Thursday, November 17, 2011

Chicago Cubs Hire a New Manager......Dale Sveum




The Chicago Cubs have chosen Dale Sveum as the team’s new manager, but the news has many fans scratching their heads — including me.
It’s not that I have anything against Sveum, mind you. I realize he is perfectly qualified, and was a top managerial prospect for other teams, such as the Boston Red Sox. And, since the Cubs had already said major league coaching experience was a prerequisite for the job, I knew my top pick — Ryne Sandberg — wouldn’t get the nod no matter what.
However, once I came to terms with my disappointment over Ryno’s automatic exclusion, I turned my attention to those who would be interviewed.
After seeing Mike Maddux’s post-interview comments, I felt like we had found our man. I really liked what he had to say and appreciated that he had a record of proven success at the major-league level, but that alone wasn’t enough to convince me.
As any Cubs fan can attest, a number of heavy-hitting managers have come to Wrigley vowing to bring a World Series victory to Chicago — only to leave with their tails tucked between their legs in defeat. I don’t believe it has anything to do with a lack of talent on their part, though. Instead, I have become convinced that, to truly succeed, a Cubs manager should have experienced the unique history of the team firsthand prior to becoming a coach.
Mike Maddux never played for the Cubs, of course, but his brother Greg was a Cub for years and was even a special assistant for the team this past season. Yet we’ll never know if that experience would have given him an extra edge, as Maddux suddenly took himself out of the running due to family considerations.
But perhaps even if he had stayed in the running, Sveum still would have been hired. He believes in the same statistical analysis system advocated by the new Cubs leadership, and maybe number-crunching truly is the key to solving the Cubs’ long drought.
Sourc:Amy Gehrt...Canton Daily Ledger

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