Thursday, September 02 2010 08:16
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Written by Travis Duncan
When Lou Piniella announced that he was retiring as the Chicago Cubs manager, the name that appeared to be a likely replacement was Ryne Sandberg, former second baseman and Cub great. Not only is Sandberg anxious to be a big league manager, he has paid his dues and currently is the manager of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.
Former Chicago Cubs second baseman and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg waves to the fans during pregame festivities prior to the Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings during the NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
He has personally instructed some of the Cubs best young talent, such as Tyler Colvin, and most importantly, some argue, he would bring back that 1980's Wrigley Aura.
Not so fast says Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts.
Ricketts tells the Chicago Sun-Times, "But it's about winning, not about marketing. 'I don't think we need a marquee name to sell tickets. What we need is a team that produces on the field. That's really what's most important to us.''
That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement for Ryno. But that also doesn't rule out Sandberg. Sandberg could very well, be a marquee name, sell tickets and produce on the field.
Last Updated ( Thursday, September 02 2010 09:18 )
Rob Dibble defends Nyjer Morgan
Thursday, September 02 2010 12:08
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Written by Travis Duncan
A lot of the blame for Wednesday night's Nationals-Marlins brawl has been pinned on Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan. Morgan has had difficulty controlling his anger at times and is currently appealing a seven-game suspension for throwing a ball in the stands at Phillies fans who were heckling him.
Morgan ran over Marlins catcher Brett Hayes at the plate Tuesday night (perhaps unnecessarily) and the play resulted in a season ending shoulder injury for Hayes.
Wednesday night Chris Volstad hit Morgan with a pitch in the 4th inning in retaliation. Morgan then stole two bases with the Marlins up big, breaking one of baseball's unwritten rules. Volstad threw behind Morgan in the 6th inning and the brawl ensued.
D.C. area commentator Rob Dibble, a former big league pitcher who was recently fired as the Nationals TV analyst, likely for his comments that he though Stephen Strasburg was 'soft' ,chimed in on Wednesday's brawl. Dibble said Thursday that because Volstad threw at Morgan twice, Morgan had a right to defend himself.
"The first pitch in the back with a 92 mile-an-hour fastball should be like listen, quit playing out of control, get yourself under control and let's play some baseball," Dibble said on XM radio, via the Washington Post. "But the second one, you have to defend yourself. And I've had guys charge at me, and I've said this after the fight, I would say 'Listen, if you felt that I was throwing at you and it was intentional, you have every right to defend yourself.'
