Rick Renteria Named New Cubs Manager

[PackLandVA]

Sveum's been a manager for exactly 1 season and 2months. Why, like young players, is he not afforded an opportunity to gain experience and learn from mistakes. I'd rather he make mistakes as a manager while the Cubs are bottom feeders than when they actually field of competitive team day in and day out. If the Cubs had a strong BP and a top closer, handling the pen would be easy.

[Sammy Sofa]

What's the point of a Sveum watch? Why change managers now? Makes zero sense it's not like any other manager can get much more out of this crap.

 

I don't understand this perspective. Maximize your chances with what you have. This team is a bad team, yes, but what correct management of the pen, the Cubs probably have at least 3-4 more wins. It's not like managers have a shelf life where we'd be wasting their prime.

 

But why fire him over it? His bullpen management annoys the piss out of me, but you'd think it's the kind of glaringly obvious thing that the people above him could point out or just flat out tell him not to do. I know they have to walk a fine line and not be seen as an overbearing FO stepping on the manager, but there has to be a way.

[Guest]

Tweets from Mooney:

 

Sveum: "I don’t really care what people think about me. That’s part of this job. You’re always going to be second-guessed."

 

Hoyer defends Sveum: "He’s doing his best with the product that we have. And that’s on Theo and on me – the talent."

 

Hoyer looks at Sveum's thought process more than end result: "We haven’t given him the strongest bullpen, for sure, and we understand that."

[jersey cubs fan]

This isn't second guessing.

 

It always pisses me off when managers make the wrong decisions and then pretend the only way to realize it was the wrong decision was by second guessing.

[Banedon]

This isn't second guessing.

 

It always pisses me off when managers make the wrong decisions and then pretend the only way to realize it was the wrong decision was by second guessing.

 

Honestly, I bet he doesn't know the difference. I imagine he believes any disagreement with his opinion is second-guessing.

[Hawk4Hall]

So is Dale the guy moving forward?

[Clem Fandango]

So is Dale the guy moving forward?

 

Yes. Let it go.

[Guest]

So is Dale the guy moving forward?

No, but they will keep him until his mistakes become important. He's done a much better job as of late of not throwing his players under the bus.

[NOLA]

So is Dale the guy moving forward?

No, but they will keep him until his mistakes become important. He's done a much better job as of late of not throwing his players under the bus.

 

Agreed on all of this, but it is a sad statement that this is where the bar is set now.

[imb]

If you want to pick on Dale, I'd go with Castro going backwards under his watch long before the pen issues.

 

That could go up even further than Dale.

 

all the way up to an absent heavenly father imo

[SouthSideRyan]

If you want to pick on Dale, I'd go with Castro going backwards under his watch long before the pen issues.

 

That could go up even further than Dale.

 

all the way up to an absent heavenly father imo

 

Even God is pissed off about Ricketts being cheap

[Guest]

not calling for his head, but I have reservations but about any manager that consistently bats his worst hitter 2nd.

[BeerHere]

not calling for his head, but I have reservations but about any manager that consistently bats his worst hitter 2nd.

Couldn't agree more. Barney is a waste of a roster spot and needs to be gone this offseason. They guy is an out machine. Why he continues to hit second in the order is beyond me.

[Careless]

From Thursday's gamethread

Cubs have thrown 91 pitches, given up 2 runs on 4 hits and one walk.. and they're on their third pitcher. wtf

 

So thanks for that masterful managing job. Pull the starter after 79 pitches. Pull the lefty reliever after two batters/outs. Find a guy who will give up some hits on the third try.

 

And then have Donnie "Your Best Hitter" Murphy bunt into a foul popup in the 9th

[davell]

Obviously, there's already some talk about Girardi. Would we be happy with him?

[XZero771679666304]

Obviously, there's already some talk about Girardi. Would we be happy with him?

 

I would be. He's the guy who has been speculated about in the past that I wanted as manager the most. I don't hate Sveum, but he's not exactly a Mensa candidate. I don't think you have to be particularly smart in order to be a good manager, but it sure can't hurt.

 

And it's be refreshing to have a manager who doesn't sound like he's just taken a sharp blow to the head or is drunk when he speaks to the media. It's been a while.

[gscool89]

From Thursday's gamethread

Cubs have thrown 91 pitches, given up 2 runs on 4 hits and one walk.. and they're on their third pitcher. wtf

 

So thanks for that masterful managing job. Pull the starter after 79 pitches. Pull the lefty reliever after two batters/outs. Find a guy who will give up some hits on the third try.

 

And then have Donnie "Your Best Hitter" Murphy bunt into a foul popup in the 9th

I thought Dale Sveum was supposed to be a big sabr guy. His bunting is borderline ridiculous.

[Sammy Sofa]

Seeing as it's showing up now I'm guessing he thinks nobody is watching.

[Gilby]

He pulled Rusin with a sub 80 pitch count because he was pinch hit for in the 8th inning. Most managers would have done the same thing, especially with a full September bullpen.

 

The bunt with Murphy? That was very questionable, but I won't sit here and pretend he has position guys bunt all of the time. Sweeney did the other day, but that looked more like a missed sign on his part.

[Clem Fandango]

Does anyone know how the team's defense has fared as a result of smart defensive positioning?

[Guest]

Does anyone know how the team's defense has fared as a result of smart defensive positioning?

 

It's a crude measure, but here's the Cubs defensive efficiency the last few years:

 

2010: .702, 22nd

2011: .699, 26th

**Sveum Hired**

2012: .709, 15th

2013: .721, 3rd

[Cubswin11]

Did Sveum actually influence the change of implementing advanced defensive positioning with the team? Or does he actually put the work in to figure out where to play guys v. certain hitters? Or basically does he just believe in it/did the FO tell him he's doing it and he's just given a report before every series that says when player x is up positions a, b, c, etc. shift here?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Did Sveum actually influence the change of implementing advanced defensive positioning with the team? Or does he actually put the work in to figure out where to play guys v. certain hitters? Or basically does he just believe in it/did the FO tell him he's doing it and he's just given a report before every series that says when player x is up positions a, b, c, etc. shift here?

 

He is either doing it himself or a leader in implementing it. There were a lot of articles about how it was one of his big selling points when he was hired.

[Clem Fandango]

Does anyone know how the team's defense has fared as a result of smart defensive positioning?

 

It's a crude measure, but here's the Cubs defensive efficiency the last few years:

 

2010: .702, 22nd

2011: .699, 26th

**Sveum Hired**

2012: .709, 15th

2013: .721, 3rd

 

Just looking at FG's team fielding stats (took me a while to find out how to set it up), looks like the Cubs are 10th in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved with 20. 5th in UZR, 6th in UZR/150, and 4th in Fld (whatever that is, can't find a definition of it).

 

It would appear defense is pretty good. I believe Sveum should be given some credit for that.

 

I still think calling for Sveum to be fired when it's been publicly acknowledged by our FO that they haven't given him the best team to win with is premature. We've known from day 1 this team wasn't going to win this year. Until the team is full of talent that's capable of contending for a playoff spot, then I'll reserve my personal judgement of his coaching ability. I think Sveum is the least of this teams problems. When the roster consists of legitimate difference makers who can, on paper, contend for a playoff spot and THEN the team fails... then you start to question his ability, but until the FO gives him the pieces he needs to contend, I'm not sweating much of what he does in regards to bunting with Donnie [expletive] Murphy or his handling of the bullpen. It's late in the year, it's September, it's a time for them to tinker and experiment with different players and situations.

[seanimal]

his ability to get the team to play up defensively is exactly why he deserves a shot to take the cubs on their hypothetical run over the next few years