Girardi was never going to come.

I warned people.

It wasn’t going to happen.

The possibility of it happening never even existed.

It was a figment of many people’s imagination.

Girardi never had any intention of coming to the Cubs.

via ESPN:

"Joe told Cashman back in August that he had no interest in the Cubs job," the source said. "He had too many good things going in New York to be interested in that."

I said it months ago…but I’ll admit, even I questioned myself for a short time. I started to be swayed by some of the hype.

But in the end, logic, not hope, was the right analysis.

Is this pathetic attribute of hope so ingrained into our minds that we can’t help ourselves but to think outside the simple logic placed in front of us? Do we actually make up arguments that feed our hope?

Well, anyway, for those of you who were upset that the Cubs didn’t hold out for Girardi…get over it. In the end, Quade was the only person that was ever going to get the job. Simple as that.

Girardi...Ricketts's guy?

Numerous stories have come out over the last few weeks in regards to a) a timetable for the Cubs managerial search, and b) the likelihood of Joe Girardi bolting New York for the Cubs.

Very few people, if anyone, actually knows what exactly is going on in the Cubs front office right now as far as this is concerned.

But these are the things that we do know.

• The current list of candidates who have interviewed so are are as follows:
• Ryne Sandberg
• Eric Wedge
• Mike Quade
• Bob Melvin
• (and possibly Don Wakamatsu...but I'd like more confirmation on this)
• We also know that Eric Wedge and Ryne Sandberg (and in a way, also Mike Quade) have all been in for multiple interviews in one form or another.
• The Cubs cannot talk to Joe Girardi until the Yankees are done playing.
• Jim Hendry has mentioned that he wants this process over with by the middle of this month (which happens to be next week).
• Tom Ricketts has stated that this process will not be rushed and will likely go out until mid-November.

Those last two points are quite interesting...as it could indicate a divide in the front office right now.  Why?

At this point, the only real reason to delay this decision until November, as Tom Ricketts appears to want, is to wait and see if Joe Girardi becomes available.  But Jim Hendry seems very content with the candidates that are currently available if he thinks this could be wrapped up by the end of next week.

Keep this in mind...Joe Girardi was available 4 years ago.  Jim Hendry interviewed him, but Girardi was not in the list of finalists for the job (a list that, supposedly, Mike Quade was on).  Unless Jim Hendry is more impressed with Girardi now that he has a big fat ring on his finger from last year, I just can't imaging the Hendry would feel much differently this time around.

Saying that the process could be wrapped up by the end of next week would indicate that Hendry has no intentions of considering Girardi.

It also indicates one other thing...Hendry may have his list of final candidates already...and it is likely that the short list is Quade, Sandberg and Wedge. If that is the case, Hendry may feel some pressure to get this done quickly because both Quade and Wedge are being considered by other teams right now (Brewers and Blue Jays for Quade, Pirates for Wedge)...and I honestly believe Sandberg might be high on the Seattle list right now assuming Bobby Valentine doesn't get that job.  Teams like the Brewers, Pirates and Blue Jays might try to move very quickly to hire someone with so many good candidates out there right now.

Now, look, this is all speculation.  As I said, we really don't know what is going on in the heads of all the execs in the front office right now.  Well, that's not exactly true.  We actually do know what is going on in the head of team president, Crane Kenney...



So, in conclusion (I learned that in high school essay class), if Jim Hendry gets his way, I think we'll see a new manager fairly soon.  If this process extends out, though, I really do think that it is Tom Ricketts who is extending his influence to try to seek out Joe Girardi. That seems like an awful risk...because I think Eric Wedge and Mike Quade would accept other jobs before Ricketts's November date.

Peter Gammons manager pick of the week

This is why I’ve never really liked Peter Gammons. Last week he said that he thought that Erik Wedge had a really good chance of becoming the manager of the Cubs.

Well, this week he thinks someone else may very well be the manager next season.

Joe Girardi.

Is he really thinking about leaveing New York?

Gammons thinks that Girardi may very well be looking to bail out on the Yankees and go to Chicago. Gammons’ insiders have indicated that over the last few months Girardi has noticeably lost weight, and appears to be considerably stressed out with his current situation.

I’m not sure what’s going on in New York right now…I don’t follow American League baseball all that much, but if Girardi is sick of dealing with the stress of New York, he isn’t going to find much relief in coming to the Cubs. As FrankS has pointed out here a number of times, though, if he were to come to Chicago, he would be back home which could count as a big plus in Girardi’s book. If Girardi has become stressed out over the last month, it very well could be that it is because he is taking the possibility of moving back to Chicago seriously.

I have maintained all along, if Girardi were to be available, he would be the best guy for the job. I never believed he’d leave New York though. I still don’t.

Now with all that said, what guarantee is there that if Girardi leaves the Yankees, he would come to the Cubs? Why do I pose that question? Well, I think the likelihood of Ozzie Guillen leaving the White Sox after this season has escalated over the last few days. Could the White Sox make a strong push to get a top of the line manager like Girardi?

And, yes, I’ve heard the mentions of the possibility of Guillen coming to the Cubs next year. My response…shut up. Why even bother mentioning that. Tom Ricketts and Jim Hendry will not hire Ozzie Guillen.

Ok, so back to the Gammons-Girardi thing. Honestly, after Gammons was indicating Erik Wedge had a great shot at getting the job last week, bringing up the Girardi thing really has to make you wonder whether to take any stock in what he has to say. I’m sure next week Gammons will say that Davey Johnson is looking more likely to be the next Cubs manager.

To me, it appears to be a two man race. Honestly, I have decided that it will make little difference to the team when looking at the two picks…Sandberg and Quade. Reports about Don Wakamatsu being lined up to interview for the job appear to be false according to Carrie Muskat. In the end, very little has changed in the manager search no matter what Peter Gammons or any other reporter has to say.

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And any of you that were panicking about Greg Maddux leaving Chicago to be the pitching coach of the D-Backs…relax. He’s going to stay in Chicago. Jim Hendry stated that he fully expects Maddux to stay in 2011. Hendry also said that he spent Tuesday and Wednesday interviewing Ryno. I think everything is on track for the Cubs to name a new manager by the middle of the month of October.

No Baseball...thank goodness...and Witty dreams of Girardi.

This has been a welcome break from baseball.

But terror hit me when I realized that we are only halfway through this joke of a season.

I keep on trying to work on a trade deadline post...but every time I get near completion of it, I realize that a) I'm completely guessing about what I think might happen and b) am only stating what everyone else already knows...so I go and delete it.

At this point, we do know that this team will look somewhat different come July 31st, but probably not as different as we would like it to look.

And I honestly believe that before much longer, the Rickettses will be making announcements about not only the state of the team on the field, but an announcement about a spring training facility.

The deadline for exclusive negotiation with Mesa has passed, and in theory, a financing plan for a facility has been created by the city of Mesa. This was done without much fanfare which makes me wonder how viable that financing deal actually is.  Supposedly, the city of Mesa is now waiting for the Cubs to approve a site.  If the Rickettses don't feel good about the deal, than Naples could be back in the equation.

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But to the reason I'm posting this morning...Gordon Wittenmyer posted a nice story about the possibility of Joe Girardi coming to the north side after this season.

 I like those pinstripes on Joe better than the ones he currently has.

I like Wittenmyer...he's a good writer for the Sun-Times and, unlike many of his co-workers at the Sun-Times (Telander) and his rivals at the Trib (everyone), he doesn't take to sensationalism very much.

But when I initially saw this story, I was a little surprised.  Girardi isn't going anywhere...no way he'd ever leave the Yankees.  It's a dream job, and he's been successful at it.  He has the respect and admiration of Yankee fans.  He works in, perhaps, the best facility in the game.  He's not going anywhere.

Or is he?

So I read the story and while Wittenmyer doesn't say that that Girardi wants to come to Chicago, he outlines how the idea isn't completely wacko.

First off, Girardi, as everyone knows, is an Illinois native and, growing up in Peoria, was a Cubs fan as a kid.  He went to Northwestern University.  He was drafted by the Cubs, and had two different stints as the Cubs catcher.  He has roots with this team.

Second, Girardi doesn't have a contract for next season.  The Yankees have not given him a contract extension.  As is traditional for the Yankees, they don't not talk contract extensions until the season is over.  A number of times we had seen this policy in place with Joe Torre.  They often do this with their veteran players as well.  And the truth is, the Yankees do this because they can do this.  They have the most money, and it is a place that most players want to be, so they have little fear that if a player they want to keep hits free agency, they'll be able to retain him.

Third, Girardi hasn't said the idea is out of the question.  From Wittenmyer's story, here is a quote from the manager:

"That's not something I would talk about now. I grew up in Peoria. I grew up a Cub fan. But right now, I'm extremely happy where I'm at."

As the same time, that often is the polite brush off type of statement.  You know, the "oh, I love you guys, but look, this is a better situation...thanks for asking," type of thing.

But there is more...

"Every job in the majors as a manager has its challenges.  I enjoyed playing there. I enjoyed playing day games. And I loved it."

Hmm...ok.

"You're asking me hypotheticals, and I don't deal in hypotheticals. I am under contract. I love what I do. And I love managing."

So what can we conclude from this?

Well, it would appear to me that Girardi could be the Cubs manager in the future, but until the Yankees are done with him, I doubt we'll see him commanding Cubs.

But if there is any possibility of Girardi coming to Chicago next year, the Ricketts family should do everything in their power to get him in here. He has shown that he is one of the good young managers in the game.  There is not risk that he can't do the job (ala Sandberg). 

But the truth is, we'll probably end up with an old and withered Girardi being the Cubs manager in 20 years as his last stop in his managerial career looking to go out in a blaze of glory, only to fall flat like so many managers before him.

If that isn't optimistic....(*snort*)