The Chicago Cubs made a major move after the regular season ended in 2013, deciding to fire manager Dale Sveum after two seasons and now team president Theo Epstein will start the search for another manager for next year.
According to ESPN.com, the Cubs decided to make the expected move after the team finished in last place in the division behind the Cardinals, Pirates, Reds and Brewers and it comes two years into Sveum's three year contract that he signed before last year. Sveum was a hot candidate when the Cubs hired him as manager and now he is out of a job and the team needs a new man at the top. The Cubs have a young team and they won just 66 games this season, giving Sveum a 127-197 record during his time with the franchise.
Epstein was brought in to rebuild the organization after he helped the Red Sox win a couple titles and while the work in Chicago is far from over, the organization felt Sveum was the man to do it at first, but that's not the case anymore. Epstein has to ensure that the development of players like Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro continues on an upward trend and now he will have to find a new manager to do it. Many have speculated that Yankees manager Joe Girardi will be a top candidate, but his contract doesn't officially end until the end of the month after the playoffs end.
The Cubs will likely try and hire a manager who will be with team for the long term and another team that will need a new manager is the Seattle Mariners. Sveum said he hopes to continue being a part of baseball and Epstein said that the team is looking for a manager with experience and good leadership qualities and that appears to be a good move considering the rebuilding that is continuing in Chicago. Many of the players said publically that they liked having Sveum as manager, but clearly there was a disconnect between that and the front office.
The Cubs have been mired in a losing slide for a few years since last making the playoffs and Epstein was hired to help increase the talent in the organization and to try and get to the world series for the first time in a century. The team could have money to spend in the future and they are currently on a streak of losing 90 games in three straight season and Girardi will be a tempting candidate, as he has played in a high profile city, won a World Series and has not had a losing season. Keep an eye on this one.
