10:10pm: The Cubs have offered Sveum the job as manager, tweets Heyman. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (via Twitter) that the Red Sox, who are also considering Sveum, haven't made him an official offer.
10:03pm: Mike Maddux will most likely drop out of the running for the Cubs managerial opening due to family matters, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. As such, all signs are pointing to Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum for the job, as Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets.
Sveum is the only candidate the Cubs have interviewed twice in person so far, and Heyman notes (on Twitter) that Larry Lucchino's comments about potentially expanding the Red Sox managerial search could be another indication that Sveum will end up on the Cubs' bench in 2012.
In addition to Sveum and Maddux, the Cubs are also considering Pete Mackanin, DeMarlo Hale, and Sandy Alomar Jr.
Ry.the_Stunner
Damn, I was hoping for Mike Maddux over Dale Sveum. Dale Sveum almost reads to me like Mike Quade. He has a lot more experience as a player, but like Quade he managed a very limited number of games at the end of his team’s season, and had marginal success.
baseball52
Quade is a “gut guy”. Sveum is a numbers guy. Two totally different ideologies.
Kayrall
When you say numbers guy, are you refering to the Pinella ideology of playing the percentages, lefty vs righty, etc?
baseball52
Like sabermetrics and such. Basically the same ideology as Epstein follows when he goes after players.
Kayrall
Thanks for the answer. I’m familiar with sabermetrics, but was not with Sveum. I am crossing my fingers and hoping we are not going to see Loupy Lou v2.0.
Kayrall
We’re coming off of a year of Quade and Loopy Lou. I hope Sveum has the brains for the job.
fearthecub
I have a feeling that Theo & Co. want a manager that they can have a certain amount of control over. They don’t want a big personality that could clash with them. I think Sveum fits that profile nicely. Also, there’s the fact that they’re familiar with Sveum from his Red Sox tenure. Plus, Sveum comes from the Brewers, so he has familiarity with the National League Central. I personally think Maddux or Sandy Alomar would’ve been good/better choices, but Sveum makes a lot of sense.
CyYoungSuppan
drats
Patrick OKennedy
Tomorrow’s Headline: “Red Sox demand Sveum as compensation for Epstein”
K.C.
Could this help with Prince????
Kayrall
I sure hope not.
imachainsaw
I sure hope so.
jb226 2
Doubtful. I really don’t get the impression that Fielder is after anything but the most possible money. I suppose if two offers were identical maybe it would help, but what are the odds of that (and the odds of one team not increasing their offer once Boras shopped that around)?
MonsterPike
Yeah, I dunno about this choice… But I’ll not rail on him until I see some in season/in game moves that have me scratching my head at least… Doesn’t say whether he accepted or not though….
RedSx799
Oh that sucks. Wait, Jon Heyman reported it? Oh I’m gonna wait for an actual intelligent reporter to report this; Heyman makes jumping the gun his business. Remember this? Heyman: “Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox deal dead.” funny, but I seem to remember Mr. Gonalez playing for the Red Sox. let’s just see.
commenter3346
Others are reporting it as well (Rosenthal, Bradford, etc.). Although when Heyman reports it I’m always suspicious.
RedSx799
Bradford reported it because he was informed of the Heyman tweet by Kirk minnihane on WEEI (I literally just heard Kirk tell him) and Rosenthal is in Heyman’s class of “So-so” reporters. I’ll believe it when I see it. Like I said Heyman tweeted that Gonzalez to the Sox was dead and later that day it got done. He has near zero credibility IMHO
Steve_in_MA
Rosenthal is beneath Heyman’s class of so-so. No one more consistently has it wrong than Rosenthal.
RedSx799
i think they’re so-so in different ways. Heyman jumps the gun and gets it wrong (a lot!), Rosenthal does research and writes articles which usually amount to a pile of garbage.
Steve_in_MA
The only benefit Rosenthal has over Heyman is that he actually writes and researches articles. As you say, they generally turn out to be garbage. But Kenny is right there with Heyman on jumping the gun, using speculative sources, racing and overreaching for the scoop, etc. I once made the mistake of taking Kenny’s word over that of Nick Cafardo as to who was included in a deal. Bad mistake on my part. Won’t happen again.
icedrake523
Not to mention all Heyman does is tweet, rarely ever writes an article.
RedSx799
He’s a joke of a journalist, he’s jumping the gun again as far as I’m concerned.
actually, the term “journalist” is too good for this clown. so he’s just a joke.
mister_rob
Sveet!!!
The Svearch is over
Now we can focus on svigning some players!!
Patrick OKennedy
So Boston’s lead candidate is now…… Gene Lamont? Okay.
tiger313
no more 3rd base mishaps…wooohooooo
Bob George
“Sleepy” Gene Lamont, the guy who actually took naps in the dugout when he was the White Sox manager.
0bsessions
Lovullo allegedly. He’s got familiarity with the Sox system as he managed the Paw Sox in 2010 and he’s much younger than Lamont. Almonar is also an apparent potential consideration still.
Bob George
Good for the Cubs, I hope he takes the job. Other than Maddux, none of the other candidates seemed very interesting.
Joey E
take it take it take it lol
it’s obvious he’s boston’s #1 guy.
man the sox just keep tumbling
btw red sox fans, heidi watney is leaving NESN to go to the Lakers new network in 2012 lol
slider32
Theo burns the Sox again!
Steve_in_MA
I’m pissed about losing Watney. You can have Sveum.
RedSx799
I know, right? I mean I can’t even fathom the pronounciation of Sveum’s name (“Swayne”…where ever that comes from…) but I know one thing, Heidi Watney is a bombshell…and is part of the reason single Male Red Sox fans tuned in near the end I’d wager.
Steve_in_MA
Don’t mess with my eye candy … dammit. And she left to cover the Lakers from the sidelines. I understand she’s a California girl, but why leave us for a team that doesn’t even have a season worth covering? I’d trade Beckett, or Garnett, to get her back. LOL.
notsureifsrs
because NESN didn’t offer her a new contract. they almost cut her loose last year
MeowMeow
I was never really that enthusiastic about Sveum for a manager, but now that Theo wants to make him a Cub I kind of want him here?
Although, wait, does this count as an Epstein free agent signing? If so, I want no part of it.
Bob George
Rosenthal has a new article up and says the Red Sox didn’t make Sveum an offer at lunch today. Easy choice then for him. I’m a little puzzled though, the Red Sox seemed to favor Sveum from the start, and they brought in both owners, the team president, and GM to have lunch with him, and didn’t make an offer.
Steve Cochrane
If he were smart, he’d wait to see what the BoSox offer, and have them go back and forth until he gets the best deal.
The Sawx are closer to having a competitive team than the Cubs, so he may prefer there.
And to think… he didn’t even need Scott Boras to drive up the price for him. Good on him.
stewie75
can’t wait to see who the pitching coach will be. is there anyone NOT available to theo?? seems like he’d have his pick of literally anyone.
WrigleyTerror37
I hope everything is well with Mike Madduxs family, and wish him the best of luck back with the rangers. Tho i wish he would be the Manager and bring in Greg for the pitching coach. that would have been the perfect situation! imo.
Now Sveum gets to choose whether or not he wants to go to Boston or Chicago.
0bsessions
There’s no known issue with his family, his rationale was stated that his daughters just moved to the Texas area recently and he’d rather not go off to a great distance from them again. His rationale looked to be effectively smoke and mirrors when he went and interviewed for the Cubs job, which last I checked was still hundreds of miles from Texas. Having backed out, though, it looks a bit more sound.
MB923
“Mike Maddux will most likely drop out of the running for the Cubs managerial opening due to family matters”
But Chicago is where Family Matters takes place Mike!
Jokes aside i do hope everything is okay but wasn’t this same thing announced when he didnt go to Boston because of family matters? I ask because i thought i heard the only issue was that he didn’t want to live far from them.
AaronAngst
The post should have read “because of Family Matters.” Maddux was more of a “Step By Step” kind of guy.
MB923
Haha, guess I should have wrote it that way in the end.
stewie75
once he saw they had hired urklebot as the new carmine, he split.
MB923
I guess they will be stuck with Waldo Hiraldo Faldo
stewie75
cody is reading this at home like, “dude, THIS is how i find out i didn’t get the job??”
Jake 21
Just, awesome.
Steve Polheber
Was hoping for Maddux, but I respect that he values his family more than a job. Sveum was my second choice, so still happy with the hire.
Billy
Yankee fans will always remember Dale Sveum… Sveum and Scott Brosius both broke camp with the Yankees in 1998 as a third base platoon. Shortly thereafter, Sveum was cut and Brosius went on to hit 300 mostly out of the 9th spot in the lineup. Thanks Dale for lighting the fire under good ol’ Scottie and contributing to one of the greatest teams ever…
Dennis
Lucchino needs to stay the hell out of it.
Double D
“Mike Maddux will most likely drop out of the running for the Cubs managerial opening due to family matters”
Mike, I’m mad that Urkel is off the air too, but you gotta get over it buddy…
MB923
Nice.
jb226 2
I don’t know a lot about Sveum. I don’t know if he’s a good choice or a bad choice, and ultimately only time will really be able to tell that.
I am, however, a big believer that a lot of times the process is more important than the result and I am comfortable with the knowledge that Epstein and Hoyer had a good process in place and they followed it. If that process selects Sveum, then I am comfortable with that until his performance gives me something concrete to evaluate.
notsureifsrs
the only time that group had to hire a manager in boston, their finalists were francona and joe maddon. so yea, trusting the process makes sense
Fangaffes
So Cherrington is still vetting Theo’s job candidates for him, even though they’re in different organizations?