Sandberg interview

[Soul]

I've seen more, but can't prove it and really don't want to argue with N&G today.

[Guest]

I've seen more, but can't prove it and really don't want to argue with N&G today.

In fairness to you I think I could see how someone could come that conclusion IF he/she didn't read the minor league threads. He gets nailed pretty good there.

 

My opinion is that Sandberg would be a bad manager based on his behavior in the minors and his comments that I've read. I would like nothing more than for him to manage some other team.

[ScrubMD]

This is one of those moments where I'm fine with letting my sentimental attachment to baseball overrule reasoned objections. I want Sandberg to manage the Cubs really bad.

 

why? so you can see him on tv everyday? would you be equally content if there was a reality show about him or something?

 

i don't understand why anyone would want someone they liked to manage the cubs if they thought they'd do a bad job (unless it was your dad or something and he could hook you up with tickets or tell you secrets about the players or whatever).

 

Not a reality show, that's not the same thing. It would make me happy to see Sandberg out there in uniform every day. And I don't think he would be terrible. There are probably guys that would make our chances of winning a world series very very slightly better, but nostalgia trumps that for me. We're trying to get joy from watching guys we don't know play a game, it makes me feel ridiculous to try to be reasoned about it.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I can't believe we've gone this long without dusting off a chestnut.

 

So here goes...

 

Sandberg is a selfish slimeball. Stay out of Chicago, go manage the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

 

Slimeball who cheated on poor Cindy. Cindy's an awesome lady.

 

Family comes first. Some people never learn.

[hardcorecubfan]

And if he took the job and won the world series with Baltimore the how would you feel?

[Banedon]

And if he took the job and won the world series with Baltimore the how would you feel?

 

I'd feel like I wish the Cubs had the players that the Orioles did (in this imaginary scenario...certainly not now).

[Sammy Sofa]

And if he took the job and won the world series with Baltimore the how would you feel?

 

The same as I feel whenever I see any team that's not the Cubs win the WS?

 

While Sandberg might someday manage a team that wins a WS, it will not have been won because of his managing

[Old Style]

I highly doubt he takes any job until he knows for sure that he won't take over for Lou next year.

 

Why is that? I'm sure if Ryno had to choose between the 2 jobs he'd lean towards the Cubs, but the guy wants to manage, and there are absolutely no guarantees he'd get the Cubs job. There have been rumblings that he'd be considered but who knows if they really want a rookie manager to take over instead of another experienced vet. What if the ideal candidate who is already managing becomes available in the offseason?

If he thinks he has a good shot of getting the Cubs job after this season, I don't think he would take the Orioles job now. His preference is to manage here.

 

Has he said that? I would think his preference is to manage anywhere, and there are no guarantees he would get offered a job with the Cubs. The Cubs basically humored him by letting him coach the low minors when he asked to be considered for a managerial spot in 06. He surprised people by doing well at it, but I still don't know whether the Cubs are really actually considering it. The last 3 managerial hires they've made have been older, established managers with some level of track record. If they did go a different direction, I don't necessarily see them going with Sandberg just because he was a great player for them.

I don't think he's said that specifically, but he came to the Cubs when he decided he wanted to be a manager. He played basically his whole career with the Cubs. It just makes sense. I never said there were any guarantees he would get the job. I merely stated that if he thinks he has a good shot of landing the Cubs job, that he will not take the Orioles job right now. That is strictly my opinion. Maybe he jumps at the first big league gig he's offered, but I would guess that he prefers to manage the Cubs if given the choice.

[kujay]

Add me to the "please Jesus make this come true" group.

 

He's an [expletive].

[Pinktermite]

Would a veteran NSBB poster please make me understand 1. Why Sandberg would be worse than Lou or any other choice for that matter. 2. Why Trammell "deserves his shot". 3. And how there would be any difference in a manager with "experience" vs. one that just managed in the minors? If the team sucks...as our beloved Cubs rightly do...then what but a few games difference can a manager make? After all, he can't swing the bat or throw a strike can he? I'm just asking, not trying to start a fight, just some devil's advocate here.

[Tracer Bullet]

I find it interesting how it seems like a year ago, the general consensus was that Sandberg shouldn't be let near the Cubs. Now it seems to have totally turned around.

 

Uh, what are you basing this on? Anyone rooting for Sandberg to manage the Cubs is still in a very small minority here.

 

Basing on nothing more than my observations of the conversation I've seen here.

 

Then in all honesty you might want to pay more attention. Hell, I don't know how you could come to that conclusion based on just this thread alone. Every time this topic comes up you have people coming out of the woodwork to rant about what a terrible idea it is, and rightly so.

Look up about 6 posts. I don't recall seeing much of that at all before. I've seen several posts like it recently.

 

there are certainly some people that want Sandberg to manage the Cubs. But it appears that most people have just accepted that it will happen, even though they're very much against it. So you may see less angst this year than last b/c you can only bang your head against a wall so many times.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Would a veteran NSBB poster please make me understand 1. Why Sandberg would be worse than Lou or any other choice for that matter. 2. Why Trammell "deserves his shot". 3. And how there would be any difference in a manager with "experience" vs. one that just managed in the minors? If the team sucks...as our beloved Cubs rightly do...then what but a few games difference can a manager make? After all, he can't swing the bat or throw a strike can he? I'm just asking, not trying to start a fight, just some devil's advocate here.

The big knock against Sandberg is his seemingly old-school approach to the game. He appears on the surface to favor conventional wisdom over statistical analysis.

 

The thing with managers is that they very rarely ever do things to add wins over the course of a season. However, they do add losses by poor in-game management. Their job is to put their players in the best position to succeed. A logical construction of a lineup and proper management over the course of an entire season will have the team reaching its potential. Batting Theriot 1 or 2 while he's never getting on base, leaving Soto and his 400-500 OBP either in the 8 spot or on the bench, bringing in Grabow to blow 1 run leads because he can't get people out, etc. is not the best way to achieve good results. I have no clue how Sandberg will manage the pen, but I can only guess he'd leave Theriot at the top of the lineup because he's small and looks quick.

[Sammy Sofa]

Would a veteran NSBB poster please make me understand 1. Why Sandberg would be worse than Lou or any other choice for that matter. 2. Why Trammell "deserves his shot". 3. And how there would be any difference in a manager with "experience" vs. one that just managed in the minors? If the team sucks...as our beloved Cubs rightly do...then what but a few games difference can a manager make? After all, he can't swing the bat or throw a strike can he? I'm just asking, not trying to start a fight, just some devil's advocate here.

The big knock against Sandberg is his seemingly old-school approach to the game. He appears on the surface to favor conventional wisdom over statistical analysis.

 

The thing with managers is that they very rarely ever do things to add wins over the course of a season. However, they do add losses by poor in-game management. Their job is to put their players in the best position to succeed. A logical construction of a lineup and proper management over the course of an entire season will have the team reaching its potential. Batting Theriot 1 or 2 while he's never getting on base, leaving Soto and his 400-500 OBP either in the 8 spot or on the bench, bringing in Grabow to blow 1 run leads because he can't get people out, etc. is not the best way to achieve good results. I have no clue how Sandberg will manage the pen, but I can only guess he'd leave Theriot at the top of the lineup because he's small and looks quick.

 

Yeah, Sandberg seems too caught up in small ball, over-managing and "playing the game the right way" based on his rhetoric and how he's managed in the minors. It's a cliche at this point, but managers have much more impact on a team losing than they do on a team winning, and the prime way to get them to lose is with bad lineups and over-managing based on silly baseball cliches.

[Pinktermite]

Ok, if the manager doesn't "add wins", then he can add losses then? Seems like the same thing there. I would like to know two or three examples of the kind of manager that would manage the Cubs different then and show the kind of success that we all dream of. I remember people knocking Joe Girardi, he's now won a world series, is that BECAUSE of him...or despite him? What other managers would do things differently and aren't "old school" as you say? I would say that after years of production, it's a little easier said than done to do nothing other than trot your high priced first and third baseman out there and watch them make you look like the worst manager that ever walked the Earth. And Lou certainly doesn't blow the saves or make the errors or get caught stealing or drop fly balls or not pay attention to the cutoff man. This is a product of the poor players they have mixed with some good ones that make the team look average. I don't think we can any more blame Lou Piniella than we can blame the Pope for this oil spill in the gulf. Does he contribute? Yes. Does the team suck BECAUSE of him? No. Hiring Ryne Sandberg won't make a hill of beans difference unless they have the players.

[Guest]

To me, the most important things managers do, in order:

 

1) Manage the pitching staff - rotation workload and bullpen usage

2) Play the right players - not necessarily in the "optimal" lineup order

3) Stay out of the way during the game - avoid excessive bunts, steals, hit & runs, etc.

 

From what we can gather, Sandberg is relatively unknown at 1 and 2 (especially 1), and he emphatically fails at 3. And given the nature of how he fails at 3, it doesn't give a lot of hope that he will be very progressive or even competent at 1 or 2.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

It's nearly impossible for a manager to make his players play better than they're capable of. Some will have great seasons while others slump. The manager's job is to maximize the team's potential based on the performance of his players. This team sucks because the roster as a whole isn't all that great, and he is doing a terrible job at managing the roster.

[Sammy Sofa]

Ok, if the manager doesn't "add wins", then he can add losses then? Seems like the same thing there. I would like to know two or three examples of the kind of manager that would manage the Cubs different then and show the kind of success that we all dream of. I remember people knocking Joe Girardi, he's now won a world series, is that BECAUSE of him...or despite him?

 

Probably despite him. A trained chimp as manager likely could have won with a lineup that stacked. Girardi's biggest knocks against him are in regards to his pitching management, and he's lucky he has a team as loaded as the Yankees are, though even already his primary flaws are being exposed.

 

What other managers would do things differently and aren't "old school" as you say?

 

Not many, though I would definitely prefer to at least start with someone who isn't a "big name" hire. There are plenty of people with managing experience who aren't going to come in with swinging-dick egos like Lou and Sandberg.

 

I would say that after years of production, it's a little easier said than done to do nothing other than trot your high priced first and third baseman out there and watch them make you look like the worst manager that ever walked the Earth.

 

Well, that brings up one of the few things I think a manager should do, which is smart lineup management. Lou fails completely and utterly in that regard in every possible way.

 

And Lou certainly doesn't blow the saves or make the errors or get caught stealing or drop fly balls or not pay attention to the cutoff man. This is a product of the poor players they have mixed with some good ones that make the team look average.

 

Many of the baserunning issues are the result of the moronic hit and runs and steals he keeps calling for. And "dropped fly balls?" Since when has that been a problem?

 

I don't think we can any more blame Lou Piniella than we can blame the Pope for this oil spill in the gulf. Does he contribute? Yes. Does the team suck BECAUSE of him? No.

 

Nobody's saying it's all Lou's fault.

 

Hiring Ryne Sandberg won't make a hill of beans difference unless they have the players.

 

Sure it can. I expect little out of a manager besides smart lineup construction and knowing how to use the bullpen. They can cause a ton of harm if they can't handle either of those tasks, as we've seen with Lou, and if they feel they have to over-manage by calling too many steals and hit and runs and the like.

[Ballgame64]

Wait - so we use the results from the minors to judge if a player will be good, but a manager who's had success in the minors shouldn't be hired if he says things like "play the game the right way"?

 

One could argue that Tony LaRussa is the most successful manager in baseball over the last 25 years. While the Cardinals have a payroll that is high, it is not like he has managed Boston or the Yankees. He believes in playing the game right, sacrifice bunts all the time, uses some of the most ridiculous line-up choices you could imagine and over manages as much as anyone. Yet all he does is win.

 

Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Charlie Manual have all been pretty good managers and I think they all talk about playing the game the right way.

 

I am not saying I want or don't want Sandberg to manage the Cubs, but to act like he will be a failure based on anything Sandberg says is comical.

 

The fact is, you have to have the talent and be able to utlitize the talent while managing relationships between 25 players and the coaching staff.

[Guest]

It's not platitudes that everyone says, he's written articles detailing his love for bunts and steals and other such things. Look at his HOF speech for more proof. Or just look at the games he manages. The guy got thrown out of a game every 10 days or so last year. He sac bunted with his 3 hitter after the first two guys reached base. In the top of the 1st. There's a lot more evidence pointing to "Sandberg was a great baseball player who doesn't have the progressive mindset to be an effective manager" than not.

[Guest]

I remember people knocking Joe Girardi, he's now won a world series, is that BECAUSE of him...or despite him?

 

They won in spite of him. And they continue to win in spite of him because they have an owner who's bottom line is winning and able and willing to pay for the best players money can buy and one of the best GMs in baseball who knows how to evaluate talent.

 

Last year and this year Joe cost his team wins with bad decisions. I watch a lot of Yankee games and have many friends who are Yankee fans, and the ones who watch games don't like him. The ones who look at box scores and ESPN highlights don't have a problem, b/c the end results.

 

We won't know what Sandberg would do until he's in the dugout, but the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, thus I'm not excited about the prospect of him taking over the team.

[Backtobanks]

It's nearly impossible for a manager to make his players play better than they're capable of. Some will have great seasons while others slump. The manager's job is to maximize the team's potential based on the performance of his players. This team sucks because the roster as a whole isn't all that great, and he is doing a terrible job at managing the roster.

 

I disagree with your comment about the roster. The biggest problem this year has been the underproduction of two proven stars (DLee and ARam), which could not have been predicted, and the handling of the lineup and bullpen by Lou. As I posted earlier, we have 4 OFs in the top 18 in OPS, a deep/solid rotation, a closer that's "lights out", a tremendous set-up man, 3 rookies playing important roles, and a good bench.

[Guest]

It's nearly impossible for a manager to make his players play better than they're capable of. Some will have great seasons while others slump. The manager's job is to maximize the team's potential based on the performance of his players. This team sucks because the roster as a whole isn't all that great, and he is doing a terrible job at managing the roster.

 

I disagree with your comment about the roster. The biggest problem this year has been the underproduction of two proven stars (DLee and ARam), which could not have been predicted, and the handling of the lineup and bullpen by Lou. As I posted earlier, we have 4 OFs in the top 18 in OPS, a deep/solid rotation, a closer that's "lights out", a tremendous set-up man, 3 rookies playing important roles, and a good bench.

This team sucks and it's not just because of Lee and Aramis. The team is old, unathletic and don't play good defense. Lou's handling of the bullpen and line up card further exacerbates the situation. They should be @ a .500 team at their best.

 

Lou is not THAT bad of a manager with a team that's stable, but the Cubs are in transition and he's pretty piss-pore with this sort of team.

[Ballgame64]

It's not platitudes that everyone says, he's written articles detailing his love for bunts and steals and other such things. Look at his HOF speech for more proof. Or just look at the games he manages. The guy got thrown out of a game every 10 days or so last year. He sac bunted with his 3 hitter after the first two guys reached base. In the top of the 1st. There's a lot more evidence pointing to "Sandberg was a great baseball player who doesn't have the progressive mindset to be an effective manager" than not.

The example of bunting with the 3 hitter with no outs in the first inning, is definitely a bad sign. There is something to be said about playing the game the right way. To me that means hustling, picking up your 3rd base coach instead of looking over your shoulder at the ball, hitting the cutoff man, knowing when to try to get the runner going to third or throwing to 2nd to keep the double play in order, etc. Basic fundamentals of playing. Expecting your players to do those things is not a bad thing. Playing the game the right way doesn't mean calling for a sacrifice bunt in the first inning from your #3 hitter.

 

Since I have no input to who the next manager of the Cubs will be but have a feeling it will be Ryno, I just hope he succeeds.

[Tracer Bullet]

It's not platitudes that everyone says, he's written articles detailing his love for bunts and steals and other such things. Look at his HOF speech for more proof. Or just look at the games he manages. The guy got thrown out of a game every 10 days or so last year. He sac bunted with his 3 hitter after the first two guys reached base. In the top of the 1st. There's a lot more evidence pointing to "Sandberg was a great baseball player who doesn't have the progressive mindset to be an effective manager" than not.

The example of bunting with the 3 hitter with no outs in the first inning, is definitely a bad sign. There is something to be said about playing the game the right way. To me that means hustling, picking up your 3rd base coach instead of looking over your shoulder at the ball, hitting the cutoff man, knowing when to try to get the runner going to third or throwing to 2nd to keep the double play in order, etc. Basic fundamentals of playing. Expecting your players to do those things is not a bad thing. Playing the game the right way doesn't mean calling for a sacrifice bunt in the first inning from your #3 hitter.

 

Since I have no input to who the next manager of the Cubs will be but have a feeling it will be Ryno, I just hope he succeeds.

 

It's not expecting guys to hit the cutoff man or pick up the 3rd base coach that people are worried about.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's not platitudes that everyone says, he's written articles detailing his love for bunts and steals and other such things. Look at his HOF speech for more proof. Or just look at the games he manages. The guy got thrown out of a game every 10 days or so last year. He sac bunted with his 3 hitter after the first two guys reached base. In the top of the 1st. There's a lot more evidence pointing to "Sandberg was a great baseball player who doesn't have the progressive mindset to be an effective manager" than not.

The example of bunting with the 3 hitter with no outs in the first inning, is definitely a bad sign. There is something to be said about playing the game the right way. To me that means hustling, picking up your 3rd base coach instead of looking over your shoulder at the ball, hitting the cutoff man, knowing when to try to get the runner going to third or throwing to 2nd to keep the double play in order, etc. Basic fundamentals of playing. Expecting your players to do those things is not a bad thing. Playing the game the right way doesn't mean calling for a sacrifice bunt in the first inning from your #3 hitter.

 

Since I have no input to who the next manager of the Cubs will be but have a feeling it will be Ryno, I just hope he succeeds.

 

It's not expecting guys to hit the cutoff man or pick up the 3rd base coach that people are worried about.

 

No kidding. This Ballgame guy keeps going off on some weird tangents.