Ryne Sandberg: Manager of the Year

Ryne Sandberg, manager of the AAA Iowa Cubs, was named the Pacific Coast League’s manager of the year yesterday. You can’t help but wonder if the hardware will help his cause in the Cubs’ managerial search.

In Sandberg’s first season as Cubs manager, the team was a season-high 21 games over .500 entering Thursday’s contest at Albuquerque.

The Cubs are a in a duel with Memphis and Omaha for the PCL’s Northern Division title. Memphis and Iowa play four games at Principal Park, starting at 7 p.m. today, to end the regular season. The Cubs have had at least a share of the division lead for 47 straight days.

Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman with the Chicago Cubs who managed at single-A Peoria and double-A Tennessee earlier in his career, is having success at the triple-A level this season despite the fact that there have been 107 player transactions. That includes eight players who have been called up from Iowa to Chicago and made their major league debuts this season – Andrew Cashner, Brian Schlitter, Casey Coleman, Marcos Mateo, Thomas Diamond, Scott Maine, Darwin Barney and Welington Castillo. The Des Moines Register.

That the Iowa Cubs have remained so successful in spite of all of those promotions to the big club and constant roster shuffling is a testament to – if nothing else – the fact that Sandberg knows how to work with the players he has.

That said, handling a Major League roster – where you’ve got a slumping $18 million player sitting next to a streaking rookie – is a completely different animal. Still, if Sandberg is to be the Cubs’ next manager, winning awards certainly can’t hurt.

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.

more cubs news

WAKE UP, BASEBALL IS BACK

The day has arrived. Opening Day. The most glorious day on the baseball calendar, save for the day of each Chicago Cubs World Series win, of course. See, I get to say things like that on Opening Day. Maybe the...

Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

Latest News

Today’s March Madness Schedule: Updated Bracket, TV Channels for Every Game

The Sweet 16 is here as March Madness brings us some great matchups tonight! Check out today's March Madness schedule along with game times, TV channels, and more as the college basketball season's biggest games continue. The Sweet 16 Begins...

2024 MLB Mock Draft: Opening Day Mock Draft Projections

Happy Opening Day! As the new baseball season begins, and hope is present among most fanbases, why not take a look at a new 2024 MLB Mock Draft? Various mock drafts meticulously analyze potential picks, emphasizing the abundance of talent...

WAKE UP, BASEBALL IS BACK

The day has arrived. Opening Day. The most glorious day on the baseball calendar, save for the day of each Chicago Cubs World Series win, of course. See, I get to say things like that on Opening Day. Maybe the...

Pac-12 Basketball Predictions, Computer Picks and Best Bets | March 28

There is one game featuring a Pac-12 teams on the Thursday postseason college basketball schedule, the Clemson Tigers versus the Arizona Wildcats. Make sure you check out below for today's best bets!How to Bet on Pac-12 Games[lasso rel="draftkings-promo-1" id="299003"]Best Pac-12...

Rays vs. Blue Jays Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Tampa Bay Rays are moneyline favorites (-135) to begin their season with a home win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on MLB Network.Tampa Bay's Zach Eflin gets the start, and he'll go...

Astros vs. Yankees Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Houston Astros start their season as home favorites (-156) in a matchup with the New York Yankees on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on YES from Minute Maid Park.Framber Valdez will get the ball for Houston while New...

Tigers vs. White Sox Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Detroit Tigers begin their season as -178 favorites in a road tilt against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on BSDET.Detroit's Tarik Skubal gets the start, and he'll go against Chicago's Garrett Crochet.Tigers vs....

Reds vs. Nationals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Cincinnati Reds open their season as -153 favorites in a home matchup with the Washington Nationals on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on MASN2.Frankie Montas will get the ball for Cincinnati while Washington will counter with Josiah Gray.Reds...

Dodgers vs. Cardinals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Los Angeles Dodgers (1-1) will look to Will Smith, red hot after a four-hit game, to lead them in a matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals (0-0) on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on BSMW. The Dodgers are -235...

Marlins vs. Pirates Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Miami Marlins are moneyline favorites (-132) to begin their season with a home win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on Sportsnet PT.Jesus Luzardo will get the ball for Miami while Pittsburgh will counter...

more cubs news