Ryne Sandberg is being groomed

Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg is certainly being groomed for the big chair. Question is, whether he will get a shot to manage in the major leagues in a Cubs uniform. At first glance timing may appear ideal with Lou Piniella in his final year as manager and Ryno now being assigned [...]

December 8, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Lou Piniella, Minor League Baseball, Team Ownership, biz of baseball, game of baseball, observations  No Comments

First Signing for 2010 Cubs Must Be Owner

The 2009 Cubs were a major disappointment by nearly any measure. They didn’t hit, they didn’t field, even the Cubs vaunted pitching staff faltered. The team sustained major injuries, fought on and off the field, and was generally unlikeable. One of the main causes of this (that is controllable) is the lack of leadership at [...]

October 19, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Team Ownership, biz of baseball, observations  One Comment

Sam Fuld makes it easy on Lou

Yet another Cubs farm hand has been promoted to the big club, and making an impact.  When Lou Piniella finally sat star outfielder Alfonso Soriano yesterday, it was rookie Sam Fuld that call the call to play left field. He made things easy on Lou by going 2 for 4 with a double and a [...]

July 2, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Lou Piniella, game day, game recap, lineup, players, stats  No Comments

Lou has had enough with the tantrums

In the second installment of this season’s Cubs vs White Sox Crosstown Classic, tempers boiled within the Cubs family once again. Lou Piniella has apparently had enough of that, and frankly I think it is about time he took more control of this club.
After two strikeouts and a routine fly out, Milton Bradley threw his [...]

June 27, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: Jim Hendry, Lou Piniella, game recap, observations, oldschool, players  No Comments

Not a good look for Cubs skipper Lou Piniella

Memo to Cubs manager Lou Piniella:
Keep your hands out of your back pocket – not a good look for you. These photos were taken on the same day last week - you judge for yourself:

 

 

May 1, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: Lou Piniella, observations, oddities, photo of the day  No Comments

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™

Soriano bats leadoff—once and for all
I hope it’s finally put to bed.
This past weekend Lou Piniella experimented with his lineup and put Alfonso Soriano in the number–three slot in the batting order. He did it Friday and Saturday. The Cubs lost both games while Soriano went 1–for–8 with three whiffs. He was back [...]

April 28, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: John Dewan, Stat of the Week, stats  No Comments

It is still early for Kevin Gregg

It is early. Very early. Just a reminder: 158 games remain in the regular season.
Now, I’m not a necessarily a big Kevin Gregg fan. I only know him by his numbers from last year and looking at those, I’m not impressed. He would be fine as closer for a lesser team. But for a major market, fat [...]

April 10, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Lou Piniella, game day, game strategy, lineup, observations, players  No Comments