Misc: How long will Mike Quade last?

[IcSyU]

Former player doesn't mean good manager.

 

[GoCubsGo]

In summary, expect Sandberg and the Cubs to pubically make up somtime later this season or early next year, and he will return to the team in some capacity, and be the manager by the start of 2013, unless Quade makes a deal with the devil to make this team preform.

That sounds gross. I hope I'm not there when it happens...

 

[GoCubsGo]

So I have a few thoughts on this whole Cubs/Manager situation that is probably going to be a bigger issue by the end of this season.

It is pretty obvious that this team will be nothing short of mediocre for the remainder of this season, and ultimately I think Cubs management knew this to start the season. Having a Cubs legend in Sandberg manage this team would have killed his standing with the fans and would have been a no win situation. It also helped Quade for when the Cubs part ways with him, in that he now has big league experience and can get another job when the job will ultimately go to Sandberg in 2013 (i agree that quade will be here this year and part if not all of next season).

As for the team, you look at a few players that you want to build a franchise around, and the Cubs actually look pretty decent. With Soto, Castro, Barney, and one of the young outfielders like Campana or Montanez, the Middle of the field looks pretty set for the long haul. Filling in big bats at the corner of the infield and outfield is a big need going forward as Pena, Rammi, Fukudome, and Soriano wont be around much longer at all. I unfortunatley am not too up with who might be available going forward in free agency, but partially using the farm system and going out and finding someone for 1 or 2 of these spots would be a great fix in my opinion.

Pitching is a toss up for me. There are a lot of talented pitchers on the roster, but no consistency at all. You know that this pitching coach wont last more then this season with how things are going, but I cant put my finger on 1 guy who either needs to go or is someone to build a rotation around. I hope Cashner turns into a #1 starter and Garza figures out NL hitters, but who knows?

In summary, expect Sandberg and the Cubs to pubically make up somtime later this season or early next year, and he will return to the team in some capacity, and be the manager by the start of 2013, unless Quade makes a deal with the devil to make this team preform.

Unfortunately, the Cubs look like they are going to be far short of mediocre, and Soriano's contract is barely half-way over. He's a Cub through 2014.

 

[CycloneErik]

The empty seats in Wrigley would tell me this fanbase isn't enthused right now and I don't think a different manager would change that. Better talent would change that.

There are empty seats, but almost all of those tickets are paid for.

There are not many available seats on cubs.com to purchase, and the available ones are mostly single tickets. If a person wants to go and sit by themselves, there is a ticket available for them.

 

[AllIowaTeams]

Former player doesn't mean good manager.

Not by any means, but it certainly helps the chances of success. Especially when you're talking about a guy like Sandberg who played a long time, and saw it all. He was around all kinds of different players and their egos, and he had a ton of success in the majors.

 

[CycloneErik]

Player doesn't equal manager, but winning at every level indicates some managerial ability. Ryno isn't just getting lucky year after year. He'll get his shot somewhere, and he'll do great.

 

[mred]

Player doesn't equal manager, but winning at every level indicates some managerial ability. Ryno isn't just getting lucky year after year. He'll get his shot somewhere, and he'll do great.

He was 284-277 as a manager in the Cubs system. His first season with a team that finished more than 3 games over .500 was Iowa last season, his 4th season as a manager. I'm not saying that proves anything about his abilities as a manager either way since an awful lot of factors go into the W-L record, especially in the minors. But you can't say he's been a proven winner as a minor-league manager either.

 

[Incyte]

Not by any means, but it certainly helps the chances of success. Especially when you're talking about a guy like Sandberg who played a long time, and saw it all. He was around all kinds of different players and their egos, and he had a ton of success in the majors.

You just described Lou Pinella. You just described Dusty Baker. You just described Don Baylor.

I fail to see the link unless you are arguing that Sandberg will be in a long line of managers that will flame out.

Sandberg is like the back-up quarterback. The most popular guy in town until he acutally plays.

 

[rebecacy]

Now I'm really confused. Rebecacy doesn't like having the Cub threads, but now he's participating in them? Or trolling in them? Or something?

Cuz you told me it was my right to do so ;-)

 

[cycloneworld]

That's funny you bring that up. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I used to suspect the same thing. Why invest heavily in your roster when roughly 3/4 of your sellout crowd is going to show up just for the Wrigley experience no matter what happens on the field? Better margins, right? Then they started throwing huge money at the wrong guys, and I realized that they really are trying to field a winning team; the problem is that they're just failing in spectacular fashion every year.

I would have agreed with you 10 years ago...but not now. The Cubs have had a top 5 payroll for years and years now. So they are trying to win but Hendry has made horrible moves/deals. If management was fine with the "lovable loser" role, they wouldn't be trying to spend to win.

 

[Neckbeard]

So I have a few thoughts on this whole Cubs/Manager situation that is probably going to be a bigger issue by the end of this season.

It is pretty obvious that this team will be nothing short of mediocre for the remainder of this season, and ultimately I think Cubs management knew this to start the season. Having a Cubs legend in Sandberg manage this team would have killed his standing with the fans and would have been a no win situation. It also helped Quade for when the Cubs part ways with him, in that he now has big league experience and can get another job when the job will ultimately go to Sandberg in 2013 (i agree that quade will be here this year and part if not all of next season).

As for the team, you look at a few players that you want to build a franchise around, and the Cubs actually look pretty decent. With Soto, Castro, Barney, and one of the young outfielders like Campana or Montanez, the Middle of the field looks pretty set for the long haul. Filling in big bats at the corner of the infield and outfield is a big need going forward as Pena, Rammi, Fukudome, and Soriano wont be around much longer at all. I unfortunatley am not too up with who might be available going forward in free agency, but partially using the farm system and going out and finding someone for 1 or 2 of these spots would be a great fix in my opinion.

Pitching is a toss up for me. There are a lot of talented pitchers on the roster, but no consistency at all. You know that this pitching coach wont last more then this season with how things are going, but I cant put my finger on 1 guy who either needs to go or is someone to build a rotation around. I hope Cashner turns into a #1 starter and Garza figures out NL hitters, but who knows?

In summary, expect Sandberg and the Cubs to pubically make up somtime later this season or early next year, and he will return to the team in some capacity, and be the manager by the start of 2013, unless Quade makes a deal with the devil to make this team preform.

You don't really think Montanez or Campania are good do you? Montanez was drafted in the first round by the Cubs in 2000 as a shortstop. He's not young and was cut by the Orioles this year. Campania looks like a jockey, not a ball player. He's a pinch-runner/defensive replacement for a team that can afford to carry one. I'd quibble with Soto too. He's incredibly inconsistent from year to year. Maybe he smoked dope all off season again. Please let Barney be a long-term solution and not the next one-hit wonder.

Sandberg and the Cubs will not make up until there is a new GM. It's also no guarantee that he will get hired since the new GM may want nothing to do with him either. They will have a big say in who is hired. I'm thankful Ryno isn't tending to this debacle.

 

[CyBroncos]

I would have agreed with you 10 years ago...but not now. The Cubs have had a top 5 payroll for years and years now. So they are trying to win but Hendry has made horrible moves/deals. If management was fine with the "lovable loser" role, they wouldn't be trying to spend to win.

This. There are no excuses. The Cubs have shelled out the cash but continue to be bad. It's a systemic problem with that franchise...from the guys in the front office making the moves down to the guys in charge of finding and molding young talent.

The Cubs need a complete overhaul. Get some smart, innovative people in the front office. The Red Sox took a chance on a young kid named Theo Epstein and found the right manager in Tito Francona and haven't looked back since.

 

[Neckbeard]

There are empty seats, but almost all of those tickets are paid for.

There are not many available seats on cubs.com to purchase, and the available ones are mostly single tickets. If a person wants to go and sit by themselves, there is a ticket available for them.

They can go to stubhub and get a ticket in the balcony for $3. Not a typo. I went to Friday of Memorial Day last week and paid $24 for a bleacher seat. 4 years ago we paid $75. Ticket demand has plummeted and next year it will hit the Cubs in the pocket when ticket brokers and amateur ticket resellers vacate the market. It's already hitting them in the pocket in terms of lost revenue in concessions and merchandise. They want to say it's the weather but that's not the whole story. It's not the cash cow it was a couple years ago.

 

[CycloneErik]

They can go to stubhub and get a ticket in the balcony for $3. Not a typo. I went to Friday of Memorial Day last week and paid $24 for a bleacher seat. 4 years ago we paid $75. Ticket demand has plummeted and next year it will hit the Cubs in the pocket when ticket brokers and amateur ticket resellers vacate the market. It's already hitting them in the pocket in terms of lost revenue in concessions and merchandise. They want to say it's the weather but that's not the whole story. It's not the cash cow it was a couple years ago.

I'll give you that.

revkah and I have looked at sneaking down to a Cubs-Royals game in KC (maybe our best opponent for a win.......). The StubHub sellers are 2.5 times the prices on the Royals website, and I'm assuming that stems from the demand Cubs fans create when the team is anywhere near decent. Those sellers are in for a rude awakening as those games draw near. No way they're going to get away with $85 seats that the Royals sell for $30-40.

 

[gocubs2118]

The paid attendance on Memorial Day was just over 30,000. The crowds haven't been this small in over a decade.

 

[Neckbeard]

No one could win with this team. This team is awful and anyone who took an impartial look before the season started could see that.

I'm almost hoping they nose-dive to the point that Rickets has no option but to fire Hendry.

Ater this season, the % of seasons the Cubs have made the playoffs under Hendry will be what, 33%? That's awful for a team with the payroll the size of the Cubs. Follow that up with the fact they usually get swept in the playoffs when they do make it I've come to the conclusion that he has to go.

I hope that Ricketts doesn't chalk this up to injuries and decides to give Hendry another year. The injuries are taking a 75-80 win team to a 65-70 win team. Either way it wasn't a winner. It would be tragic if Hendry was allowed to re-spend the money that's coming free from his previous mistakes.

The best deadline move we could make would be to dangle Marmol in the trade market. He's young, great stuff and a reasonable contract for the next few years. He's of little value to us getting three save ops a month and pitching the rest of the time in mop up duty because of lack of use. Our GM can't make that move b/c he's trying to save his hide.

One of my favorite baseball writers called the Cubs, "an organization in need of an enema." Couldn't say it better.

 

[CycloneErik]

Since Hendry has had 9 years now, it's fair to say he's replaceable.

Why not try something off-the-wall and hire Steve Stone?

I'm only saying this for something out there. It wouldn't hurt to hire someone that's actually worked in a front office before, which Stone hasn't.

Basically, anything that got Stone associated with the Cubs again. I miss having that dude around.

 

[enisthemenace]

You don't really think Montanez or Campania are good do you? Montanez was drafted in the first round by the Cubs in 2000 as a shortstop. He's not young and was cut by the Orioles this year. Campania looks like a jockey, not a ball player. He's a pinch-runner/defensive replacement for a team that can afford to carry one. I'd quibble with Soto too. He's incredibly inconsistent from year to year. Maybe he smoked dope all off season again. Please let Barney be a long-term solution and not the next one-hit wonder.

Sandberg and the Cubs will not make up until there is a new GM. It's also no guarantee that he will get hired since the new GM may want nothing to do with him either. They will have a big say in who is hired. I'm thankful Ryno isn't tending to this debacle.

This is a very solid post. Rep to you Sir.

 

[rebecacy]

They can go to stubhub and get a ticket in the balcony for $3. Not a typo. I went to Friday of Memorial Day last week and paid $24 for a bleacher seat. 4 years ago we paid $75. Ticket demand has plummeted and next year it will hit the Cubs in the pocket when ticket brokers and amateur ticket resellers vacate the market. It's already hitting them in the pocket in terms of lost revenue in concessions and merchandise. They want to say it's the weather but that's not the whole story. It's not the cash cow it was a couple years ago.

House of Cards, 100+ years is a long time!!

 

[jbindm]

I would have agreed with you 10 years ago...but not now. The Cubs have had a top 5 payroll for years and years now. So they are trying to win but Hendry has made horrible moves/deals. If management was fine with the "lovable loser" role, they wouldn't be trying to spend to win.

Yeah, that's why I said I used to suspect it. Maybe I worded it poorly, but I think you just disagreed with me and then supported your argument by agreeing with me.