Hendry on Quade's managing job: Outstanding

Posted September 23, 2010 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

If you throw away Thursday night's game - and Cubs manager Mike Quade certainly would like to do just that - it looks like Quade is playing for keeps.

Quade would like to keep the job he's got beyond this year.

And against teams still mathematically alive in the playoff races, he said he'll play for keeps by running his veterans out there.

Things didn't work out so hot Thursday against the Giants, as San Francisco used a 9-run second inning to crush Ryan Dempster and the Cubs 13-0. Quade's record fell to 18-9 since he took over last month for Lou Piniella.

General manager Jim Hendry returned to Wrigley Field on Thursday after spending two days interviewing Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg for the job. Others also will be interviewed, but Hendry said he likes what he sees from Quade.

"Outstanding," said Hendry. "Very pleased with how he's run the club, handled himself. The players are playing hard for him. Very positive environment that's going on right now in our locker room.

"I think it's a very solid blend of using the veterans properly and getting the kids the development we needed to see where we're at. He's doing an outstanding job."

The Cubs' recent surge has come when they've been well out of the playoff hunt. Hendry, though, said he can make some accurate evaluations.

"We've played enough contending teams since Mike took over and the rest of the way that I think that's a positive," Hendry said. "We haven't played too many teams that didn't have anything to play for.

"Even teams that are maybe not going to the postseason are fighting to get to .500.

"Not only are they meaningful games for what we need to do moving forward, but they're meaningful games for the teams we're playing. So you can find out quite a bit about it."

Teams in the position the Cubs are in often pack it in this late in the season. Hendry says he hasn't seen that.

"The stretch we were in the month before Mike took over, it would have been very easy for us to just play it out - veteran guys want more time off or take an extra day when they're nicked up a little bit," the GM said.

"I'm not seeing that. I'm seeing guys that are playing hard and giving Mike their best effort, which I think bodes well for him, the respect he has earned over time."

In Thursday's game, the Giants scored once in the first inning before sending 14 men to the plate in the second and chasing Dempster.

In the inning, Juan Uribe hit a 2-run homer off Dempster and a grand slam off reliever Thomas Diamond. Quade said the 123 pitches Dempster threw in Florida in his previous start may have contributed to Thursday's performance.

"That's nice of him," Dempster said. "I didn't get the job done. The sad part is I had way too many innings to think about how I could have changed things or made things better."

Bruce Miles' game tracker

The big inning: The Giants' Juan Uribe hit a 2-run homer and a grand slam in a 9-run second inning. The 6 RBI in one inning were the most by a player at Wrigley Field since Andre Dawson did it for Montreal on Sept. 24, 1985.

Short outing: Cubs starter Ryan Dempster lasted just 12/3 innings as he gave up 7 hits and 9 runs. Dempster worked just 3 innings on Aug. 31 and 42/3 on Sept. 5.

New chapter: Manager Mike Quade said he'll quickly forget about this game. "This is a turn-the-page game for me so quick it's ridiculous," Quade said. "Thank God it was Demp, because he can turn the page with the best of them."

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet Friday; Channel 9 Saturday and Sunday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Tom Gorzelanny (7-8) vs. Adam Wainwright (19-11) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Casey Coleman (2-2) vs. Chris Carpenter (15-8) Saturday at 12:05 p.m.; Jeff Samardzija (2-1) vs. Jake Westbrook (2-4) Sunday at 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Cardinals have a tragic number of 3 for elimination in the NL Central. The Cubs swept them in St. Louis last week. The Cubs are 8-4 against the Cardinals this year, 3-3 at Wrigley Field. Gorzelanny will be making his first start since Sept. 1, when he was hit by a line drive, suffering a small break of his left pinkie. The Cubs' Aramis Ramirez has hit well against the Cards' co-aces, going 18-for-57 with 2 homers against Carpenter and 14-for-39 vs. Wainwright. The Cardinals are fourth in the NL in ERA (3.68), and the Cubs are 13th (4.22). St. Louis' Albert Pujols entered Thursday leading the NL in home runs and RBI while being tied for eighth in batting average.

Next: San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Monday-Thursday

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