Why Ryne Sandberg Should Manage The Cubs For The Rest Of The Season

All in all, Lou Piniella had a pretty decent run for the Cubs in his Chicago tenure. He brought the team to the playoffs his first two years. Maybe without some major season-crippling injuries (and a couple questionable moves by Jim Hendry), the Cubs could have seen the playoffs all four of those years. 

With that said, the 2010 season has become one to forget. A surprising four-game series win against the Phillies at the beginning of the second half provided a little hope inside for the Cubbie faithful. After losing the next series to the Astros, that tingly feeling quickly switched to a kick in the groin.

The reality officially set in that this team would not be vying for a playoff spot in the 2010 post-season. Lou's recent decision to call it quits after this season has only cemented in our minds that the towel is being thrown in for the season and that the "rebuilding process" and "fire sale" of veteran players is just over the horizon.

Although I understand why people might say that Lou has earned the right to finish out the season as the head honcho, it would only be holding the Cubs back from an extremely interesting opportunity. Personally, I believe the Cubs should let Lou go at the end of July. I'm sure he wouldn't hold a grudge if upper management gave him a two-month advance on his retirement and released him from the headache that is the Cubs current situation.

Who would take his place? It could be Cubs bench coach Alan Trammell . Not such a good idea when you consider his only managerial experience was a disastrous stint with the Detroit Tigers (119 losses in his first season). The more intriguing option, in my mind, is to bring up Ryne Sandberg from AAA Iowa to lead the team through the last two months.

Think about it for a second. What do the Cubs have to lose? More importantly, what happens to a team that is on the outskirts of contention and trading away all eligible veteran assets? When Ted Lily, Derrek Lee, Carlos Silva , and/or (hopefully *fingers crossed*) Carlos Zambrano are gone, the Cubs will bring in a platoon of farmhands to give them some important experience in the majors.

Wouldn't that same idea work if used to decide the managerial position for a ball club? Better yet, who has been managing the farmhands the Cubs will be bringing in to close out the major league season if and when they unloaded their high-priced talent? I would put my money on Ryno over Trammell on that one.

Give Ryno a shot, albeit two months, to manage in the before the Cubs go through their hiring process. Who knows? he may tank and bust causing an uproar for Cubs announcer and former D-Backs manager Bob Brenly, who I think is the best fit, to manage the club next year. In that case, Ryno goes back down to AAA or takes a back seat on the bench for a few seasons before his name comes up again in the future.

I am not at all saying the Cubs should bring him in this season to manage for the next four years. But if Ryno gives the Cubs a reason to bring him back next year he will already have experience with the players and at the level, so why not?

Seriously, what do the Cubs have to lose?