Dale Sveum fired

In News And Rumors by berselius39 Comments

Per Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs fired Dale Sveum today. Honestly, I would have been okay with this whichever way it went. I was never super enamored with Sveum, but I don't think he's awful either. The best guess is that Sveum was fired due to some combination of:

  • Starlin Castro regressed big time this year
  • Anthony Rizzo did not improve as much as expected, though I don't think the Superfriends were expecting an All-Star year or anything
  • Joe Girardi is available

Unlike the previous front office, I do feel fairly confident that Sveum was NOT fired as some sort of scapegoat for the team's record, to placate the fans. The rest of the coaching staff is probably on the way out too, which is kind of a bummer. I thought Bosio did a decent job as pitching coach, and Dave McKay seemed to have a big impact on Alfonso Soriano in particular.

The Cubs will make a push for Girardi, but my gut tells me they'll end up with someone else. But at the same time, if they hire another relatively inexperienced guy like Gammons favorite Brad Ausmus, firing Sveum feels kind of pointless. At least they don't have to worry too much about the Yankees wanting to hang onto Girardi, since they likely need a rebuild of their own in the near future.

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  1. dmick89

    I do feel fairly confident that Sveum was NOT fired as some sort of scapegoat for the team’s record, to placate the fans.

    I feel fairly confident that the last front office never did that. Who did they fire? No one that I’m aware of. They didn’t renew Baker’s contract when it was up and it was a no-brainer to let him walk. They let Lou leave near the end of his contract and then re-hired Quade. It was the current front office that didn’t re-sign him.

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  2. dmick89

    I think Girardi is a pipe dream and I doubt the Cubs are even interested. I’d also guess that Girardi isn’t too interested because the Cubs will not pay him the amount he’ll require.

    Girardi, who reportedly made $3 million this season, said finances will have “zero” to do with his decision. He also played down the idea that he would want to leave for his hometown Chicago Cubs, if manager Dale Sveum were let go. Girardi said his wife and kids are very happy in Westchester, N.Y. His family ties to Chicago — with both his parents having passed away — are not as strong anymore. Plus, he hasn’t lived there since 2006.

    That was from yesterday. Basically, the man’s only ties to the region are that he once lived there and grew up there. It’s been a long time since he even lived there and he has kids to think about. I don’t see it.

    I think a guy like Ausmus is more in line with what type of manager the Cubs will be seeking (cheap).

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  3. GW

    He and his staff helped us excel in game planning and defensive positioning, contributed to the emergence of several players, and helped put us in position to make some important trades.

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  4. GW

    Our record is a function of our long-term building plan and the moves we have made – some good, a few we would like back – to further this strategy.

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  5. Author
    Berselius

    @ dmick89:

    I don’t think the money matters that much to the Cubs. I think the bigger thing blocking this is that one of the reason Girardi might be leaving the Yankees is that they’re going to kinda suck next year. Why jump ship to an even shittier team, at least for 2014?

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  6. GW

    Soon, our organization will transition from a phase in which we have been primarily acquiring young talent to a phase in which we will promote many of our best prospects and actually field a very young, very talented club at the major league level. …

    we have one of the top farm systems in baseball, some of the very best prospects in the game, and a clear path forward. In order for us to win with this group – and win consistently – we must have the best possible environment for young players to learn, develop and thrive at the major league level. We must have clear and cohesive communication with our players about the most important parts of the game. And – even while the organization takes a patient, long view – we must somehow establish and maintain a galvanized, winning culture around the major league club.

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  7. GW

    There are no absolute criteria, but we will prioritize managerial or other on-field leadership experience and we will prioritize expertise developing young talent. We have not yet contacted any candidates or asked permission to speak with any candidates, but that process will begin tomorrow morning.

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  8. Nate

    @ GW:

    I’m guessing Ian Stewart. Maybe signing Hairston? I also wonder if they’d go back and undo the Mahalm deal since the dude they got back has yet to throw a baseball in the 14 months since that trade.

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  9. GW

    @ Nate:

    good calls. although i don’t know that anything they gave up in the stewart deal is currently bothersome. lemahieu is meh. colvin cleared waivers.

    maybe villanueva over liriano in FA last year (which dmick was all over at the time).

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  10. Myles

    I don’t understand the move. I think the only way it really makes sense is if the rift between Sveum and Jackson/Castro/whomever else is much greater than it has been imagined. Sveum was a perfectly mediocre manager, so spending the additional couple million next year on a new manager seems foolish to me unless you expect to seriously contend next year (I don’t and Theo probably doesn’t either) or there was some other thing we aren’t fully aware of that made the current situation untenable (which is reasonable to assume I think at this point).

    My least favorite thing about the firing is that while 2014 is probably an 80 win team, 2015 could be very, very good. At that point, you’ll want the “hotshot” manager to manage a very talented team. In 2014, you still want a “player development” guy, so unless they are the same guy, I’m not sure what this accomplishes.

    What’s interesting to me is also what this means for Derek Johnson, the minor league pitching coordinator. I imagine the new coach will have his own staff, but would you surprised if whoever the new manager is to name him the pitching coach at the MLB level? It wouldn’t shock me at all, honestly.

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  11. dmick89

    GW wrote:

    maybe villanueva over liriano in FA last year (which dmick was all over at the time).

    Made more sense for this organization to go after a guy with Liriano’s talent. In hindsight my nitpick is really Baker/Liriano. If I’m signing one of them and hoping for the best, it’s without a doubt Liriano.

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  12. GW

    @ dmick89:

    initally liriano and villanueva were pretty close to the same price (villanueva was 2/10, liriano 2/13). then liriano hurt himself around the house, and they negotiated down. baker was only 1/5 or so.

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  13. dmick89

    @ GW:
    I was thinking more of the annual value of the contract. I’d rather have had Liriano than the other two combined for the same price as Liriano. I was surprised the Cubs didn’t go after him this past offseason. He made a lot of sense and they’d have looked brilliant if they did.

    As for what they regret, I’m guessing one of them is Scott Baker. The others? I don’t have any idea, but that would be at the top of my list.

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  14. WaLi

    dmick89 wrote:

    As for what they regret, I’m guessing one of them is Scott Baker. The others? I don’t have any idea, but that would be at the top of my list.

    At the top of my list would be deciding to leave Boston to be GM for the Cubs.

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  15. Author
    Berselius

    dmick89 wrote:

    I just don’t think the Cubs are going to pay that much when they could hire another manager for much less.

    True, but if the reasons they’re getting rid of Sveum are player development issues, it seems pretty deck-rearrangey to hire another cheap inexperienced manager. Wasn’t Sveum supposed to be good with young players? I can’t remember. We heard that same line with Cuey too. I don’t see how Brad Ausmus would be expected to deal with Castro’s struggles any better than Sveum.

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  16. SVB

    Berselius wrote:

    True, but if the reasons they’re getting rid of Sveum are player development issues, it seems pretty deck-rearrangey to hire another cheap inexperienced manager. Wasn’t Sveum supposed to be good with young players?

    This isn’t too hard to figure out. Those managers that win with younger players are “good at developing them”, whether that is true or not.

    I think what hurt Sveum was this: The Cubs signed some fringe offense guys to fill out a roster and kept one fringe guy who they might have traded. Those guys (Schierholtz, Navarro, Soriano) ended up being the best hitters on the team. Not Rizzo, not Castro, and no useful contribution offensively from Barney or Watkins. By June, it was clear that the biggest hole in the roster was in the bullpen. The FO made a few moves that improved the bullpen a little (Strop, Parker, Gregg) but the offensive contributions from those expected to carry it never developed. So back when dmick and Myles were being optimists and saying the Cubs might reach .500, so was the FO. But the offense never delivered and Sveum’s experiments never paid off in consistent improvement, better K rates, more selectivity, etc. etc. that might have shown progress, even without winning. So, he’s gone.

    I think the pitching coaches did a decent job. Also Dave McKay based on Soriano….

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  17. Myles

    Berselius doesn’t lie.

    4-seam:
    3/13: 92.57
    4/13: 91.35
    5/13: 93.37
    6/13: 94.11
    7/13: 93.66
    8/13: 95.46
    9/13: 97.31

    Same story with his other pitches. I like Rondon, though you’d expect more swing-and-miss with his repertoire then you get

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  18. Aisle424

    I’ve tried very hard to have an opinion on this and I just don’t. This could have gone wither way and my reaction would have been exactly the same.

    I don’t care if they hire Girardi or Ausmus or Brenly (OK, I would care if they hired Brenly) or any of the other candidates out there. None of them impress me to the point of NEEDING to fire Sveum, and I’m not convinced that the “regression” we saw from the core wasn’t something that would have happened anyway.

    If this is something Theo felt was best, then that’s fine. It changes very little as far as I’m concerned.

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