If the Cubs management was on the same Kool-Aid boat as much of the Chicago media that Joe Girardi would be the next Cub skipper, then all hands on deck as that boat just sunk.
MLBTR reports that the Yankees announced that they have re-signed manager Joe Girardi to a
four-year deal that will keep him in place as manager through the 2017
season. Girardi, 48, was at the top of the Cubs' wish list this winter,
but he'll be back in the Bronx for a seventh season in 2014. Girardi
will earn $16MM over the course of the deal plus bonuses, according to
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com
There is much egg on the face of Chicago columnists and TV pundits who had no doubt that Girardi would be the next Cub manager. Whatever their Cub and Girardi "sources" were, they were dead wrong.
And it should come as no surprise. Girardi is comfortable on the big stage, and the Yankees are Broadway. The Yankees are in a much better position to compete than the Cubs. The Yankees will spend $180 million next year, while the Cubs will fall to around $80 million. The Yankees have as much or more tradition than the Cubs. For professional reasons (wins, losses, pennants, championships, legacy), the Yankees offer more long term than do the Cubs to Girardi.
If Girardi was the sole Plan A for the Cubs, then there will be a big scramble to find a Plan B. The Cubs are now on course to find a new Dale Sveum Light, just as Dale Sveum turned into a Mike Quade Light.
