Bob Brenly “Would Love” to Manage the Cubs in 2012 and Other Bullets

The Rays were eliminated by the Rangers yesterday in the ALDS, but the Yankees forced a Game Five in their series against the Tigers tomorrow. That means Tom Ricketts can start ringing Rays’ GM Andrew Friedman today, but will have to wait to reach out to Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman, should he be so inclined.

  • Yesterday, Cubs’ color man, Bob Brenly, who’s currently handling games for TBS in the postseason, was asked about his managerial future. Specifically, he was asked whether he’d like to manage the Cubs if Mike Quade is fired. “I guess my attitude is I’m not hiding, they know where to find me,” Brenly said. “If they feel that I’m the guy for the job I would love to interview, I would love to go in and sit down and talk about the future of the organization, but I think I said it a year or so ago: I don’t feel comfortable actively pursuing jobs right now. If a team thinks I’m the right guy for the job, absolutely, I would love another opportunity to get down on the field, but if they don’t feel like I’m the right guy for the job then I feel like I’m banging my head against the wall.” Brenly recently said that he pulled his name out of consideration last year because he sense some trouble on the way. Interesting, by the way, that he didn’t really make an effort to do the “Mike Quade is under contract for 2012, so I assume he’ll still be the manager” thing. Everyone knows.
  • The Arizona Fall League got underway yesterday, and maligned Cubs prospect Josh Vitters got off to a hot start, going 2-4 with two homers. Vitters was playing first base. Also playing, DJ LeMahieu went 0-2 with a couple walks, Junior Lake went 0-3, and reliever Marcus Hatley gave up a run on three hits over 1.1 innings.
  • John Sickels reviews his own pre-2011 hitting prospect list, and that includes a review of number 14, Cubs’ top prospect, Brett Jackson. Of Jackson, Sickels said, “Hit .256/.373/.443 in Double-A, .297/.388/.551 in Triple-A, combined for 20 homers, 21 steals, 73 walks. Main risk is high strikeout rate, but has broad skill base.”
  • MLB fined Tony LaRussa for claiming earlier this week that his team was facing a different strike zone than the Phillies.
  • The Astros’ sale to shipping magnate Jim Crane (have you ever noticed how “magnate” is used exclusively with rich dudes involved in the shipping industry? The word means someone who has reached a prominent place in a particular industry – it doesn’t have to be shipping) is being held up by MLB’s request that he agree to move the team to the AL, says Crane. He believes the move could reduce the value of the franchise for which he’s agreed to pay $680 million, because he’ll have fewer viewers for late night games, and he’ll be in a tougher division. So, he’s looking for compensation from MLB for the move. His purchase agreement expires November 30.
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    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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