Lou Piniella Helping Cubs Find his Replacement
Barring a historic turnaround this season, it appears Lou Piniella will not be able to do what so many others failed to do before him, which is bring the Chicago Cubs that elusive World Series Championship that has not been won in 102 years by the franchise.
However, Piniella does intend to find general manager (GM) Jim Hendry and new owner Tom Ricketts the best man for the job. The man who will get a shot at bringing the Cubs the championship, which they are a century removed from.
Hendry has been the general manager since 2002 and has been scrutinized as the Cubs have struggled the past two seasons. He has given Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano really big contracts, and signing Milton Bradley only fuelled the fire when Bradley was banished from the team late last season.
Ricketts has made it very clear though that he is sticking with Hendry.
"I said at our opening press conference that Day 1 was Square 1 for everyone in the organization," Ricketts said. "I think from that day going forward, we had a very good offseason. I think Jim delivered on bringing in some players who contributed a lot this season. And we had a good offseason, no question."
Ricketts also added that he is confident in the organization as a whole.
"I think the second thing that I've seen the last eight months that gives me 100 percent confidence in Jim is that we have a good organization," he continued. "The way that you win consistently in baseball is to draft well, to develop players well and to bring those players up to the major leagues to give you flexibility in your payroll and trades. I think we have the organization in place. I have the highest confidence in everyone in our organization, and I think that speaks well of Jim."
Piniella was brought in to turn the Cubs fortunes around and he seemed to be on track, winning the NL Central in 2007 and 2008 before things began to fall apart.
Ricketts believes though that the Cubs have not been close to reaching the success they and all incredibly loyal Cubs fans have desired for so long.
"Our goal is to win a World Series," said Ricketts. "Our goal is to put a team on the field that can win the World Series every year. I can't envision an era without that and still calling it a success."
Now with Piniella retiring at the end of the season, he has given the Cubs time to search for a new manager and there are some worthy names out there to take over.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre’s contracts both expire at the end of this season. Both are World Series winning managers.
Another former World Series manager, Bob Brenly, is on the market. Brenly managed the Arizona Diamondbacks to the franchise’s lone title in 2001, beating Torre’s Yankees in the Fall Classic. He was also a candidate in 2006 for the job.
Bench coach Alan Trammell and pitching coach Larry Rothschild also both have experience managing in the majors.
Another popular choice is former Cubs MVP and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandburg, who is managing the Triple-A Iowa farm team and has claimed he’s interested in the job.
"I need to focus on what I'm doing here in Des Moines with these players and what my job is right now," said Sandburg. "If the time came, if I was considered for that job in Chicago, I think that'd be a terrific thing just to be considered. The whole goal of any minor leaguer is to get to the major leagues, and I think that includes coaches and managers like me."
Piniella has had a remarkable career, winning three World Series championships and is forth among active managers for all-time wins. Piniella is a colorful, emotional manager known for dirt-kicking tirades and admitted he was tired of the daily grind as a manager. However, that doesn’t rule him out of staying with the Cubs as a consultant.
Although Piniella’s career looks like it will end on a sour note, he’s not giving up on this season and he will do his best to help bring the Cubs that championship, whether the man leading the way is him or not.
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