Sandberg ready for major leap

The Cubs don't have a managerial opening at the moment, and Ryne Sandberg's been around too long to get baited into a conversation about a position that isn't vacant.

"I hope for the sake of the organization and for Lou (Piniella) that the Cubs have a great second half and win the division," Sandberg said. "That's what we all want to see happen."

But there isn't anyone on the planet who really thinks Piniella will be back in 2011. Assuming Piniella's gone, it's not a lock that Sandberg would replace him even after four years as a manager in the Cubs' minor-league system.

If there were an opening and Sandberg didn't get it, he says it's a mistake for anyone to think that he will wait forever while the team decides whether to take him seriously.

"I guess I would understand that perception, being a lifelong Cub and that my entire career has been spent in one organization," Sandberg said Tuesday. "I'm ready to get to the major leagues. I'm no different than anyone else in the minors trying to get to the majors.

"If that opportunity isn't with the Cubs, just like anyone else I'd have to look at wherever the opportunity presents itself.

"I feel like now that I've done this for four years, with a year at Triple-A, I'm ready to go. I don't know how patient I would be going back to the minors for another season."

Not that Sandberg wants anything handed to him. On the contrary, he feels he's earned a chance to manage at the big-league level.

"I feel very good about that. It's the same way I got to the majors as a player, working my way up from the bottom," Sandberg said. "I wanted to find out when I started this if I would like it and if I'd be any good at it. I think I've answered those questions and in a positive way."

Four years ago, Cubs farm director Oneri Fleita was as skeptical as anyone, but four years and hundreds of bus rides later, Fleita is nothing less than amazed.

"I used to look at him and think, 'He could be signing autographs somewhere right now for 25 grand an hour.' Instead, he's there signing before and after every game for 15 minutes for nothing," Fleita said. "Guys of his stature don't make it through the first year in the low minors.

"He's four years in and he gets better every day. He's a special individual. Very even keeled and he has a perspective that's different than all the rest of us.

"Guys don't hit in April. You know what he says. 'I never hit in April, either.' He's in the Hall of Fame. It carries a different weight with those players."

Four years ago, Fleita figured he'd get a call from Sandberg within the first month saying he had made a mistake.

"That's a hard few years. He spent two in the Midwest League and last year he had 14-hour bus rides in the Southern League," Fleita said. "That's a guy who wants to manage. He's put in a lot of work to get to where he is and it's really impressive."

Like anyone else who hadn't done it, Sandberg never would have guessed the education necessary to prepare for a big-league managing job, and he can see why managers with no experience struggle.

"This is not the kind of thing where you can learn on the job up there," Sandberg said. "You have to be prepared for everything, but managing is dealing with the unexpected and taking care of things immediately.

"When you have no experience, I think it lessens the quality of leadership that you could have at major-league level, and like we saw in Arizona (with A.J. Hinch), it didn't last very long.

"I can tell you that looking back on it now, four years ago I was not ready to do a good job. It takes a lot of different skills and this was the right route for me to take to learn those skills.

"It's not like I was a hitting coach or a first base coach. Down here, you're everything every day and running the whole group of 30 people and managing a pitching staff on top of that.

"It's a crash course and it's been well worth it for me to put in the time and wait for a chance, making sure I was ready.

"I've taken this very seriously. It's like anything else I've ever done. I wanted to be very good at it."

And how good is he?

"He's really good," Fleita said. "He's had a lot of success and that's not easy when we take your bullpen and move it up to the next level, or move it to the major leagues like we've done this year."

So now it seems a question of when, or perhaps more important, where.

"We're in first place and sending guys to the majors to help the big league club, and that's my focus right now," Sandberg said. "The rest of it will be for after the season.

"I just know it was good to get back to the minors after 30 years away and get back to my roots, and learn a new job. It's been great.

"But I'm ready to get back to the major-league level, and I'm excited about the future."

brozner@dailyherald.com

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