Quade takes losses ‘personal’

ST. LOUIS — With the losses mounting daily, Cubs manager Mike Quade was asked Saturday if he felt he was managing for his job.

That came less than 24 hours after the Cubs lost 9-2 to the Cardinals and before they blew a 5-0 first-inning lead to lose 13-5.

“I feel like that every day, I really do,” Quade said. “You come here to solve problems, to teach, to make the best decisions you can make, to stay involved with your club. I come from a long line of one-year contracts. The idea of people being day to day when they’re hurt, I’ve always thought that was the case.

“I don’t feel any more or less like that. I come here to try to do the best I can every day. The one thing about that is everybody’s doing that, but to try and stay involved and make sure you’re identifying all the stuff that you need to and address it accordingly. That’s all I can do for me as a manager for these guys as a club.”

Quade got a vote of confidence from third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

“This isn’t Quade’s fault,” Ramirez said of the Cubs’ 42-65 record. “I don’t care who you bring in, it’s not the manager’s fault. He doesn’t play. The only thing he can do is make pitching changes and write the lineup. The rest of it, we’ve got to take care of business on the field. I don’t think it’s the manager’s fault.”

That’s not to say the losses aren’t eating at Quade.

“I take it personal,” he said. “I’m disappointed that the record’s not better. There’s things that I’m pleased with. There’s things that I’m not. Most of things are daily chores as far as working to get it better. When the blame game starts, you can’t sit in this seat and not take some of it. There’s just no way, and I understand that. But me sitting here and cowering because of that is absurd. You attack every day.”

Not a problem:Mike Quade said he addressed some mistakes from Friday night#146;s loss but added he does not believe his relationship with the players has changed for the worse. #147;I don#146;t think so,#148; he said. #147;This environment is tough for everybody. I don#146;t take anything or hold anything personally. If I see somebody that#146;s shirking their work, not doing things that are going to help him, then yeah, that#146;s a problem. But I don#146;t see that. I don#146;t see it from my staff. I don#146;t see it from the players. I talked last year a lot about the process. We#146;re still focusing on the process and trying to get guys better. Mistakes a long the way happen. You just continue to address them. There#146;s no magic formula.#148;This and that:Former Cub Ryan Theriot, who did not start Friday, is 6-for-7 this weekend. He started at second base Saturday and was 4-for-5 ... Reliever James Russell allowed his first run since June 19. That spanned 14#8531; innings.