Breaking News: Trammell and Sinatro Out, Other Coaches Return

Alan Trammell, who has spent the last three years as the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs, will join Kirk Gibson's staff with the Arizona Diamond Backs. Gibson was Trammell's bench coach in Detroit and now the roles will be switched with the D'backs.

The Cubs will have a spot to fill on Mike Quade's coaching staff with Tram's departure. Alan was expected to be a candidate to replace Lou Piniella at the helm but he did not receive much consideration from the organization.

The first two candidate that come to mind to fill the void are Ryne Sandberg and Pat Listach. Both ideas have been shot down by the Chicago media today. ESPN reports that Sandberg has been offered his job back at Triple-A Iowa, but he will not be invited to be on the big league staff.

Bruce Levine writes that Listach is expected to return to Washington. He will be retained by the Nats and most likely will not join another staff unless it is a managerial offer. Listach managed the Iowa Cubs for several years before becoming the third base coach in DC.

Paul Sullivan tweets that the rest of the Cubs coaching staff (besides Lou's buddy Matt Sinatro) will return. It was already announced that Lester Strode, Rudy Jaramillo, and Larry Rothschild would return. If Sullivan's tweet is correct, it appears that Ivan DeJesus and Bobby Dernier will be retained as well. DeJesus could serve as the team's bench coach or stay at third base.

The full coaching staff is expected to be announced before the organizational meetings, which take place the first week of November in Mesa.

In other news, the Cubs outrighted right hander Jeff Gray to Triple-A, which opens up another space on the 40-man roster. Gray worked in seven games for the Cubs in 2010.

Ben Maller says that the Cubs are interested in signing Adam Dunn for 3 years, $40 million.

Weekend Quick Hits: Reaction on Quade

News and Notes after the Hiring of Quade

• Lester Strode, Larry Rothschild, and Rudy Jaramillo are expected to be apart of Mike Quade's staff next year.
• The futures of Alan Trammell, Ivan DeJesus, and Bobby Dernier are up in the air.
• Pat Listach could end up in Chicago if he does not get the gig as the Brewers manager.
• The Chicago Tribune reports that Ryne Sandberg is welcome to return as the manager of the Iowa Cubs if he chooses to.
• Ted Lilly inked with the Dodgers last week.

Jim Hendry joined Waddle & Silvy on Thursday:

• Hendry said he enjoyed the search for the manager.
• He had plenty of time to get really deep into a lot of things.
• The Ricketts family allowed him to do it the way he wanted to.
• Quade would still have been a candidate even if he didn't have to take over for Lou.
• There were some situations earlier in the year with Piniella's family and he almost left but wanted to stick it out as long as he could.
• The job Mike did down the stretch certainly strengthened his case.
• Ryne Sandberg is a terrific guy. He is probably a better person than he was player according to Jim. Ryno earned the right to be a finalist for the manager's job.
• Sandberg is disappointed he didn't get the job, but he is not angry at Hendry or Ricketts.
• Hendry feels strongly that the Cubs made the right decision.
• Ryno did nothing wrong in four years in the minor league system. He doesn't think more experience would have made a difference. Mike Quade just strictly earned this job.
• It is a given that Sandberg is welcome back to Iowa. Hendry would love to have him back in Iowa.
• Ryno has every right to do what he wants to do. There will be some private conversations between Hendry and Sandberg.
• Jim is encouraged by the fact that a lot of the team's young players got a lot better over the final six weeks.
• The team would like to think that they have a lot more guys coming from the system.
• Carlos Zambrano has a no trade clause so he will be back. The Cubs are hopeful that he has grown and learned from his mistakes. He is not the young flame-thrower that he used to be, but he had a very good last two months.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Breaking News: Mike Quade Named the Cubs Manager

Mike Quade has been named the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Quade, who has been on the staff since he became the third base coach in 2007, has signed a two year contract with an option for 2013.

Quade led the Cubs to a 24-13 record down the stretch once he took over as interim manager. He won over 1,200 games at the minor league level and led the Vancouver Canadians to the 1999 Triple-A World Series title. He was named the Minor League Manager of the Year twice during the early 1990s skippering in the A's organization.

Jim Hendry called Ryne Sanberg a "great candidate" but he said that in the end he felt that Quade was the best fit for the Cubs at this time. Bruce Levine reports that Ryno is very disappointed. He says his heart is now with managing at the major league level. Sandberg will look elsewhere to make that happen is he has to.

Will Mike Quade be the manager to finally accomplish the goal that no Cubs skipper since Frank Chance has accomplished?

Weekend Quick Hits: Quade Leads the Pack, Wedge to Seattle, Roster Moves, & More

• Bruce Levine wrote today that the Cubs are getting closer and closer to naming their new manager. He said that Mike Quade is the leading candidate. Levine says that the announcement could come as early as next week prior to the start of the World Series. Major League Baseball does not allow managerial announcements during the Fall Classic.
• Bruce added the Ryne Sandberg is a candidate for the Toronto Blue Jays managerial position.
• Bobby Scales and Blake Parker have been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, reducing the Cubs 40-man roster to 38.
• Josh Vitters has started for the Mesa Solar Sox twice so far this fall, once at first base and once at third base.
• The Mesa Cubs finished up the Arizona Instructional League with a mark of 7-9-4.
• There was an Internet rumor going around that Mike Quade was set to be named the manager with Ryne Sandberg as his bench coach, but several Chicago media members were quick to shoot down the report.
• Eric Wedge has been named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, reducing the list of possible Cubs skippers even further. The Sun Times reports that the Tom Ricketts will not lose any sleep over Wedge going elsewhere.
• Gordon Wittenmyer reports that Joe Girardi continues to have interest in the gig.

That's it for now, but if news breaks on the Cubs managerial search we'll let you know!

Coaching Staff Roundup: Rothschild Takes Option, Tram Expected to Move On, & More

Rothschild Exercises Option
Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild has picked up his option for the 2011 season. Bruce Levine reports that Larry informed team officials of his decision Monday, which was his last day to do so. This does not mean that Rothschild will definitely return to the club next season, because he could be fired if a new manager comes in and bring in "his guy". Paul Sullivan tweets that if Mike Quade becomes the skipper, Rothschild will return.

Jaramillo Expected to Stay
Rudy Jaramillo is the only Cubs coach in addition to Rothschild who is under contract for the 2011 season. Despite the Cubs offensive struggles in 2010 he is still well respected around baseball. This means that Rudy will most likely be back regardless of who the new manager is.

The Final Four
The Chicago Tribune reports that it appears that Mike Quade, Ryne Sandberg, Eric Wedge, and Bob Melvin are the final four for the Cubs managerial position. Carrie Muskat also lists these four as finalists. Tom Ricketts reportedly would like a guy with a Cubs background, which would indicate that Q and Ryno could have an edge, but Tom has met with Wedge. Levine expects the new skipper to be announced soon.

Bench Coach
Bruce Levine mentioned during his chat earlier in the week that the Cubs do not see Alan Trammell as a big league manager. He added that Alan will most likely be "moving on". If Ryne Sandberg is named the manager, Tram could be replaced by ex-Cub Larry Bowa.

Rest of the Staff
The Tribune points out that the rest of the Cubs coaching staff could easily stay intact if Mike Quade is named the manager. This would create less of a transition period. Bringing in a skipper that has already been around for three years and keeping the rest of the coaches could help the Cubs gel faster in 2011.

Random Quick Hits

• Cubs pitcher Angel Guzman started playing catch this week in Mesa according to a report from Carrie Muskat. Guzman missed the entire 2010 season.
• The Mesa Solar Sox posted an 8-3 win yesterday but no Cubs prospects saw action. They will have the home opener tonight with Jake Muyco, David Cales, Chris Carpenter, and Kyle Smit all scheduled to pitch. Josh Vitters, rehabbing his broken hand, may see the field tonight.
• Chris Archer fanned ten over six shutout inning yesterday in Team USA's 4-1 win over Cubs in the Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!

The 2010 Cubs Report Cards

It's been a slow weekend as far as news on the Cubs managerial search so far. Let's take a day to review the 2010 season by grading each Cubs player! Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments. Also, a new poll is up on the right sidebar. Be sure to check it out!

Position Players
Welington Castillo: B-
Koyie Hill: C
Geovany Soto: B
Jeff Baker: D+
Darwin Barny: B+
Starlin Castro: A
Blake DeWitt: B
Micah Hoffpauir: D
Aramis Ramirez: F
Marlon Byrd: A
Tyler Colvin: A
Kosuke: C+
Xavier Nady: B-
Alfono Soriano: C

Pitchers
Justin Berg: C
Andrew Cashner: B
Casey Coleman: A-
Ryan Dempster: B
Thomas Diamond: C-
Tom Gorzelanny: B-
Scott Maine: C+
Carlos Marmol: A
Sean Marshall: A
Marcos Mateo: F
James Russell: B+
Jeff Samardzija: C-
Carlos Silva: B
Randy Wells: C
Carlos Zambrano First Half: F
Carlos Zambrano Second Half: A-

Departed Players
Ryan Theriot: C+
Mike Fontenot: C-
Ted Lilly: A
Derrek Lee: B-
Chad Tracy: C

Coaching Staff
Lou Piniella: C-
Mike Quade: A
Alan Trammell: B
Larry Rothschild: B-
Rudy Jaramillo: C
Ivan DeJesus: A-

We'll bring you all the rumors and news plus some new features as we roll into week number two of the offseason!

Midweek Roundup: Levine's Chat, Managerial Seach Update & More

Random News & Notes:

• The Chicago Tribune reports that Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez would be interested in the Cubs' managerial position if the team contacts him.
• Forbes rated the Cubs the least efficient team in baseball.
• Bob Melvin told MLB.com that the Brewers are not about to hire Bob Brenly as some reports indicated.
• Former Cubs outfielder Matt Murton has set the record for Japanese hits in a single season. On Tuesday, his 211th hit broke the mark set by Ichiro.
• Bruce Levine thinks that the Cubs managerial situation might be "close to entering phase two."
• Alan Trammel and Larry Rothschild's futures with the Cubs is not certain. Trammel might remain on the staff as the bench coach, but it is also a possibility that he will join Kirk Gibson's staff in Arizona. Rothschild has an option for 2011 worth $400,000.

Notes from Bruce Levine's chat:

• The Cubs will do what they can to try to move Kosuke.
• Adam Dunn is high on their hit list.
• If Mike Quade is the manager, Levine does not see Sandberg on the coaching staff. If Ryno is the skipper, Quade will most likely not stay on the staff.
• Bruce expects the decision to be made by the third week of October.
• He believes that Tyler Colvin will be a starting position player for the Cubs in 2011.
• It appears that Jim Hendry is down to three: Sandberg, Quade, and Wedge.
• Levine does not think Brett Jackson will be ready to break camp with the team next spring.
• "Quade has probably earned the job."

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!