Sandberg, who could teach Theriot a thing or two about how to correctly throw a ball to a Gold Glove caliber first baseman, will manage the Triple A Iowa Cubs. And that has fans of Chicago's Cubs giggly over the idea of their Hall of Fame second baseman managing the team in 2011. Seems like a grand idea, right?
Not so fast, my friend.
Are the Cubs really ready to make that next step? I think not. I've been informed many times about hot prospects rapidly going through the minor league system only to see Brooks Kieschnick, Kevin Orie, Corey Patterson and others fail miserably once they step foot within Wrigley Field's ivy covered walls.
The last thing Cubs fans (or the organization itself) needs is a manager to do just that.
On the other hand, I like that Sandberg is climbing up the ranks of the organization. With Tom Ricketts looking to save money anywhere he can, having Sandberg could allow the Cubs to save some money on a few fronts.
They would probably not have to pay Sandberg upward of $3 million to manage the club, as they currently do for Piniella. Also, I'll assume the Cubs would like to save a few bucks by promoting talent from within, and no one should know the minor league talent in the organization like the guy who has managed at each level of the organization.
The odd man out?
Hopefully not.
It is apparent that Cubs fans have taken Piniella for granted. Since coming to Chicago, the Cubs have posted a 265-219 record. Did last year's 83-78 record suck? Fuck and yes. But it was much better than the third season's of Dusty Baker, Don Baylor and Jim Riggleman.
Those three represent the last three full-time managers that came before Piniella. In their third season with the Cubs, the trio combined to win 181 games and lose 226 games. That's a whopping .447 winning percentage.
Makes Piniella look like Frank Chance, doesn't it?
If anything, Piniella should be given a key to the city for leading a team that featured three middle infielders not tall enough to ride a roller coaster at Great America to 83 (bleeping) wins.
Should the Cubs have won more than 83 games in 2009? Again. Fuck and yes. Especially with a $140 million payroll. But it was not as if Piniella handed out a bunch of back-loaded contracts, hamstringing a franchise in years where game-changing free agents hit the market.
My suggestion? Hire Piniella to run the player personnel department. If the Ricketts family likes Jim Hendry so much, they can go the John McDonough route and give him a cushy office job with a lengthy title and little responsibility.
While Piniella looked like he was out of touch with the new era of baseball, the man can still judge talent
He had the foresight to call-up Geovany Soto at the end of the 2007 year and let him win the starting catcher's job in 2008. He sent Michael Barrett and Cesar Izturis to the end of the bench, and hid Jason Marquis in big-game situations. Piniella was the mastermind behind moving Ryan Dempster from the bullpen to the rotation, while moving Carlos Marmol and Angel Guzman from the rotation to the bullpen.
Was he slow in moving Alfonso Soriano down in the order? Of course. But it was Hendry who signed him to be the lead-off man. If he wanted a middle-of-the-order hitter, maybe Hendry should have signed Carlos Lee instead. Did Piniella drop the ball on finding playing time for Jake Fox? Yeah. But Fox oftentimes dropped balls when he was playing in the outfield. That's why he'll be a fine designated hitter in Oakland.
Am I surprised Cubs fans want to send Sweet Uncle Lou and his .548 winning percentage (highest winning percentage of all the team's he has managed, mind you) packing to a Florida retirement home? No. This is the same fan base that pined for Hee Seop Choi's return after Derrek Lee's slow start in April 2004, and advocated starting Micah Hoffpauir at first after a sluggish beginning by Lee in 2009.
But, hey. At least we're not Cardinals fans.
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