The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Nov. 5, 2011
In a move that might have made sense in getting your fan base back, they didn't make it.
The Chicago Cubs fired manager Mike Quade after just one season as manager and will go in another direction once the regular season begins.
That direction won't include former Cub second baseman and Spokane native Ryne Sandberg, who was told he wasn't a candidate for the job and granted him permission to speak with archrival St. Louis.
While Sandberg may not be the answer, chances are that they won't find the right piece anyway.
THE TEAM, which in some areas had more problems than a high school algebra class, underachieved this season with a roster full of talented players, or so you'd think.
Adding Carlos Pena and Matt Garza to the lineup were definitely upgrades from whoever they had when Lou Piniella retired abruptly in 2009, leaving Quade the manager for the remainder of that season and 2010.
When the wheels finally came off for the Cubs, it was too late to fix the problem.
Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano went bananas during a game at Atlanta, throwing at hitters and eventually getting ejected from the game.
Some of the Braves players took exception to Zambrano's antics, nobody on the Cubs wanted to defend him and later that night, Zambrano announced his retirement.
Once he came to his senses, he wanted to return, but the Cubs opted to suspend him for the remainder of the season.
At that point, I don't think any manager could win in that situation.
ENTER THE same guy that was responsible for one of the biggest collapses in baseball history.
Theo Epstein, who guided the Boston Red Sox to a pair of championships after going so long without one, will attempt to pull off the unthinkable once again.
Chances are, they will in time, but not this year.
The Cubs are a mess and it will take a great deal of cleaning to fix it.
Firing Quade on Wednesday should have never happened.
If battling through a losing season, only to be fired after one season was normal, then the Seattle Mariners should have fired manager Eric Wedge, along with his staff after a miserable second half of the season.
Then again, if you don’t win the championship, nobody feels like the season was a success.
It was pretty apparent from the beginning that the Epstein-led Cubs weren’t going to hire Sandberg due to a lack of managerial experience.
Meanwhile, the White Sox, who won a title a few years ago, hired Robin Ventura to lead them back to the playoffs. Ventura has never been a manager at any level.
The Cubs might have been a mess with Sandberg as manager this year — but honestly, how can it get much worse?
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected].