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.

Thank Goodness for the Pirates...

Because the Cubs are an absolute train wreck this season. Their loss to the Braves yesterday, marked their eight straight loss at Wrigley Field (The Unfriendly Confines), and dropped the team to a record of 50-73. Although the Cubs are 21.5 games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds, they are not in last place. The perennial losers, the Pittsburgh Pirates stand at 40-82 after losing last night.

The Pirates' loss last night assured them of their 18th consecutive losing season, extending the longest losing streak in American pro sports history. However, this season is one of the Pirates worst. They are nearly on pace to break the single season loss record and have 4 pitchers who have lost 10 or more games. In comparison, the Cubs' Randy Wells is the only pitcher on the team with 10 or more losses. To really put the Pirates last two decades in perspective, consider this:

-During their 18 season losing streak:
-The Pirates have never been 7 games above .500 in any point.
-In the same time span, the Pittsburgh Steelers who play 1/10 of the games as the Pirates, have achieved that mark 4 times

Thanks to the Pirates, it seems unlikely that the Cubs will finish in last place. However, it still remains possible that the Cubs will lose 100 games.

At 50-73, there are 38 games remaining. If my math is right, the Cubs will lose 100 games if they go worse then 11-27. The Cubs in August are 4-14, and 2-8 in their last ten, so 100 remains very possible.

Yikes!