I was asked by a fellow Cub fan what I thought of interim manager Mike Quade. I honestly told him I didn’t know a whole lot about him but I sure was impressed by his performance so far. His 21-11 record is a long time coming.
Now I find out that at least a couple of the Cubs are coming to the plate for him too. Pitcher Ryan Dempster and outfielder Marlon Byrd both have expressed support for him.
"He’s been very upfront, very honest with all of us. He’s been tremendously supportive, he’s given us a lot of confidence to go out there. What he’s done for the bullpen- those guys have really stepped up and he’s believed in them.”
Pretty strong words. As for Byrd:
"The record speaks for itself. The way we’re playing, the way we’re executing, just all-around."
I won’t speculate if they’re just simply backing up their manager or making a statement on who they want for their next permanent manager but those statements (especially Dempster’s) are pretty telling.
That said. the Cubs could have gone 32-0 under Mike Quade and that won’t change the fact that a certain former Cub second baseman has more star power than a ex-Carolina League/current Coach with a funny name. Like it not, the Cubs organization knows that and they’ll have tough decision to make.
Or not.