I loved the Cubs move of hiring Mike Quade as manager yesterday. Today, I only like it. That’s because I didn’t foresee the Yankees and Joe Girardi imploding last night.
I figured Chicago’s only chance to hire their former catcher, and last year’s World Series-winning manager, was if New York embarrassingly went out in the first round against the Twins, a team the Yankees have dominated for a decade. But this ALCS has turned ugly, also. Losing to Texas and Cliff Lee should be no embarrassment, but the Yankees caught a break when Texas needed five games to beat Tampa Bay, delaying Lee’s first start to Game 3. After rallying from 5 runs down in the eighth to win Game 1, the Yankees have now lost three in a row. Girardi not only started A.J. Burnett in Game 4, he left Burnett in after going to the mound and then watched Burnett give up a game-losing three-run homer on the next pitch.
If the Yankees wind up losing four in a row here to bow out, it’s possible Girardi could leave, or even be pushed out the door. And Girardi is the one guy out there I liked better for the Cubs than Quade, just as I wrote a few years ago that he was the one available manager I liked better than Lou Piniella.
And it would have done the Cubs no harm to wait another few days. No one else was about to hire Mike Quade.
I’m sure the Cubs had received hints that Girardi was not about to leave New York, but things change over time. With the Yankees, they can change in a New York minute. Hence the phrase. And they could be changing that fast now.
Matt: If Joe Girardi can’t win a pennant with the collection of talent he has with the Yankees, why would the Cubs want him?
Is he worth $25 million? because that is what it is going to cost to hire him would you rather spend that on talent on the field or on a manager? with the cubs going on the cheap we need a manager who can coach up the young kids so it makes sense to hire a man who can tutor the young players. To get Joe on a team that might not being going anywhere is the best way to allocate resources? besides with quade the cubs the last 35 games had the best record in their division just saying…look at all the dynamics why he got hired
Matt, your thought process shows why the Cubs continue to struggle on the field. I’m not sure Joe is the greatest manager in the world, but the Cubs didn’t have to be in a hurry. And in reply to Mike94, there’s no way anyone’s going to pay Joe $25 million! The nice thing about Joe is he’s still young and will probably only improve as a mgr, and he does a lot of things well. Just putting up with the prima donnas in the Yankees lineup says a lot!
Pat, because he won the World Series last year. I’m sure the Cubs would settle for winning the World Series one out of every three years. … No manager is perfect, but I like Girardi’s edge and how he made Florida a contender with the smallest payroll in baseball in his first job.