Who will be the manager? no Ryno talk version

[Vinestal]

@CarrieMuskat

Carrie Muskat

Dale Sveum will interview with #Cubs Monday re: manager's job. Besides Mackanin, only other candidate confirmed is Mike Maddux

[Conky]

Are we still expecting a meeting with Mackanin and the media today? Getting a bit late here.

 

according to the article it sounds like it already happened.

 

Thanks. I thought that was a re-post of the article from this morning. Didn't read it a second time. Just caught the update on the Score, though. They played a couple of sound bites from the interview. He sounds intelligent enough. Sounded a bit gassed after going through this process for the second time.

 

Hell with the iPad. Bring on the Beard.

[Irrelevant Dude]

@CarrieMuskat

Carrie Muskat

Dale Sveum will interview with #Cubs Monday re: manager's job. Besides Mackanin, only other candidate confirmed is Mike Maddux

So are we still expecting interviews with guys like Dave Martinez, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Terry Francona? We may not know anything for awhile if the Cubs are spending a full day or more with each candidate. I love what I hear about their interview process, but it might keep us all in suspense for a few weeks.

[Guest]

@CarrieMuskat

Carrie Muskat

Dale Sveum will interview with #Cubs Monday re: manager's job. Besides Mackanin, only other candidate confirmed is Mike Maddux

So are we still expecting interviews with guys like Dave Martinez, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Terry Francona? We may not know anything for awhile if the Cubs are spending a full day or more with each candidate. I love what I hear about their interview process, but it might keep us all in suspense for a few weeks.

 

 

Definitely not on Francona.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Francona's a candidate but he's not going to be interviewed. There's no point.

[Guest]

Francona's a candidate but he's not going to be interviewed. There's no point.

 

 

I don't even think he's really a candidate.

[Outshined_One]

@CarrieMuskat

Carrie Muskat

Dale Sveum will interview with #Cubs Monday re: manager's job. Besides Mackanin, only other candidate confirmed is Mike Maddux

So are we still expecting interviews with guys like Dave Martinez, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Terry Francona? We may not know anything for awhile if the Cubs are spending a full day or more with each candidate. I love what I hear about their interview process, but it might keep us all in suspense for a few weeks.

 

The candidates they interview will meet with the media. I think we'll have a pretty good idea regarding the candidates as all of this goes forward.

[davearm2]

"Seems to be" in this context means Wittenmeyer wants it to be.

 

I think I have to join him on this dream. Mike Maddux would be such a coup for this franchise....he's arguably the best coach in baseball right now...and I absolutely love what Texas has said they're doing with their pitchers (something akin to pitch counts are for c-words).

 

Is there actually support for this somewhere?

I know Ryan is quoted as saying that pitchers aren't working enough these days, but I don't know much about their actual program. Can you expand your point since you seem to have some idea of what is going on there?

 

Or are you just going all old-school with the "pitchers these guys are pansies" kind of thing?

There was a great article on the Rangers in SI awhile ago. It focused quite a bit on how they're handling pitchers.

 

The gist of it is that they've chucked just about all of the conventional wisdom about protecting pitchers, limiting pitch counts, etc.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1169750/index.htm

[davearm2]

Francona's a candidate but he's not going to be interviewed. There's no point.

 

 

I don't even think he's really a candidate.

Francona is the "none of the above" option.

[davearm2]

As a Cubs fan living in Milwaukee currently, I have had the opportunity to observe Mike Maddux while he was with the Brewers. Also Sveum in his tenure. Maddux is the best at what he does in the major leagues in my opinion, outside of perhaps only Dave Duncan in St. Louis. He simply gets results, regardless of the talent he has to work with. To me, this speaks volumes as to his demeanor, work ethic, and his approach to the job of motivating personnel. Personally, I know nothing about his qualifications to run a game, however. Pitching coach and manager are two completely different animals. Knowing what I do about Maddux, however, I think he has the skill-set to do a great job as manager and I would be happy if he gets the Cubs job. Not my first choice, but I would be happy if this is the way the front office decides to go.

 

Sveum, not so much. Sveum reminds me a lot of a Reed Johnson type. Both as a player and as a personality off the field. He was a friend and teammate of Robin Yount and Paul Molitor in the glory years of the 1980's Brewers. He is by all accounts a great guy with a good baseball mind. However, he does not come across as particularly cerebral in interviews or when speaking to the media. Hard to say what he is like in his own element, but outward appearances do not do him any favors.

 

Add to this the fact that he took over as manager for the fired (and by that time hated in Milwaukee) Ned Yost at the end of the 2008 season. Sveum immediately turned the Brewers around down the stretch to the tune of a 12-7 record and a wild card berth in the playoffs. Granted, the Cubs practically handed the Brewers their ticket to the playoffs that year as they had already clinched the division and did not want to play the Mets in the playoffs. We were actually at the final game of the season that year, in Milwaukee, between the Cubs and Brewers when the Brewers made it in. You would have thought the Brewers had won the World Series with that win. As a Cubs fan living in Milwaukee, it even made me smile seeing it all unfold for the fans here.

 

In a town starved for baseball success, the likes of which had not been seen since the days of Molitor, Yount, and Gantner, Sveum had pulled off what had looked impossible only weeks before. Robin Yount even made a brief return to the dugout to help his friend for the remainder of that 2008 season. The Brewers were to bow out in the NLDS that year, but the point is that Sveum was successful in the one opportunity he was given by his home town team. Why was he not given the reins the following year?

 

I guess my question is, if he wasn't deemed good enough to run the Brewers in 2009, after getting them to the playoffs the year before, why does he merit a look for much more high profile jobs now?

I live in Wisconsin too. Sveum has never impressed me much in the interviews I've seen him do. He seems like a pretty robotic cliche-spewer; can't recall ever hearing anything particularly progressive come out of his mouth.

 

I can't really articulate it well, but something about how Maddux carries himself leaves me impressed. He seems to inspire calm and confidence in his pitchers.

[El Duderino]

I live in Wisconsin too. Sveum has never impressed me much in the interviews I've seen him do. He seems like a pretty robotic cliche-spewer; can't recall ever hearing anything particularly progressive come out of his mouth.

 

I can't really articulate it well, but something about how Maddux carries himself leaves me impressed. He seems to inspire calm and confidence in his pitchers.

 

plus, he has a nice zappa.

[Guest]

There was a great article on the Rangers in SI awhile ago. It focused quite a bit on how they're handling pitchers.

 

The gist of it is that they've chucked just about all of the conventional wisdom about protecting pitchers, limiting pitch counts, etc.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1169750/index.htm

 

I don't really disagree with that approach, but as bukie pointed out, if they aren't doing things that others would consider reckless(130+ pitch outings, high PAP numbers, etc), then it's hard to claim that they're proving wrong all the doubters. There's not a bunch of fans second-guessing long toss distances.

[MSG T]

There was a great article on the Rangers in SI awhile ago. It focused quite a bit on how they're handling pitchers.

 

The gist of it is that they've chucked just about all of the conventional wisdom about protecting pitchers, limiting pitch counts, etc.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1169750/index.htm

 

I don't really disagree with that approach, but as bukie pointed out, if they aren't doing things that others would consider reckless(130+ pitch outings, high PAP numbers, etc), then it's hard to claim that they're proving wrong all the doubters. There's not a bunch of fans second-guessing long toss distances.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority, but... If they handled it correctly, I don't think there would be any problem in going back to a four man rotation. I would definitely trust the current FO and whoever they choose as manager to handle that much more the the previous FO and managers.

[Guest]

There was a great article on the Rangers in SI awhile ago. It focused quite a bit on how they're handling pitchers.

 

The gist of it is that they've chucked just about all of the conventional wisdom about protecting pitchers, limiting pitch counts, etc.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1169750/index.htm

 

I don't really disagree with that approach, but as bukie pointed out, if they aren't doing things that others would consider reckless(130+ pitch outings, high PAP numbers, etc), then it's hard to claim that they're proving wrong all the doubters. There's not a bunch of fans second-guessing long toss distances.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority, but... If they handled it correctly, I don't think there would be any problem in going back to a four man rotation. I would definitely trust the current FO and whoever they choose as manager to handle that much more the the previous FO and managers.

Why would they want to do that? There's a good reason for the 5 man rotation.

[Fro]

There was a great article on the Rangers in SI awhile ago. It focused quite a bit on how they're handling pitchers.

 

The gist of it is that they've chucked just about all of the conventional wisdom about protecting pitchers, limiting pitch counts, etc.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1169750/index.htm

 

I don't really disagree with that approach, but as bukie pointed out, if they aren't doing things that others would consider reckless(130+ pitch outings, high PAP numbers, etc), then it's hard to claim that they're proving wrong all the doubters. There's not a bunch of fans second-guessing long toss distances.

 

Maybe I'm in the minority, but... If they handled it correctly, I don't think there would be any problem in going back to a four man rotation. I would definitely trust the current FO and whoever they choose as manager to handle that much more the the previous FO and managers.

Why would they want to do that? There's a good reason for the 5 man rotation.

 

Anything that's "conventional wisdom" needs to be scientifically studied and re-examined. I think in this area stats don't tell the whole story and you need to look at what you can do as far as nutrition/exercise, routine, and mechanics, and if you get the right combination you can probably reduce the pitcher's recovery time.

[MSG T]

Why? For a couple of reasons. There is no physical reason for a pitcher to get the extra day of rest. They normally throw some anyway during most of their days between games. If they are monitored during their workouts and games, and taken out when they show signs of fatigue to the point of their mechanics starting to break down, they won't suffer any extra stress pitching every fourth day instead of fifth day. It would need to be closely watched, but should be within reason given the resources of a major league baseball team.

 

Also, as for the team, it takes the ball out of the hand of a worse pitcher and into a better pitcher. Giving the 1-4 pitchers an extra 6 starts, that's one extra start per month, and limiting a "fifth" starter to 8-10 starts, is a significant improvement for most teams. Considering a swingman or "sixth" starter normally gets a few starts per year, all you're doing is pushing those starts to your 5th best pitcher instead of 6th best pitcher.

[Scotti]

Yes, it's pretty common practice. That said, we're coming off a breakup and everything this new guy does...There's probably a mental/psych eval of some kind too.

 

 

Citation needed.

 

My wife is a tech/engineering recruiter. Absolutely common practice to run a programmer, an engineer, etc. through several hours long tests. Can take a whole day and sometimes longer. Often the final interview will be with the folks on the team--even if it is a manager being hired. Often, those teams ask the best questions.

[17 Seconds]

Francona's a candidate but he's not going to be interviewed. There's no point.

 

 

I don't even think he's really a candidate.

 

Why would Theo have talked about him then?

[A New Era]

I hope it's Maddux. 1, reunites Maddux bros. 2, when all is going well for the Cubs I can say it's all thanks to Mike and his magic moustache. Kind of like cubbie version of pixie dust.

[A New Era]

Francona's a candidate but he's not going to be interviewed. There's no point.

 

 

I don't even think he's really a candidate.

 

Why would Theo have talked about him then?

 

Well he's not ruling him out completely. But there is an article of him saying he doesn't want this to be completely red sox version 2. I think deep down he wants a new (non red sox) face to put with the new Cubs.

[shnsajax]

No idea why but I feel like Mackanin might get it.

[Epsteenie]

Mackanin stated on ESPN 1000 that he asked Theo and Jed how long the process would take and they said a couple of weeks.

[Epsteenie]

Sun Times reporting Maddon and Francona are not candidates. Sveum and Maddux are front-runners.

[justin23iu]

No idea why but I feel like Mackanin might get it.

 

I think you're right. Every description I've read/heard of him mentions how intelligent he is. Combine that with his penchant for statistical analysis and it seems like he's right in Theo's wheelhouse.

 

I was interested to hear that Brian Cashman was prepared to hire him in New York last year had Joe Girardi left. He's definitely highly respected in baseball circles.

[RammyFanny]

No idea why but I feel like Mackanin might get it.

 

I think you're right. Every description I've read/heard of him mentions how intelligent he is. Combine that with his penchant for statistical analysis and it seems like he's right in Theo's wheelhouse.

 

I was interested to hear that Brian Cashman was prepared to hire him in New York last year had Joe Girardi left. He's definitely highly respected in baseball circles.

I texted my friend 4 weeks ago that my bold prediction was that Mike Maddux is the next Cubs skipper, so i'm sticking to that since it would be awesome that I pretty much called it out of nowhere. From the things I do know, he's great with pitchers, a great interview (I think he'd give the best interview based upon hearing him talk), he's a hot name with Texas' recent success, he's got the ties to Greg (not that it should be that big of a deal), and he gets along really well with players. I'm not going to pretend I know his statistical/offensive philosophies, but if he's getting an interview with Theo i'd imagine he's not stupid.

 

Plus, here's a funny video of him buzzin' off four loco.