Chicago Cubs Choose Mike Quade As Manager

Reports are in that the Chicago Cubs have taken off the interim tag from manager Mike Quade.  Quade, the 53-year-old manager who has been serving as interim manager since the retirement of Lou Piniella after the season, is finally getting his shot at managing the big leagues.

The cubs reportedly signed Quade to a two-year deal with a club option for the 2013 season, according to ESPN.

There has been a lot of speculation as to who the next manager of the historic franchise would be following the retirement of Piniella.  Quade has been in the Cubs system for a few years now, serving as the triple A manager for a few seasons, and then joined the Cubs major league team for the first time in 2003 when he was a bench coach for the Cubs during their playoff run that season.

In 2010, Quade served as the third base coach for the Cubs and was considered a front runner for the job after having a very successful minor league managerial career and serving as a quality base coach.

His signing ends a lot of speculation as to who was going to be the next manager of the Cubs.  One name that was thrown out quite a lot was Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who is an Illinois native.  It all seemed too good to be true for Cubs fans to score this kind of acquisition, considering Giradi is currently managing the team that has the most championships and the Cubs haven't been to a World Series since 1945.

Can Quade be the savior, and finally reverse the curse to take the Cubs to a World Series?  Only time will tell. He will need to focus on securing a winning record first.

James Evens is a Purdue student and Basketball/Football Featured Columnist for the Boilermakers, along with being a Writing Intern at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, or like him on Facebook.