Chicago Cubs Interview Eric Wedge for Managerial Opening
The Chicago Cubs have interviewed former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge for their managerial vacancy. Wedge was not among the names rumored to be on the Cubs’ short list as recently as a week ago, so this is at least a moderate surprise.
Wedge managed the Indians from 2003-09, winning the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2007, when he guided the Indians to the ALCS, only to lose to the Boston Red Sox after going up 3-1.
Wedge, 42, won over 500 games with the Indians, including a first-place finish in 2007 and finishing second in 2005 behind the world champion Chicago White Sox.
Wedge, who resides in Richfield, Ohio, was fired by Cleveland after the 2009 season. The Indians are paying Wedge through this season.
The former major league catcher, originally from Ft. Wayne, Ind., was an All-American at Wichita State and was on the 1989 Shockers team that won the College World Series.
At that time, Hendry was the head coach of league rival Creighton University. That’s when Wedge first caught Hendry’s attention….
Wedge would have to be considered a top candidate for the Cubs job. Others to get interviewed will include Ryne Sandberg; former Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez and Washington Nationals coach and former Cubs minor league manager Pat Listach.
Mike Quade, the Cubs interim manager, also will get strong consideration. Friends of New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi have stated he would have strong interest in the Cubs job if he left the Yankees after the season. ESPN Chicago.
It remains a simple fact that, if Girardi does not re-sign with the Yankees, and his demands are reasonable, he will be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs. Here’s hoping that, by interviewing other available candidates long before Girardi is available, the Cubs do not box themselves into a corner – i.e., they’ve got a candidate like Wedge that they like, but he’s got another team like the Mariners breathing down his neck to make a decision. And yet, the Cubs are waiting to hear from Girardi. In that instance, interviewing Wedge so early could put them in an awkward position – and possibly even a position to be left out in the cold with respect to their preferred candidates.
Wedge was fired in 2009 after the Indians were incredibly disappointing for the second consecutive season. The team had a strong core built going into the 2007 season (in which they were very good), but that same core disintegrated over the next two years, leading to Wedge’s undoing.
Series Preview: Brewers v. Cubs, August 2 – August 4, 2010
It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Wrigley Field – still the one team, outside of Arizona, against whom the Cubs have played well this year. The Brewers didn’t conduct a sell-off, so they’ll be at full-strength.
A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of beautiful women, too.
Check out the Brewers series preview, after the jump
Obsessive Lilly Trade Watch: Cubs Would Like to Deal Lilly Before Tuesday
The Chicago Cubs are now actively shopping pitcher Ted Lilly, and would like to have a deal in place before Lilly’s next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
With contenders struggling to find the right match for available starters Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren on the trade market, interest in Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly has stepped up dramatically and a trade could be completed by the end of the weekend, major-league sources said Friday.
Lilly’s trade value skyrocketed after he held the Houston Astros to one run in 7 1/3 innings Wednesday. His next scheduled start is Tuesday in Houston, and sources say the Cubs would like to complete a deal before that outing. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Before we get too excited, it’s worth pointing out that, if the only reason these “sources” believe a Lilly deal will get done soon is because of other teams’ struggles to acquire Oswalt or Haren, the sources may be a day or two behind the curve. Indeed, teams may not be struggling to acquire Oswalt or Haren as much as is suggested in that article. At present, the Astros have scouted and/or exchanged names with three teams – the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Phillies – so they may be getting close to finding a partner. Haren is officially on the Yankees’ radar, and the teams are reportedly getting close to a deal.
That said, it’s unlikely a traded Haren would affect the Lilly trade market, primarily because the Yankees have never been interested in Lilly. In that regard, taking Haren off the market, to a team that was never going to get Lilly, could actually help the Lilly trade market. Thus, I’m rooting strongly for the Yankees to acquire Haren – and soon.
As for Oswalt, each of the Phillies and Dodgers has been connected to Lilly, at least in small ways. Still, the two most likely Lilly destinations – Detroit and New York (Mets) – are not involved.
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: The Dodgers Are A-Callin’
Though he didn’t even appear in the game, last night’s shellacking of Carlos Silva made it incrementally more likely that Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly would be traded. With just over a week to go before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, the Cubs are no doubt continuously evaluating their position vis a vis the other teams in the NL Central. And when you get blown out by one of the worst teams, it becomes a whole lot easier to think sell-sell-sell, even if it’s just “one game.”
With that as a backdrop, we can add another team to the list of suitors for Ted Lilly’s services: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Losers of four in a row and with 13 of their next 17 games against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, the Dodgers, according to baseball sources, have been very aggressive in their pursuit of pitching, both for the rotation and the bullpen. They continue to call the Houston Astros on Roy Oswalt(notes), the Chicago Cubs on Ted Lilly(notes), the Diamondbacks on Haren and even the Cleveland Indians on Jake Westbrook(notes) and Fausto Carmona(notes). Yahoo! Sports.
The only team for which there have been reports of real talks or prospect scouting is the New York Mets, and recently those reports have cooled. It’s good to know there are a number of teams interested in Lilly – the Mets, Dodgers, Tigers, Yankees, Twins, White Sox, among others – but right now, concrete details are a scarcity.
Would Joe Girardi Leave the Yankees to Manage the Cubs?
Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella’s contract is up at the end of this year, and while he gets all the support in the world from Jim Hendry and Tom Ricketts, there is no denying the undercurrent of opposition to having him back as manager next year.
So if Piniella is out for 2011, who’s in? Various names have been mentioned – AAA Iowa manager Ryne Sandberg, announcer and former manager Bob Brenly – but one that hasn’t is the last guy the Cubs strong considered for a managerial spot: Joe Girardi. Would he even consider heading out from the Yanks (where he’s under contract just through this year) to come to Chicago?
In fact, Chicago favorite son Joe Girardi — the man who got that New York job a year later — still calls the Cubs’ managing job attractive.
”It’s a great city, it’s a great baseball town, yeah,” the Peoria native and originally drafted Cub says even now. Even with the confetti still occasionally falling from a sock or shirt sleeve after that latest World Series he presided over as the Yankees’ second-year manager in October.
But would the Northwestern grad and All-Star Cubs catcher with four Yankees rings — three as a player — again consider tackling what might be the only great challenge in the game he hasn’t already taken down in his young managing career.
Maybe even now?
What’s certain is this: The 45-year-old who won a Manager of the Year award in Florida in his first season on the job and a World Series in New York in his third season as a manager (second with the Yanks) is not under contract beyond this season.
What’s nearly as certain is that the Cubs will have a managerial opening after this season, whether because Piniella steps down, is not asked back or by some mutual decision.
And for all the attention and sentiment directed Ryne Sandberg’s way by those speculating on Piniella’s successor, it’s hard to imagine a more suitable replacement than the other guy who played there, is from there, has succeeded at two different ends of the major-league managing spectrum and has commanded respect and performance from young teams in Florida as well as celebrity teams in New York.
”That’s not something I would talk about now,” he said. ”I grew up in Peoria. I grew up a Cub fan. But right now, I’m extremely happy where I’m at.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Interestingly, throughout the article, Girardi is quoted just like that – saying how much he loves the Cubs, but how happy he is right now. Not once does he say something like, “I really hope to stay with the Yankees for years to come.” Of course, that could well be clever quoting by a Chicago Cubs’ writer, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Ted Lilly to the New York Mets?
Now that Cliff Lee is off the trade market, Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly becomes the best available lefty starting pitcher on the market, and remains one of the best two or three available overall. It seems highly likely that, if the Cubs decide to move Lilly and he’s amenable to waiving his limited no-trade clause, the Cubs will be able to find a taker for Lilly. Their first calls no doubt will go out to the losers in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, including the Yankees, Mets, White Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, and division rival Cardinals and Reds, among others.
At least one of those teams – the Mets – have already been attached to Lilly for a couple of weeks now. And according to Joel Sherman, the Mets are expected to “turn strongly” to Lilly, now that Lee is off the market.
When it comes to moving Lilly, there are, of course, some hurdles. There is the aforementioned limited no-trade clause, though Lilly has never indicated a desire to remain in Chicago no matter what. There is also the matter of the $5.5ish million remaining on his deal this year, though the Cubs would be willing to eat some of that, depending on the return.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to trading Lilly, however, is his recent performance. Back-to-back terrible outings in July have seen his ERA climb from 3.12 all the way to 4.08. He gave up five homers in those two starts, and 18 hits in just over 10 innings. They were about as bad as it gets.
Still, he had a 2.53 ERA in June, and sports an excellent 1.15 WHIP. The last two starts notwithstanding, Lilly is generally a durable, consistent starter. He’s also likely to be a Type A free agent, which could further enhance his attractiveness to a team willing to offer him arbitration after the season.
Zambrano Says He’s Fine, But This Bullpen Business is Becoming a Distraction
Carlos Zambrano is a quarterback kicking field goals. A center guarding Steve Nash. A starting pitcher…well, you know the rest.
That’s the score, and we have no choice but to roll with it. Zambrano, himself – following a particularly disastrous outing – is doing his best to reframe the discussion and deflect, but with every passing “I’m fine,” it becomes increasingly clear that he is not.
And the whole thing is a distraction. Good thing the Cubs aren’t clinging to first place or something like that.
Zambrano said he was upset when the change first was made, but not any longer.
”Get this clear: I was unhappy the first day they told me,” Zambrano said. ”I wasn’t sure it was going to work. But now I accept it. I’m a reliever, and I have to do my job as a setup man. I want to help this team, and today I didn’t.
”I’m a professional. If the people in the front office make the decision, as a professional you have to deal with any situation they make. The same situation happened with Alfonso Soriano when he was playing second base [with the Yankees]. They moved him to the outfield and he was unhappy, but now he is a good outfielder. So let’s move on.
”If tomorrow they bring me back to the rotation, I’ll be more than happy to do that. [But] I’m a setup man now. I’m here; that’s what they pay me for — to pitch no matter where. If they need me to be here, I’ll be the eighth-inning guy until they say they don’t want me there.
”That’s the way I handle things, professionally, and accept it.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Perhaps I’m imbuing Zambrano’s comments with my own thoughts, but to me, that does not sound like a happy guy.
And even if he were happy, and even if he were successful, he’d still be doing it for but a quarter of the innings he’d be doing it as a starter. This is the definition of a no-win situation.
President Obama Needles the Chicago Cubs – Again
President Obama is a White Sox fan, so you have to expect a certain level of mouth breathing and meth-teeth.
I kid, I kid.
But seriously, when it comes to White Sox fans, one thing you can expect? Digs at the Chicago Cubs.
Yesterday the self-proclaimed Chicago White Sox fan went out of his way to attack the Chicago Cubs, the most lovable baseball team in the world. It all happened as he welcomed the world champion New York Yankees to the White House.
“Now, it’s been nine years since your last title, which must have felt like an eternity for Yankees fans,” Obama told the team. “I think other teams would be just fine with a spell like that. The Cubs, for example.” The Dallas Morning News.
Of course, there was no need there for the President to mention the Cubs, but the writer is being a tad dramatic. After all, the President is right – a nine year title-less spell? Yes, yes I would be fine with that.
