The Cubs had the day off yesterday (the offense had two days off) and are now in Colorado to take on the Rockies in a rare four-game wrap around series. The Cardinals also had the day off yesterday, so the two teams remain tied atop the NL Central. To be technical, the Cubs lead the division by .002 percentage points, but for our purposes, we’ll call them tied.
This series in Colorado is imprortant for a couple of reasons. First, the Cubs need to beat everyone they face, so by that standard, every series is important. Second, the Cardinals are in Pittsburgh to take on the last place Pirates, so chances are they will be having a successful weekend (let’s hope not). If so, the Cubs need to at least keep pace.
Carlos Zambrano will take the mound tonight against the recently cooled off Rockies. The Rox have lost their last two games and are 5-5 in their last ten. Prior to that, they had hit a hot streak that had catapulted them into contention in the NL Wild Card race. At the moment, they are in second place in the Wild Card standings, one game back of San Francisco and one game ahead of the Cubs. Hey, there’s another reason this series is important.
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Ryne Sandberg is getting an itch. The manager of the AA Tennesee Smokies is closing in on his third full season as a minor league manager and he is looking forward to managing in the bigs. That, according to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Sandberg downplayed his aspirations, but did say “I think the goal of anyone in the minor leagues — you hope — is to get to the majors.” If he is getting impatient, who can blame him. After all, he’s a Baseball Hall of Famer; the only one currently managing in the minor leagues.
So will the Cubs promote him to manager? Jim Hendry wasn’t making any promises. When asked about Sandberg’s chances to manage in the future, Hendry said:
“I would leave that totally up to him,” Hendry said. “I would think if that happened outside of our organization, he’d have to take it. I certainly would never discourage him. Sometimes timing in life is everything.”
Whether it was fair or not to make Sandberg prove himself managing in the minors after a Hall of Fame career, it was necessary. Sandberg by nature is reserved and even a bit introverted. He had to learn to come out of his shell more and to communicate with guys who might not have the natural talent he was blessed with. He also had to learn to communicate with guys that maybe didn’t have the same strong work ethic he had.
Sandberg admits that you need to have a much different perspective on the game as a manager than as a player.
“It all started with just watching the game from a different perspective than what I did since 1978 as a player playing the middle infield,” he said. “It’s completely different. It’s watching the whole field. It’s positioning the outfielders, working with the catcher to shut down the opposing running game. It’s working the lineup. All the things to run the game.”
I watched Sandberg as he managed a AA game in Tennessee earlier this year (I wrote about it here). I was impressed with Sandberg’s focus and his involvement in the game. When the Smokies were hitting, Sandberg was coaching third base. When they were in the field, Sandberg was calling pitches. I think it would be easy for someone of Sandberg’s stature to ride the waves of his past successes. Instead, just like when he was a player, Sandberg is working hard, doing things the right way, and trying to prove himself every day.
Lou Piniella is signed through 2010. Speculation has been that he will retire after next season. If that happens, I’d like to see Sandberg get a shot at managing the Cubs. I don’t know if he’ll be successful or not, but he has certainly paid his dues to the organization, both as a player and as a minor league manager.
