Joe Girardi, Lou Piniella and Bob Brenly are experienced baseball men with sound philosophies and good reputations. The three top managerial candidates for the Cubs all have attributes that make them appealing to general manager Jim Hendry, but they also have some deficiencies that could give Hendry pause before he takes the plunge. With the Cubs putting their search under the Cone of Silence on Thursday, here’s a look at how the Big Three match up in some key areas:
Cub-a-bility
Girardi: Former Cubs captain played for them in two separate stints–1989-92 and 2000-02. He was well-respected for his blue-collar work ethic. During spring training as a rookie in 1989, Girardi made a good first impression. “You can imagine what it’s like to be here, but it’s never as great as the actual feeling,” he said.
Piniella: 19-year managerial veteran has no association with the Cubs, other than managing the Reds against them in 1990-92.
Brenly: Spent the last two seasons as color analyst on Cubs telecasts after managing Arizona for three-plus seasons, stepping into Steve Stone’s shoes and earning instant credibility with his candid commentary on the team’s poor play in 2005 and ’06. No candidate has had a better look at what currently ails the Cubs than Brenly.
Rough around edges
Girardi: Well-publicized incident with owner Jeffrey Loria left an imprint on his reputation, and grabbing pitcher Scott Olsen by the shirt in the dugout was his piece d’resistance. Girardi is one of three Cubs catchers known to have touched Sammy Sosa’s boombox. He turned it down one September day at the end of the 2002 season, temporarily angering Sosa. The next day, Girardi said, “I told him, `I’m a little older and I don’t like the loud music. I have nothing against you playing it when you’re in here. That’s no problem.’ And he was fine with that.”
Piniella: According to Wikipedia, Piniella is one of the “most-ejected managers” in history. In “The Bronx Zoo,” an inside look at the late-’70s Yankees, the book jacket brags: “You’ll see a crazed Lou Piniella kicking the team’s brand-new 100-pot coffee maker into a pile of junk . . . ” Nicknamed “Sweet Lou,” he engaged in a clubhouse wrestling match with Reds reliever Rob Dibble in 1991. A longtime ESPN favorite and staple of “When Managers Go Wild” videos, Piniella yelled to Dibble: “You don’t want to be treated like a man!” He once picked up second base and hurled it into the stratosphere.
Brenly: He’s not a hothead, but he isn’t afraid to blow his stack. Just ask umpires Greg Gibson or Rob Drake, or check out the video from 2003 when he heaved a ball from the mound into the stands.
Comparing rings
Girardi: Won three World Series rings playing with the New York Yankees in 1996-99 before rejoining the Cubs.
Piniella: Managed Reds to 4-0 sweep of Oakland in 1990 World Series; won a pair of rings with Yankees in ’77 and ’78.
Brenly: Led Arizona to seven-game victory over Yankees in 2001 World Series, the first manager to win a Series in his first season since Ralph Houk of the 1961 Yankees.
Quotability
Girardi: Safe and non-controversial in his media dealings. He’s well-spoken but not prone to say something he will regret later. Girardi does have a self-deprecating sense of humor. After a ’92 game in which he hit a lazy fly to right that Mets outfielder Daryl Boston misplayed into a triple, Girardi was told it was his third triple since 1990. “You mean 1890,” he replied.
Piniella: Old-school manager friendly with the media. He has an innate ability to come up with the perfect line time after time. Piniella strolled out to the first-base box during the 10th inning of Game 1 of the 2000 division series between Seattle and the White Sox, “icing” pitcher Keith Foulke. After a brief talk with Piniella, baserunner Mike Cameron stole second. A rattled Foulke then served up a two-run homer to Edgar Martinez, and the Mariners won the opener of a three-game sweep. What did Piniella tell Cameron? “I told him the NASDAQ was down 100 points today and Cisco [Systems] was a heck of a buy,” Piniella told the media.
Brenly: Standard manager-speak for the most part, but he comes up with a memorable line every so often. After one difficult stretch in Arizona, he said: “We’ve fallen into a vortex of [bleep].” One day after the Diamondbacks made four errors in a game in July 2004, his team played an error-free game. Brenly smiled in his postgame interview and said: “No errors! We get pizza!” He then walked out the door and was fired. Those were his final words as Arizona manager.
Player relations
Girardi: His tough-love approach worked wonders with a clubhouse full of Florida rookies. “I had a great time playing for Don Baylor because [he] tried to instill a toughness into his players,” Girardi told Comcast SportsNet. The Cubs may hope Girardi doesn’t call Baylor and ask him about his stay in the organization.
Piniella: Rankles some players by refusing to make excuses for poor play, but beloved by most. In early 2003, he told his Devil Rays players they could color his hair if they won three straight games, as long as it wasn’t purple. They chose platinum blond.
Brenly: Replaced supposed control freak Buck Showalter in Arizona and relaxed the clubhouse on his first day. “The only rules I had were be prepared and hustle,” Brenly said. Players loved him. Randy Johnson wouldn’t talk to the media after Brenly’s firing, while bench coach Robin Yount resigned out of loyalty to Brenly.
References
Girardi: In “Zim: A Baseball Life,” former Cubs manager and Girardi mentor Don Zimmer described the organizational meeting in which Yankees owner George Steinbrenner wanted to get rid of Girardi. “I got up from the floor and said, `George, it’s a shame you have it in for Joe Girardi. I know you like tough people, and I can assure you there’s no one in this room as tough as Joe Girardi. I remember you saying `your people’ don’t think Girardi can do anything. Here’s their opportunity to speak up.'”
Piniella: Before hiring Piniella to his first managerial job, replacing Billy Martin, Yankees boss Steinbrenner said he “was my kind of player–I think he’ll be my kind of manager.” Martin replaced him after two seasons and Piniella became GM.
Brenly: Dusty Baker was not spared in Brenly’s criticism of the 2006 Cubs, but the manager thought the commentary was fair. “We go way back, and I know whatever BB says, that’s BB’s opinion of the truth,” Baker said. “He knows what it’s like being under the gun.”
———-
psullivan@tribune.com
