Cubs May Have to Act Fast on Ryne Sandberg and Other Bullets

We’ll be discussing the Carlos Zambrano rumors and the latest Theo Epstein excitement later this morning. For now, bullets…

  • Gordon Wittenmyer says Ryne Sandberg is expected to get “considerable attention” this Winter for a ML managerial job, so the Cubs should act fast if they want to make sure he’s part of the team next year. I’m not sure I agree that Sandberg will be so desired that the Cubs will lose their shot if they don’t act immediately – recall, just last Winter, no team save the Cubs extended Sandberg so much as an interview request. Does one more successful year at AAA change things that dramatically? Maybe. I think the biggest competition the Cubs will face for Sandberg – should they decide to pursue him – will be from the Phillies, who would like to put him on the big league staff, as a possible replacement-in-waiting for Charlie Manuel.
  • Playoff update: The Tigers/Yankees, Rays/Rangers, and Cardinals/Philies series are all tied at 1-1. The Brewers are up 2-0 on the Diamondbacks, which, although I don’t much care for the Brewers, is just fine with me. The Cubs’ 2007 sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks is still a source of chagrin.
  • Paul Sullivan discusses the state of flux in the Cubs’ organization while they wait to settle the GM question.
  • Wow, Marlon Byrd has a crazy, dedicated offseason plan to keep his body in shape.
  • Brad Snyder, a great AAA outfielder who could never quite do it in the bigs with the Cubs, is now a free agent. He could theoretically return on another minor league deal, but he’ll probably move on to another organization or to another country.
  • Keeping the lights on: maybe you want to do a little gaming with respect to the playoffs? If so, try sports betting at TopBet.
  • For those who enjoyed BN user Dave’s dastardly plan for instilling Cub fandom (and Cardinal hate) in his young son, he’s also written about Cardinal fans on the Message Board.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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