Lou Piniella finally conceded the obvious: He’s finished as manager of this star-crossed franchise. The job finally got the better of him.
He came to this big budget team with big hopes, but soon he fell prey to the same curses that ultimately destroyed his predecessors. Try as he might, Piniella couldn’t lead the Small Bears to the top.
“It's a bigger job than what you think coming in,” Piniella told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It's a more demanding job than what you think coming in. It really is . . . Here, it's a big challenge.”
Piniella’s exit, scheduled for the end of the season, drew a mixed response from the sporting media:
Greg Couch, FanHouse: “And there goes another one. Another year, another manager, another era. And the Cubs are still losers. Lou Piniella announced Tuesday that he was quitting as Cubs manager at the end of the year, but the truth is, the Cubs had already beaten the life out of him nearly two years ago. Piniella arrived known for his fire and passion. He hobbles off looking like a battered old man, Cubbed to death.”
Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports: “Over the years, Lou Piniella’s fire faded into a few crackling embers. He announced his retirement effective season’s end Tuesday, beaten down by the most unforgiving job in baseball. Managing the Chicago Cubs changes a man, and it turned Lou Piniella from belligerent of the highest order to colicky grandfather. To shoulder a century of failure takes a person of great strength, and not even Piniella was up to the task.”
Jon Greenberg, ESPN.com: “Everyone knew Piniella wasn't coming back next year. He's all but admitted it. He had a three-year deal that was extended to a fourth season. Short of a fantasy world in which he would be gunning for his fourth straight trip to the World Series, with a chance for five, I can't imagine he ever planned on sticking around past this year. Four is a nice number. It's also a plateau he never got to with the Cubs, seeing as they got swept in three games in both playoff appearances under him. Piniella's 0-6 mark will be the thing fans remember most, it will be his lasting legacy. Not his three straight winning seasons, an anomaly around here, or his funny interviews, or that he invented the term ‘Cubby Occurrence’ or the one, beautiful time he flipped out on an umpire.”
Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoTribune.com: “Why wait? Leave now. If you’ve decided to quit in October, then you’ve quit now. Piniella can say he will manage the Cubs as best he can for the rest of the season, but look, that hasn’t worked for two years now. Last season, Piniella was out of answers in June, threatening to draw a lineup out of a hat. This season, Piniella has made every possible move, actually appearing awake, and the Cubs woke up Tuesday in fourth place in the NL Central, 10½ games out of first place and 10 games out of the wild card. Why would he stay? Why would the Cubs want him to stay?”
Joe Sheehan, SI.com: “It's entirely possible that the story changes, that Piniella leads a furious Cubs charge to the NL Central crown or that he comes back in two years to helm the A's to a pennant. He doesn't need those markers, though. Since 1986, Lou Piniella has been making his teams better, and that kind of track record deserves not just our acknowledgment and our appreciation today, but the highest honor baseball can confer upon him: Hall of Famer.”
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering if the Marlins will hire Ted Simmons to coach that ballclub:
Will the Phillies acquire Roy Oswalt to fix their pitching problems?
Who could have possibly guessed Scott Rolen would suffer an untimely injury for the Reds?
Will Jay Z ever get over LeBron James signing with the Heat? (see related parody video. Nice rip on John Mayer, BTW.)
As some point, don't competitive cyclists get tired of riding up and down mountains?
Why in the world did Jimmy Johnson sign up to appear on the reality show “Survivors”? Is he really up to that challenge?
NHL CALLS ‘SHENANIGANS’ ON DEVILS
Somebody woke up NHL commissioner Gary Bettman this week. His people sprung into action and rejected the 17-year, $102 million contract Ilya Kovalchuk signed with the Devils.
Sure, it was an obvious attempt to circumvent the salary cap. But this wasn’t the first contract designed to exploit the loophole in the collective bargaining agreement. New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello just took this gambit to an extreme.
Marian Hossa signed a front-loaded 12-year contract with the Blackhawks. Roberto Luongo did the same with the Canucks.
NHL owners will address this matter in the next CBA, using the threat of a 2012 lockout as leverage.
ESPN.com’s Scott Burnside wondered why the league acted now: “Instead of biding its time, the league stepped out of character, big time. It let Kovalchuk and the Devils have a nice love-in Tuesday afternoon in Newark with cameras and photographers and reporters. The league never bothered to give the team a heads-up that there was trouble in contract city. The league let it all play out and then slammed the door on Lou & Co. as the news leaked out late Tuesday night.”
The few weeks or months could be interesting.
MEGAPHONE
“I didn't know nothin'. I just knew Detroit had a football team. That's pretty much all I know.”
Lions safety C.C. Brown, on moving from New York to Motown.
ELSEWHERE ON STLTODAY.COM
Kovalchuk finally settled on his new home, allowing the NHL to get back to work.
