Sandberg interviewing as Cubs lose
While Mike Quade was trying to guide the Cubs to another victory Tuesday, another candidate for the job was beginning to interview in Arizona with general manager Jim Hendry.
Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg was getting set to meet with Hendry for a second time at or near the Cubs' Fitch Park facility in Mesa. Sandberg, the manager of the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa farm club, talked with Hendry in Albuquerque last month.
It's not known how Sandberg is doing in his second interview, which could last more than one day. Quade and the Cubs lost 1-0 to the San Francisco Giants in a rain-delayed contest at Wrigley Field.
For the first time in Hendry's tenure, the Cubs have two viable in-house candidates. Hendry hired big-name candidates Dusty Baker (2002) and Lou Piniella (2006), with good results that proved temporary.
Sandberg appears to have strong public support, and Quade helps himself with every victory, as the Cubs came home fresh off an 8-1 road trip.
Quade deflected praise toward his players, who seem to have responded well since Quade took over as manager last month from Lou Piniella, who resigned.
"I can't imagine coming into a situation that could be much better than this last road trip," Quade said. "Having said that, I didn't make one pitch. I didn't swing a bat. I didn't play defense. So the credit goes out there in the clubhouse. I think they're having fun, and they're playing the last six weeks on a club that hasn't had a very good year."
September can be a tough time to evaluate players and teams out of the pennant race, but Quade made sure to set goals.
"I've talked about the process and I've talked about the things I've asked from them," he said. "But I think, more than anything, we wanted to make this last six weeks matter and not just play out the string. To their credit, they have. Hopefully, we'll continue to play well because we've got some teams coming in here, and we're going to go see San Diego, that still have a lot to try and accomplish."
The Cubs played well against the Giants on Tuesday, as Carlos Zambrano tossed 6 scoreless innings. The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the eighth on Buster Posey's home run to center field off Andrew Cashner (2-6).
"You make a mistake in a game like that, you get a ball up a little bit or it comes back ... Posey is a dangerous guy," Quade said.
As far as Zambrano goes, his record held at 9-6, and his ERA dropped from 3.75 to 3.56. He used one word to describe a season that has included anger-management treatment.
"Bad," he said. "The Cubs pay me to win, and the fans want me to win. I only have 9 wins. For me, it's another disappointing season. But the most important thing is I have my confidence back. I will be back next year with the same attitude and the same passion for the game and ready to do some damage."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Bruce Miles' game tracker</p>
<p class="News">Giants 1, Cubs 0</p>
<p class="News"><b>Big Z rolls: </b>Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano worked 6 shutout innings, giving up 3 hits while walking five, striking out eight and hitting a batter. He threw 116 pitches, 60 strikes. Since returning to the rotation last month, he has an ERA of 1.42.</p>
<p class="News"><b>More quality:</b> Zambrano turned in the Cubs' 87th quality start. Cubs starters have an ERA of 2.13 in quality-start games. </p>
<p class="News"><b>He's back:</b> With Tyler Colvin on the DL, Kosuke Fukudome started in right field, and he will see a lot of playing time from now on. "That guy's played like a son of a gun and has earned the right to finish up these few games as the main guy out there," said manager Mike Quade. </p>
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<li><a href="/story/?id=409846">Quade big believer in finishing strong<span class="date"> [9/21/10]</span></a></li>
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