ESPN reported on Ryne Sandberg's triumphal return to Wrigley, guiding the Phils to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Cubs.
After
the Phillies came back from a five-run deficit, Sandberg has turned a veteran team that was going nowhere into a 9-6 record. Sandberg has been able to get his
players to bust their behinds for him in his quest to become the
full-time manager in 2014.
"It is a good win to get," he said. "Down 5-0 out of the chute and the guys battle back. It is extra special."
"There is some good energy on the bench," Sandberg said. "Guys were
talking it up and pulling for each other. (Jeff) Samardzija was in a
good grove for a while, but we were able to get some guys on base and
put some hits together."
Sandberg used his bullpen to perfection, getting four shutout innings in relief after Roy Halladay gave up five runs in five innings.
After the game, Sandberg could not resist telling reporters about his warm welcome
by the fans and the subtle differences he noticed at the friendly
confines. "The empty seats in the bleachers and the empty
seats are something new to me," the manager said. "Most of my career
from 1984 on was a tough ticket and a sellout. So it was a little odd to
see the bleachers that empty. Other than that I noticed a lot of
Phillies fans who made the trip. They got a little bit loud in the ninth
inning."
Sandberg, as usual, did not gloat about how personally gratifying
the win was for him. He had been passed over twice in interviews for the
Chicago manager job.
But now in Philadelphia, he has the opportunity to manage a large market club that can be competitive in short order.
For if Sandberg got the Cubs managerial job, he would have had dealt with the Quade and Sveum years of bad teams. However, in my opinion, Sandberg would have done a better job with those squads because he managed and coached most of the Cubs homegrown players. They respected him. James Russell told the media that it was Sandberg as his AA manager that got him to change his approach which led him to become a major league reliever. (A job that may be in jeopardy because of Dale Sveum's overuse of Russell this season like Sveum did last year with Shawn Camp.)
The Cubs new front office had an opportunity to correct Jim Hendry's stubborn mistake of not hiring Sandberg as manager, but Theo Epstein passed for "his guy" Sveum. Both management executives knew that Sandberg would have tremendous public relations capital with Cub fans and with the players. He could be hard to control if things were not going well in regard to roster decisions. And it is now clear that Epstein was going to blow up the major league roster and tank several seasons by sign and trade flips rehabbing veterans and stockpiling low minor league prospects.
So despite the snub, Sandberg landed in a better managerial job. I think Sandberg will relish the opportunity to succeed in Philadelphia. What really shocked Sandberg was the fact that the bleachers were empty on a Friday afternoon prior to the long Labor Day Weekend. During his day, those bleachers were filled with rabid fans. He was taken back by this sight which is a true barometer of how far the Cubs franchise has fallen since he left the organization.
Ryno's return signaled what could have been for the Cubs and what the Cubs have woefully become as a franchise. Fans will not come out anymore to see the Lovable Losers play, even against a Hall of Fame Cub player.
