Bob Brenly Takes Swipe at Alfonso Soriano, Shot at Lou Piniella

On WSCR "The Score" this morning, Cubs analyst Bob Brenly was asked about Alfonso Soriano's reaction to not running hard out of the box on a double in Monday's game.

To set the stage, Soriano admired what he thought would be a home run in the batter's box on a hit that should have been a triple.

When asked about it, Soriano said he hit the ball hard and that's all that matters.

On the Danny Mac Show, Brenly responded to Soriano's comment by calling him "selfish" and saying that he would have pulled the Cubs left fielder from the game.

In fact, Brenly said that he would have done so a long time ago.

Mind you, Brenly has been careful to avoid taking shots at Cubs manager Lou Piniella since everyone knows Brenly wants to manage again and Lou is in his last season as skipper.

But Brenly subscribes to the Bobby Cox theory of managing—that today's players can be sat down when they refuse to play the game hard.

Despite his reputation, Lou has unfortunately lived up to his nickname as "Sweet Lou" ever since he came to Chicago.

Piniella has consistently stated that you have to be careful about how you treat today's players.

Well, look Lou, tell that to Bobby Cox or Jim Leyland, who refuse to coddle players and still get results.

I know you're getting old and are not likely to get in a fight with your players like you did as Reds manager, when you rolled around with Rob Dibble, but hell Lou, you do have options.

For one, Lou can go out and immediately pull a player who is not hustling. Sure, he can't do anything to prevent players form getting paid, but he has the ultimate power: the power of the lineup.

Meanwhile, I just might give Brenly a shot at managing this team.

Sure, he over-managed the Diamondbacks and didn't handle the pitching staff well, but he has a solid knowledge of the Cubs from his perch in the booth.

And he seemingly isn't afraid to discipline a player when it is necessary.

I realize that Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg is next in line to succeed Lou as manager. He has paid his dues, riding buses in the Cubs minor leagues.

But what would be so wrong about allowing Brenly to get a chance to take the helm for awhile?

Hey, Brenly didn't mean to take a shot at Piniella—he's too professional to do that. But he's also too honest to lie.