Lou Pinella Raising the Standard

Before the Cubs game on Sunday, the Cubs and Lou Pinella announced annouced he was stepping down at the end of Sunday's game after 23 years as a manager and 1835 wins. Previously on July 20, Pinella had announced that 2010 would be his final season as a major league manager and had intended to stay in his position for the remainder of the season. However, with his mother's declining health Lou was unable to remain with the team past this weekend.

Effective Monday, Cubs 3rd base coach Mike Quade, a former manager for the Cubs Triple-A team, will take over as manager for the rest of 2010. Presumably, the Cubs will decide on their next manager following the conclusion of the World Series. The Cubs next manager will not be Alan Trammell, who GM Jim Hendry ruled out as a candidate to become the Cubs next manager. Much attention has been given to the prospect of Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg becoming the team's next manager.

I think Lou Pinella's term as the Cubs manager should be thought of in high regard. Of course, the Cubs season hasn't gone the way anyone would have imagined, Pinella had no control over the player's contracts and respective performances. Overall, as the Cubs' boss, Pinella was compiled a 316-393 record with the club over three-plus seasons. He guided the team to the National League Central title in his first and second years in 2007-08, and the Cubs posted the best record in the NL in '08 at 97-64. After the 2008 season, Pinella was named manager of the year. Most significantly, I believe, is the fact that Pinella is the first Cubs manager in 100 years to lead the team to consecutive postseason appearances.

Lou Pinella's legacy on the Cubs organization is that he has elevated the standard of success that Cub fans expect. While he didn't lead the team to a championship, Pinella has I think because of Pinella's efforts, Cubs fans consider the playoffs as a basic benchmark of the team's performance. Pinella came into the organization and changed the team's culture. Unfortunately, Pinella did not have a great deal of success and the Cubs lost to the Braves on his final day. Nevertheless, the team has struggled and Sandberg, or whoever gets the job next year, has a lot of work to do.

I also think the Cubs did the right thing in not using the rest of the season to let Sandberg show what he can do. Sandberg would not have a fair advantage because there is little to play for this season. If he was called to manage and the team preformed poorly, it would simply not make him look good/prepared as a major league manager.