Laments that Sandberg is no longer a Cub?

T

tiggerhawk

Well-Known Member
Ryne Sandberg has returned to the organization where he started his basebal career. He begins his new life as a Philadelphia Phillie by managing their Triple A farm team in Allentown (Lehigh Valley)...with rampant speculation that he becomes the heir-apparent to Charlie Manual as the next Phillies manager.

The irony is that Sandberg rejoined the Phillies just a few days after they hired Juan Samuel as third base coach on the parent team & to replace Davey Lopes as the base-running guru (with many observers assuming he was to be the manager-in-waiting for manual's retirement). It was Samuel who the Phillies decided to keep and make Sandberg available in the trade that brought him & Larry Bowa to Wrigley Field. Nice to see payback for Ryne.

But sadder to realize that all our expectations and anticipation of the day when he would take over as the Cubs manager are gone. Just another of Hendry's many, many stupid blunders. No disrespect to new manager Mike Quade, but he is a veteran of many years moving from one organization to another--about a dozen different teams in a half dozen systems over thirty years. He is a "veteran baseball man", not a guy with a genuine Chicago Cub identity. Of the true icons of the modern-era Cubs--Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Andre Dawson & Sandberg--it was Sandberg alone who seem destined to become a legendary manager of the team as well.

Every day things keep looking bleaker.
 
I think Quade is a safe hire, but the problem here is Hendry, who basically gave the finger repeatedly to Sandberg.

Sandberg did everything that was asked of him, but in the end, Hendry didn't really want Sandberg around.

How the hell Hendry has kept his job with his ineptitude is beyond me.
 
I'm not here to defend Hendry by any means, however...what other major league teams were falling over themselves to hire Ryno? I mean, that has to say something. Ryno was my favorite player growing up and he remains one of my favorite Cubs of all time. The last thing I wanted to have happen was for him to come in and manage the team, THIS team, and fail, giving him and his legacy a black eye. In all honesty, for him to say "I have no interest in managing at Triple A" and then go and take another AAA job elsewhere when he could have been one of Q's bench coaches sort of makes him look bad. And it pains me even to say that. I actually think this works out the best for the Cubs, IMO, and give Hendry the benefit of the doubt on this one. That being said, Hendry, GO GET US A FIRST BASEMAN!
 
None whatsoever. If he was as upset as the Chicago media reported he was about not getting the big-league job, why weren't teams beating down his door to hire him?
 
I for one as a Cardinal fan am perfectly happy watching the Cubs self destruct. The only thing that makes me happy'er than a Cardinal win is a Cubs lost. I have enjoyed the many Cub meltdowns over the past 10...20... oh heck every since I have been alive and I look forward to many more in the future. The Cubs never fail to disapoint :D
 
The Cubs dodged a huge bullet here. Sandberg will not be a good big league manager. I highly doubt he ever gets the Phillies top job, being AAA manager does not make you heir apparent for a job, the bench coach is more often than not, the next guy in line. Ryne Sandberg loves small ball, he loves sac bunts and playing the game "the right way". This is not smart baseball, giving away out is not smart. Sandberg was not a vocal leader on those Cubs teams, he went about his business but he was a pretty quiet guy. He has little to no personality. All the Cubs fans talking about what a terrible move this was letting him go really have no idea what they are talking about. Quade is a much better hire.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
The Cubs dodged a huge bullet here. Sandberg will not be a good big league manager. I highly doubt he ever gets the Phillies top job, being AAA manager does not make you heir apparent for a job, the bench coach is more often than not, the next guy in line. Ryne Sandberg loves small ball, he loves sac bunts and playing the game "the right way". This is not smart baseball, giving away out is not smart. Sandberg was not a vocal leader on those Cubs teams, he went about his business but he was a pretty quiet guy. He has little to no personality. All the Cubs fans talking about what a terrible move this was letting him go really have no idea what they are talking about. Quade is a much better hire.
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this. ryno was my favorite player growing up so i dont want to see his legacy ruined.
 
silvanthalas said:
I think Quade is a safe hire, but the problem here is Hendry, who basically gave the finger repeatedly to Sandberg.

Sandberg did everything that was asked of him, but in the end, Hendry didn't really want Sandberg around.

How the hell Hendry has kept his job with his ineptitude is beyond me.
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People seem to think Hendry promised the job to Sandberg if he went and coached in the minors. He didn't. He told Ryne that if he wanted to get an MLB managing job, he needed to coach in the minors first. He never had a timeline for him, never promised him anything. Quade has been in this game a long time, slowly working his way up, he deserves this shot. Quade almost the Cubs job when they hired Piniella, he didn't sulk about it when he was passed over, he stayed with the Cubs and got his shot four years later. Quade has a short contract, there's a very good possibility the Cubs won't be good the next two years, and deservingly or not Quade could be let go. Sandberg would then have a great shot at the job but apparently he felt it was his right to manage an MLB team after coaching in the minors for four whole seasons.
 
I personally love the Quade hire. He gelled with the players and they produced at the end of the year. If you think Sandberg "earned" a shot, then Quade quadruple earned it. As a cub fan I love Ryno, but I think he should've sucked it up. Quade has a 2 year deal, and with the club the Cubs have now, they won't make the playoffs and a spot will most likely be open. Like many have said no one else put an offer out to him so maybe there is more than meets the eye. Maybe Ryno is NOT ready for the MLB. I don't know.
 
only time can tell but now that ive been thinking about the hire i think not signing ryno was a good idea
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
People seem to think Hendry promised the job to Sandberg if he went and coached in the minors.
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I never said that. But in the end, Hendry's comments compared to Sandberg's certainly leave me with the impression that Sandberg's interview was a shame. That Sandberg was never seriously considered, and that Hendry simply lead Sandberg along.

Where did Sandberg hear that he was welcome back at Iowa? Not from Hendry.

And there was no way in hell that the Cubs were going to put Sandberg on the bench next to Quade. Not when it leaves the fans able to clamor for Sandberg to replace Quade - Hendry's guy - when things go bad.

If you want to be naive and continue to hang on Hendry's every word, be my guest. But he's just another used car salesman, and the Cubs will continue to be a pile of sh*t under him.
 
silvanthalas said:
I never said that. But in the end, Hendry's comments compared to Sandberg's certainly leave me with the impression that Sandberg's interview was a shame. That Sandberg was never seriously considered, and that Hendry simply lead Sandberg along.

Where did Sandberg hear that he was welcome back at Iowa? Not from Hendry.

And there was no way in hell that the Cubs were going to put Sandberg on the bench next to Quade. Not when it leaves the fans able to clamor for Sandberg to replace Quade - Hendry's guy - when things go bad.

If you want to be naive and continue to hang on Hendry's every word, be my guest. But he's just another used car salesman, and the Cubs will continue to be a pile of sh*t under him.
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Maybe Sandberg just isn't ready to be a MLB manager. Hendry did tell him he was welcome to stay at Iowa.

Sandberg welcome to retain Iowa managing job - Chicago Breaking Sports

But Sandberg had already decided that since he didn't get the head job he was too proud to go back to AAA. The Cubs have been more successful under Hendry than almost any other period in the last century. This "pile of ****" Cubs team is just to years removed from back to back NL central division titles, including a 97 win team in '08.

If you want to continue to be naive and think Sandberg will be a successful MLB manager, be my guest.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
The Cubs dodged a huge bullet here. Sandberg will not be a good big league manager. I highly doubt he ever gets the Phillies top job, being AAA manager does not make you heir apparent for a job, the bench coach is more often than not, the next guy in line. Ryne Sandberg loves small ball, he loves sac bunts and playing the game "the right way". This is not smart baseball, giving away out is not smart. Sandberg was not a vocal leader on those Cubs teams, he went about his business but he was a pretty quiet guy. He has little to no personality. All the Cubs fans talking about what a terrible move this was letting him go really have no idea what they are talking about. Quade is a much better hire.
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This is such a bad take. The reference of playing the game "the right way" refered to a natural (IE non drug free approach) it has nothing to do with his managerial style. Further to say he wouldn't make an ideal major league manager because he sac bunts to much is very poorly thought out. Of course he emphasized the sac bunt frequently while managing in the minors. They are developmental leagues. One of the big problems the Cubs have had is poor fundamental skills which has caused them to really focus on that throughout the farm system. The idea he would utilize the sac bunt as much in the majors as he did in AA or AAA is just plain stupid.
Your comment on his personality is plain laughable. He's shown plenty of fire in the dugout (he lead his league in managerial ejections in multple years).

Lastly the guy has excelled in everything he's done in baseball. He excelled in all phases of the game as a player, fielding, baserunning, hitting, fundamentals, clubhouse, and he's excelled at everything he's done as a manager. Everything he's done ponts to continued excellence as he progresses to the major league level.
 
DuffMan said:
This is such a bad take. The reference of playing the game "the right way" refered to a natural (IE non drug free approach) it has nothing to do with his managerial style. Further to say he wouldn't make an ideal major league manager because he sac bunts to much is very poorly thought out. Of course he emphasized the sac bunt frequently while managing in the minors. They are developmental leagues. One of the big problems the Cubs have had is poor fundamental skills which has caused them to really focus on that throughout the farm system. The idea he would utilize the sac bunt as much in the majors as he did in AA or AAA is just plain stupid.
Your comment on his personality is plain laughable. He's shown plenty of fire in the dugout (he lead his league in managerial ejections in multple years).

Lastly the guy has excelled in everything he's done in baseball. He excelled in all phases of the game as a player, fielding, baserunning, hitting, fundamentals, clubhouse, and he's excelled at everything he's done as a manager. Everything he's done ponts to continued excellence as he progresses to the major league level.
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No, this has nothing to do with his AA or AAA managerial style, although they did further enforce my point. He talked about his love of the sac bunt in his HOF speech, he wrote a column for yahoo sports that frequently talked about his love of small ball, sac bunts, hitting and running etc. Also playing the game the "right way" had nothing to do with drugs, it was in refrence to fundamentals and doing the little things.

Being a good baseball players does not correlate with being a good manager. In fact being a gifted players makes can actually be a handicap a lot of the time since players like that can have a hard time relating to players who aren't as talented. Also you can have no personality and still have anger issues, they aren't mutually exclusive.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
If you want to continue to be naive and think Sandberg will be a successful MLB manager, be my guest.
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You know what? I don't even give a crap what your pathetic reasoning to assume he can't be a successful manager.

You're not interested in logic or reason or the fact that Hendry is a complete ******* blow hole who has made so many poor contract decisions that it has hamstrung the Cubs for years to come. So, I guess we're done here
 
ShadasRevenge said:
None whatsoever. If he was as upset as the Chicago media reported he was about not getting the big-league job, why weren't teams beating down his door to hire him?
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Actually they were. He had numerous offers, most notably from the wealthiest, most successful organizations in baseball including the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Mets, Giants & Texas as well as Philadelphia.

He not only received multiple years assurance on tenure, and assurance that he will be given the resources and the time to succeed...and, most of all, the commitment that if he comes through he will get priority when Charlie manual's successor is chosen. There is no doubt that he begins, at least, as the heir-apparent to managing the team that currently is the most successful franchise in the NL.

Manual is hardly a legendary manager: replacing him with a team that is a pennant contender has to be a better opportunity than Sandberg would have gotten taking over a Cub team that is three, four years from serious contention...aging, too many long-term costly contracts for non-performers, unrealistic fan expectations, little talent in the pipeline, a GM who is either on his way out the door...or should be.
 
silvanthalas said:
You know what? I don't even give a crap what your pathetic reasoning to assume he can't be a successful manager.

You're not interested in logic or reason or the fact that Hendry is a complete ******* blow hole who has made so many poor contract decisions that it has hamstrung the Cubs for years to come. So, I guess we're done here
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Nice logic there pal. So by your reasoning since Hendry always makes bad moves, hiring Quade is a bad move. Wouldn't this mean if he hired Sandberg that would also be a bad move? Sorry my "pathetic reasoning" doesn't match up with your great logic.
 
tiggerhawk said:
Actually they were. He had numerous offers, most notably from the wealthiest, most successful organizations in baseball including the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Mets, Giants & Texas as well as Philadelphia.

He not only received multiple years assurance on tenure, and assurance that he will be given the resources and the time to succeed...and, most of all, the commitment that if he comes through he will get priority when Charlie manual's successor is chosen. There is no doubt that he begins, at least, as the heir-apparent to managing the team that currently is the most successful franchise in the NL.

Manual is hardly a legendary manager: replacing him with a team that is a pennant contender has to be a better opportunity than Sandberg would have gotten taking over a Cub team that is three, four years from serious contention...aging, too many long-term costly contracts for non-performers, unrealistic fan expectations, little talent in the pipeline, a GM who is either on his way out the door...or should be.
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Yeah, except for he didn't have offers from any of those teams besides the Phillies. And where are you getting the part about "assurance on tenure" and that he will be given priority when Manuel retires? I haven't seen this anywhere. What is actually true is this:

Sandberg said he took the Phillies’ job with no expectations beyond the Class AAA level. But Green acknowledged the obvious: with Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel turning 67 in January, Sandberg might again loom as a replacement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/sports/baseball/16kepner.html

So it's saying he might be a possible replacement, not that he was given any guarantee.
 
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