Chicago Cubs: Mike Quade Fired, Time for Theo Epstein to Get Terry Francona

It finally happened. The Chicago Cubs' new President Theo Epstein and General Manager have fired manager Mike Quade.

This was the most important move in taking this franchise into a new direction. Adding players is important as well, but the Cubs were in need of a face lift at the manager position, and Quade was just going to keep taking the ship down. Even if the Cubs brought in great players this offseason, it would be hard to imagine them succeeding much under Quade.

So where do the Cubs go now? They best make their move to go for the last manager Epstein hired. The former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona is the perfect man for the job in Chicago. Epstein has made it clear that Ryne Sandberg will not be an option in Chicago, as he is looking for a manager with plenty of big league experience.

How doesn't Francona fit the bill? He has 12 years of experience managing a big league team, and in his eight seasons with the Red Sox he never had a losing season. He also won two World Series with the team, which is impressive in such a short amount of time.

The obvious goal in Chicago is to win a World Series, so why not pair up the team that did so twice in eight years? From the look of it, Francona and Epstein have no rift. Their move from Boston almost has to do with one another. Francona was pushed out, and Epstein didn't seem to be too fond of the idea that he was losing his winning manager.

Epstein and Francona have an opportunity to make things right, and to also continue what they started in Boston. If they could bring the Cubs a World Series, they would go down as the greatest manager-front office combination in baseball history. Francona would also arguably enter the ranks as one of the greatest managers in baseball history by breaking two "curses."

Francona has nothing to lose following the collapse in Boston, but he sure has a lot to gain if he can make things happen on the North Side starting in 2012 and beyond.

Jeff Chase is from Chicago and is an undergrad at Arizona State University. He currently is interning with B/R and is in process of becoming a Featured Columnist for Arizona State football.

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