So my Cubbies make errors even in the offseason it seems. For the second straight occasion they chose the wrong god damn guy to manage the team. Back when they signed Baker I ranted and raved about how badly it would turn out. There was a high-point there, but on the whole he did more bad than good. The one caveat was that there wasn’t a clearly better option out there that time around.
This time the ideal choice fell into their laps. The potential NL manager of the year was fired by the Marlins. Girardi was a former catcher, a pitchers’ catcher to boot, which is undeniably the kind of guy that could help our staff immeasurably. He’s a former Cub, a guy who knows the city, the stadium and the nuances of playing day baseball in Chicago. He’s the guy every Cub fan wanted, he certainly would have been given all the slack he needed to find his stride. Did I mention he’s a top candidate for manager of the year for sheparding a team with young players to a winning season…just like the Cubs need.
Of course that’s not good enough for the Tribune Company, they have to have a big name guy. A guy who will get them discussed on Baseball Tonight. As usual the disregard personality and compatibility with existing talent. They get the hot-headed Pinella.
I’m not nearly as down on Pinella as I was Baker, I think he’s a better manager and he knows how to win. I can see that. I think he’ll improve the team. I also think he’ll burn out his players and wear out his welcome inside of 3 seasons.
Girardi would have had the potential to be a Torre-like fixture in the dugout. A former player the guys would respect and connect with, a catcher who knows how to handle a staff and above all a guy who knows when not to tinker with things.
One interesting development is that this appears to be a first step in the process of obtaining Alex Rodriguez. I think that’s a good fit with the Cubs, the lowered expectations would probably suit him well. He and Pinella seem to be tight and A-Rod should light up the currently soft NL pitching. The Cubs would get him for what is effectively $66 million over 4 years, a fair price. I don’t like the idea of giving away Ramirez, which is almost certainly what it would take, because I think he’s just entering an age where he’ll be putting up big numbers. Of course, those number would probably be at best equal to A-Rod’s average numbers so you can’t bitch too much. Supposedly the Yanks would want a quality starting pitcher too. I think Ramirez for A-Rod straight up is a pretty fair trade considering how low A-Rods perceived value is these days and how much they seem to want to ship him out. Perfect buy low/sell high opportunity for the Cubs.
Anyways, Cubs fan and Baseball junkies feel free to chime in, sorry for rambling.
Ironically, I just killed Girardi when he was a player for the Cubs. The guy was the ultimate rally killer at the plate (of course that was trumped exponentially by Hundley), but he did a great job of handling a pitching staff. I’m convinced he’d make a solid manager.
I want to know exactly what he did in Florida to get canned. Supposedly his first day of interviews centered on explaining that situation and Cubs brass felt comfortable with it. I presume it was all based in his frustration over the Marlins inadequate spending, which wouldn’t be an issue for the Cubs. Whatever the case, indications are that it wasn’t an obstacle to hiring him. It certainly seems Pinella got the job based solely on reputation.
As a Yankee fan, what heartens me most are the rumors that Pinella wants to pursue K-Rod. YES- take that choker off the team.
Whether they should have signed Girardi or Pinella is debatable. Certainly Girardi isn’t going to be unemployed for long. I think both are good managers and having one vs the other isn’t going to make more than a few wins difference over the course of the year.
Good Luck on Pinella, he is a very good field manager, but I agree Joe G was the obvious choice, fan favorite and probably better fit.
As far as A-Rod for Ramirez, you are dreaming. Cashman will hold out for a Good young starter. The fit for Cubs and Yanks is not great. Your only valuable starter is Zambrano who is older then Cashman is looking for, but I think he would go for it, but the Cubs cannot afford to trade him for Alex.
I believe I heard.
Their is a warrant for arrest out on Juan Uribe (SS) of the White Sox. They have both the Young Pitching Stud in Brandon McCarthy {R/R 6-7 195 07/07/83} and the 3rd baseman to trade. {Joe Crede or 27 Josh Fields} They appear to already be talking to the Yanks. I think the likeliest new home for Alex is White Sox or Angels. Cubs and Dodgers will be in the talks. Would you give up Zambrano for Alex? If I were the Cubs, with your lack of healthy pitching, I would not.
Absolutely true. A-Rod had a “bad” season and still did just as good as Ramirez in a “good” season. A-Rod is the best trade option for the Yankees, they’re not going to go straight up for a lesser player, they’ll use that chip to get something they really need, pitching. If they can’t get pitching, I have no doubt that they’ll be happy to keep A-Rod right where he is.
Would Girardi really even want the job? It’s a pretty awful environment in terms of management and fan(atic)s. Pinella is on a downward spiral of management gigs, so the next stop is ChiTown. Girardi is on the way up. He has options.
Nevertheless, Managers do matter.
I just do not understand why Pinella would want the job. The Cubs do not appear to be a very good team on paper. Their payroll was up around $100 million this year, which must seems like a vast improvement over Tampa. They are only locked into $55.90 with many expensive players departing for free agency. However, some of the $45 million will be chewed up quickly with Zambrano’s Arbitration payday. He will probably get close to $10 million.
Kerry Wood and Greg Maddux account for $15 but they need to be replaced. Phil Nevin is another $5 & Juan Pierre $5.75. They have a lot of rebuilding to do through free agency and I do not know of a lot coming up out of the farm system.
If he does win, he will be a hero on a new level and probably with that added to resume would get his ticket to the Hall of Fame. This might be part of his taking the job.
I was being a bit flip, yeah. And yes managers DO matter, but what What Exit said is right, and closer to what I was thinking - there is no easy way to see the Cubbies making the personnel moves to make anyone have a lot of success with this team.
Should have picked up Macha. Trained on how to get the most from the least in Oakland. Taught how to manage sibermetrics and use computer info. A manager for the future at a much cheaper price.
My guess is the A-Rod deal will be for Ramirez and Prior, possibly with a minor league throw-in.
It’s not gonna help, of course, since the Cubs are destined to lose as long as the Tribune Co. owns them. And as long as they keep making stupid moves like hiring Piniella over Girardi.
This Cardinals fan thanks the Cub front office for keeping Girardi out of the NL Central.
You guys are drunk. Look at Ramirez’s and A-Rod’s number over the last 3 years. In 2004 and 2006 their numbers were almost identical. In '05 A-Rod had a slightly better season, but if you adjust for an equal number of plate appearances the differences in counter stats reduce to almost nothing (admittedly the extra 100 points of OPS remain). Ramirez is a better defensive 3rd baseman and is 3 years younger. He’ll also come at a much cheaper price.
A-Rod’s value has taken a big hit in the past couple seasons. The implication that A-Rod is worth a prospect and Prior in addition to Ramirez is utterly insane. Frankly, the salary burden he’ll remove offsets what little additional production he has. The Yankees desperately need pitching, no doubt, but they will not be able to justify getting it and Ramirez from the Cubs.
Ramirez is a nice player, but let’s be honest, he’s 28, a one time all star who has lead the league in NOTHING his entire career. Rodriguez is just two years older and is a ten time all star, a two time MVP (including last year), and top three in MVP voting three other times. He has a couple of mediocre (for him) seasons equalling Ramirez’s best seasons and you want to equate the two?
You’re right, any trade wouldn’t include Prior, because we’d actually want a decent pitcher in the mix. No way in hell I want that guy clogging up my rotation, he had one good season 3 years ago, nothing worthwhile since.
You gotta hand it to the A’s. Despite being in a small market with a substandard stadium, they somehow always manage to find a way to win even with a small payroll. Despite the lack of championships, they are one of the best run clubs in my book.
Nevermind the fact that Cashman says they won’t trade A-Rod, and that A-Rod has a no-trade clause and says he wants to stay in New York…
Rodriguez is absolutely a better player than Ramirez, and why would the Yankees want Prior? He hasn’t been healthy in three years. (Record since 2004: 18-17.) He’s not even healthy now; he’s been seeing orthopedic surgeons and has been told he needs to spend the offseason strengthening his shoulder. The Yankees already have a starter who can’t get off the DL.
To review, it’s almost impossible for the Yankees to get equal value for a future Hall of Famer who just hit .290 with 35 homers and 121 RBI in an off year. They could use more pitching, but they don’t need to trade A-Rod to get it. The only thing that would make them decide to deal him is if he’s too big a problem in the clubhouse, or if they think his reputation in NY is just too damaged. Stats like his make those things easier to swallow - they’ll probably keep him.
