This hire almost makes too much sense. Joe Girardi is a Chicago guy through and through. He starred at Northwestern and came up through the Cubs system. He has long openly coveted the Cubs’ managerial job even while with other organizations. When he was a Cubs catcher, he was a fan favorite for his hard-nosed style of play and cerebral approach to the game.
Matt Lindner’s third in a five part series highlighting who could be the Cubs‘ next skipper.
He’s also a recent winner, which is something Cubs fans are craving. He lead the New York Yankees to their 27th World Series title last season and has them in contention again this year. Most importantly for Cubs fans though, he’s shown he can perform managerial miracles with limited resources. In his managerial debut with the Florida Marlins, he lead a team that was expected to finish in last place into Wild Card contention, finishing the season at 78-84 and earning Manager of the Year honors before getting fired for not getting along with team ownership.
Depending on how this season finishes out in the Bronx, he could likely be pried away from the Yankees for the right price.
Matt Lindner is a contributor to ESPN.com and MLB.com
For the introduction to this series go here.
For part two Ryne Sandberg go here
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