According to reports, the Chicago Cubs have fired manager Dale Sveum after two seasons.
Sveum did have one year left on his contract. Other coaches fate on the coaching staff have not been reported yet and reports state that at least one other coach will be fired and some coaches could stay for now.
When a new manager comes aboard, he will have the right to chose his coaches and the other coaches who were safe, may not be anymore.
Sveum looked to be safe over a month ago, but the lost of the clubhouse didn’t help his case. Most notably the Kevin Gregg incident and the altercation with starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. The Cubs are also worried about his player developmental skills.
Sveum has taken the blame for Starlin Castro’s, Anthony Rizzo’s and Darwin Barney’s regressed season, plus Jeff Samardzija’s horrible 2nd half. And the Cubs don’t want him to be in charge of the players coming up through the minors of whom are close to the majors.
According to David Kaplan, Joe Girardi is the Cubs number one choice and by far. Buster Olney reported this morning that if the New York Yankees want to keep Giardi, they will have to give him a pay raise more than the 3 million he made this season. Giardi’s contract expires on October 31st and if the Cubs want to speak to him before then, they will have to ask the Yankees for permission to speak with him.
The Cubs say they would like to have a new manager by the GM meetings and the GM meetings takes place in November. The Cubs also say they have not interviewed or asked to interview a candidate yet.
For the most part, we all knew the end of the Sveum era was coming.
No word on the other coaches on the staff, but there should be news coming down shortly.