Bruce Miles: The Sweet Life of Lou

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

 

 

Great article by Bruce as he writes a nice piece about the Cubs new manager.

 

A few points of interest.

 

While the 63-year-old Piniella spent the summer of 2006 in the broadcast booth, he’s truly at home on a ball field, and he says he’s facing the final challenge of his baseball career as the new manager of the Cubs.

 

“I missed it,” Piniella said, running his hand through hair that’s more salt than pepper. “I didn’t know if I was going to get the opportunity to get back in. I told my wife toward the end of the summer I was going to have to make a decision. If I had stayed out a couple years and stayed up in the booth, I think that would have been the end of this. I told my wife, ‘Let’s pray about this thing and make the right decision.’æ”

 

Lord only knows why the answer to some people’s prayers lands them at the corner of Clark and Addison Streets in Chicago. That intersection could just as easily be Heartbreak Lane and Disappointment Avenue, but there Piniella landed.

 

“I made the right decision,” he said without hesitation. “I enjoy this. I enjoy being around players. I enjoy being in this environment, and I enjoy the competition of the games.”

[Bruce Miles]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

Care to offer a comparison to the last regime?

[Sammy Sofa]

I love Lou.

 

I love Bruce.

 

I love the Cubs.

 

I really shouldn't be this happy.

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

How many Dudes in the interview Bruce?

 

:wink:

 

Seriously Bruce another quality piece. Any chance the Trib is up to hiring a real baseball writer?

[Electron Blue]

I love how fans (at least those most active on this board) have come to like Lou so much even before the season started. At the end of last year, if I remember right, Lou was seen as a terrible choice.

 

He just seems like a good fit for some reason.

[UMFan83]

I love how fans (at least those most active on this board) have come to like Lou so much even before the season started. At the end of last year, if I remember right, Lou was seen as a terrible choice.

 

He just seems like a good fit for some reason.

 

I'm waiting to see how he handles adversity before I really decide my opinions on him. It's easy to be liked before the games begin and the competition heats up.

[wade]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

So, given all the new, talented players, the new coaching staff, and the possible return to health of other talented players- are the beat writers excited just like the regular fan?

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

I love how fans (at least those most active on this board) have come to like Lou so much even before the season started. At the end of last year, if I remember right, Lou was seen as a terrible choice.

 

He just seems like a good fit for some reason.

 

I'm waiting to see how he handles adversity before I really decide my opinions on him. It's easy to be liked before the games begin and the competition heats up.

 

I say it's because we are hearing and reading things like strike zone discipline, professional pride, and personal responsability from Piniella. Something that at the end of last year we can all pretty much agree were missing.

 

Its like a HS coach whose is replacing someone who won four games in four years. Until you only win four games in four years you are a messiah to the masses.

[Bruce Miles]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

Care to offer a comparison to the last regime?

 

Dusty showed promise at the beginning of his tenure, but he never warmed to Chicago. As I wrote one time, he probably couldn't name all the beat writers and what paper they worked for. Lou has used my name more in the Fitch Park portion of spring training than Dusty did in four years. And I'm not exaggerating on that one. The San Francisco media treated Dusty with kid gloves, to say the least. And some people out there sniped at the Chicago media and Chicago fans for their "unfair" treatment of Dusty. And no, there have been no "Dudes" or references to Hank Aaron, Ralph Garr, Billy Swift (in reference to pitch counts), Bob Welch, and others in the daily news conferences.

[circlecitycub]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

Does he still start every reply with "Look" or "Let me tell you something"? I got a kick out of that during his first press conference with the Cubs.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

Care to offer a comparison to the last regime?

 

Dusty showed promise at the beginning of his tenure, but he never warmed to Chicago. As I wrote one time, he probably couldn't name all the beat writers and what paper they worked for. Lou has used my name more in the Fitch Park portion of spring training than Dusty did in four years. And I'm not exaggerating on that one. The San Francisco media treated Dusty with kid gloves, to say the least. And some people out there sniped at the Chicago media and Chicago fans for their "unfair" treatment of Dusty. And no, there have been no "Dudes" or references to Hank Aaron, Ralph Garr, Billy Swift (in reference to pitch counts), Bob Welch, and others in the daily news conferences.

 

Thanks, Bruce. That last statement has me rotflol.

[Chris]

And no, there have been no "Dudes" or references to Hank Aaron, Ralph Garr, Billy Swift (in reference to pitch counts), Bob Welch, and others in the daily news conferences.

 

Awesome

 

:lol:

[Buford T Justice]

Nice article Bruce..Are you seeing anything different in the team (other than new players) that you haven't witnessed in the past?

[Guest]

I've come to the opinion that I really like Lou. Whether I think he's the right man for the job...we'll find that out during the season. But I will say I find myself hoping that's the case at this point.

[bhogg]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

Care to offer a comparison to the last regime?

 

Lou has used my name more in the Fitch Park portion of spring training than Dusty did in four years. And I'm not exaggerating on that one.

 

 

sounds like lou has read "How to Win Friends and Influence People."

 

Philosophies taught in that book / course would definitely carry over to a major league team --- there's too many egos to deal with for them not to.

[Bruce Miles]

This guy is going to be one hell of an interview day after day. We're loving it.

 

Does he still start every reply with "Look" or "Let me tell you something"? I got a kick out of that during his first press conference with the Cubs.

 

Oh yeah, we get a lot of, "Look," at the beginning of sentences. And a lot of "and, and, and, and, and," in the middle of sentences. Give you a chance to catch your breath while you're listening to your recorder.

[Bruce Miles]

Nice article Bruce..Are you seeing anything different in the team (other than new players) that you haven't witnessed in the past?

 

The workouts are more fast-paced and efficient. Mike Quade hits a million flyballs in a short period of time, and Alan Trammell never stops. Trammell is one of the all-time great guys in baseball, dating to his playing days in Detroit.

[BigbadB]

I've climbed on board the Piniella bandwagon. I was very skeptical at first, preferring Bochy. But, Piniella has brought back an excitement that I haven't really had in a long while.

 

He's definitely saying all the right things. I can only hope that translates to doing all the right things, also.

 

I like the coaching staff he's assembled.

 

And I do like that Lou doesn't just accept things the way they are without a fight. When an umpire is calling everything a ball, Dusty would sit there like a bump on a log. I can hear Lou giving the ump a dose of what he's got coming for squeezing the strike zone.

 

I can also envision Lou inspiring his players to give their all everyday. Dusty's laid back approach seemed to have players standing on their heals rather than the balls of their feet.

 

Some of this is just perception, but it feels good to not have to critique every single thing that comes out of the manager's mouth for once.

[TB_11]

Awesome article Bruce.

 

I'm not sure Cub fans will agree with every decision Lou makes, but it'll sure be entertaining. We're all enjoying the ride right now.

[tkenm356]

Great article, Bruce.

 

Me? I wanted Girardi. Now? I'm glad I didn't get my way. No offense to Girardi, but Lou is the man, and everything he says gets me pumped up for this season. Lou kicks ass.

[Jon]

It's only February, though. Not only have we not seen him make any game decisions yet, he hasn't made any decisions period.

 

The quotes are fine, but it doesn't really effect how he's going to be as a manager.

 

It's going to be quite a while before I can start to form any opinion on what kind of job he's going to do.

[Roast]

I hated the Lou signing when it started, but everything I read from him is positive. I like him a lot so far.

[98navigator]

I like his quotes but it's really his track record that sells me. 1500+ managerial victories and being the fourth active winningest manager speaks for itself (and it could have been a lot better if the teams he had in Tampa Bay had more advanced talent).

 

He wasn't my first choice and that's only because of the issue of longevity; He probably isn't going to be here longer than his 4th option year. However, I always believed in his ability to get the best out of his players. On another note, I'll also admit that I liked the Baker signing initially but this pales in comparison because Dusty was not a championship manager...

 

I think Piniella's three World Series victories (2 as a player) go along way with credibility in the locker room. So when he says to the team that "they have as much talent as any team [he's] managed" he gets their attention and gets them believing in themselves which is half the battle.

 

I'm sure we won't agree with his every move but there are still Cardinal's fans that don't like TLR even though he's been nothing but a consistent winner as well.

 

On a similar note, I recall watching a Cardinal's game last fall on Fox where TLR asked Lou about his plans for 2007 while also wishing out loud that Piniella wouldn't end up in the NL Central. Of course, those two are friends but Tony also knows first hand that Lou is a heck of a manager. Like I said, Lou has a good track record and I don't expect his result will deviate from the other veteran teams he's managed.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Lou is the first guy we've had here who seems like a "real manager", an old school, traditional type of guy with authority, since Popeye. I love managers like that. Leo was the archetype of course, on other teams, I'm thinking of guys like Sparky Anderson, Earl Weaver, Lasorda, etc...

 

I think Lou has his fun, but won't put up with any crap either. He's an adult running the clubhouse, not "one of the guys" like Baylor and Baker, or a "clipboard guy" like Riggleman. I know it's unfair to over-stereotype, but that's my feel of it, Lou has "it", for what that's worth.

 

And yes, one of the highlights of the year will be when Lou blows up for the first time. In four years of Dusty, we saw that what, twice? There was the Larussa shout-out game, and the game where Dusty kicked dust on home plate (I forget the opponent), that's about it.

 

Go Lou!