October 23, 2019: Ross is Boss

I’m back sooner than I thought talking Cubs. On Wednesday, David Ross was announced as the manager of the Chicago Cubs.

He was not my first choice. I was all about Girardi. I hope this is another case where I am wrong; been wrong plenty of times before. So I’m going to have my say before I give my full support to Grandpa Rossy.

No experience; that’s my first issue. I think Robin Ventura with the Sox, and what an asinine hire that was. I know Theo and crew supposedly have been grooming him, but Ross hasn’t even been a coach. So yeah, I’m skeptical. It’s not the exact same as Ventura. Ross didn’t get his ass kicked by Nolan Ryan, and Ross was part of a World Champion team. Still, the lack of experience is concerning. I guess he’ll just have to learn on the fly… every great manager got his start somewhere…

Ross was a teammate with many of these guys. Yes, he did play the perfect role on that championship team, a role that has been missing since his retirement. He served as that veteran guy who helped police the boys; he demanded accountability from his teammates, which is a lot different coming from a fellow player than the manager. Now he’s the manager. The dynamic will not be the same. Can it still work? Sure. Will it? What about those tough roster decisions? Yes, he won’t be making the roster moves, but his input should be valued, and he will be the guy making the start/sit decisions with the lineup each and every day. Will he be able to bench his buddy? Will he be able to co-sign a trade of one of his ex-teammates? On the flip side, can he help keep the guys together? Will his presence be steadying, and help provide confidence for them? Will he convince players to want to stay with the Cubs, can he convince others to come?

What are the methods to repair the disease is almost cheapest cialis the same. Caustic managers sarcastically tell team viagra online free http://valsonindia.com/category/products/ members to provide more respectful customer service. You need to be your old discount generic viagra self again – and for good reason. Most of the companies launch multiple products every year, and several new companies born every quarter. valsonindia.com cialis price

Another point has to do with his personal life. Now I don’t know him, and things may have changed since his retirement, but he wanted to spend more time with his family, no? Well, this certainly won’t help achieve that. This is a round the clock job, non-stop for hopefully 7 months a year with plenty of time away from home. It’s always important to have that balance in life, that is sometimes hard to achieve. Certainly feels like he couldn’t stay away… he could not pass up this golden opportunity. I can’t blame him for that. Just hope he has this all figured out with the family; I’m sure he does.

My final point has to do with how 2016 continues today with this move. Sure, do I love watching those old videos of Ross, seeing Rizzo introduce him at the parade… yeah, do I still get emotional watching anything to do with that year, 100 times yes. Will I never forget that year? Duh. Did I think that team was going to win again, and possibly again? Yes. So did Theo… so did Joe. Because of that, self-admittedly, Theo made certain decisions and/or failed to make certain moves. That emotional experience… seeing those guys climb the top, really left lasting impressions with all of us… making it not easy to break up the band if you may. By letting Joe walk, that was the first domino. Sure, Fowler, Jake, I get it… but Joe! Who’s next? Well, next is welcoming back an important piece from that year. I’ll always love David Ross. Bringing him back stirs up those memories. Not saying that’s bad… it’s never, ever a bad thing… but I thought Theo wanted to separate from that year, and make decisions based on the right now and future of the Cubs. Does this make that any easier? How much of Joe will Ross bring into this? Will bringing some of the same message, borrowing some of the same concepts, work? Why let Joe go then? See what I’m getting at?

All that being said, I’m going to continue to trust in Theo, and believe this was the right move. I will support David, knowing he has huge shoes to fill at the manager position. I will believe that the hiring of a manager is not THE most important decision, and that it always comes down to the players on the field. I will anxiously await to see this develop in 2020, and hope that he can bring us back to that glory he once helped us achieve. Now that we have a manager, what’s next? Ross will help decide that. Just as I trusted in Joe, now I must trust in David; Ross is boss. Go Cubs!!!