cubs Chairman and Owner Tom Ricketts, Cubs President Crane Kenney, Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry, probably Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild (who just exercised his option for 2011) and the new manager.
There are arguments in favor of both Quade and Sandberg. Quade did prove he can lead the team. His record was 24-13 after taking over as manager when Lou Piniella officially retired. However, in a clubhouse that was in utter chaos, almost any new blood at the helm would have energized a team in a downward spiral. While others were considered as manager for the Cubs, there are reports that no other teams have asked to talk to either Quade or Sandberg so far.
It’s unlikely Joe Girardi, who has also been menitoned by fans as a possible manager will be named the new manager. Ricketts has said on numerous occasions that the person who takes over as manager needs to know the team, the history of the team, how much pressure there is on the manager and the team and be able to work under stressful conditions. Girardi has all the qualifications. However, the Cubs also need to keep in mind their bottom line. They are in no position to offer Girardi close to the money he is making with the Yankees. All indications are that an announcement will be made before the World Series starts, and Girardi cannot talk to other teams until his season ends. The Cubs are under no obligation to wait for Girardi to finish his season.
The case for Quade is a bit less clear. He has been with the team eight years starting in the minors as manager of Triple-A Iowa, then coming up to the Cubs to coach third base four years ago. He was named manager on August 22 when Piniella retired. Suddenly the Cubs started winning. Post-game interviews were a pleasure to listen to because Quade actually answered the questions, intelligently, showing he knows the game and his players. Some players, such as Ryan Dempster, have said publically they back Quade. Quade also, by all accounts, is Hendry’s choice as next manager, but Hendry never formally interviewed Quade. He is reported to have said that what he saw and other conversations he had with Quade when he took over as manager were good enough. However, Quade did meet with Ricketts.
Then there’s Ryne Sandberg. For a long time he was a sentimental favorite. Sandberg wanted to be manager when Piniella was hired. He was told at the time that he lacked managerial experience and needed to get it, and he did at the bottom and working his way up beginning in Peoria and making stops in Tennessee and Iowa. Along the way two of his teams went to the championships. Those who have played for him have great respect for him. For Sandberg to not get the managerial position would be a slap in the face to a man who went and did what he was told to do – get experience. Rumor has it Sandberg said that if he didn’t get the manager’s job when Piniella retired, he would look elsewhere. Sandberg would command less money, better for the Cubs bottom line, he fits all of the criteria Ricketts said he wanted in the next manager and just the mention of his name might help fill seats in the ballpark.
Time will tell.
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