Friday, August 27, 2010

Hall of Fame Player = Hall of Fame Manager?

Since Lou Piniella’s retirement, it’s become clear that former Cub Ryne Sandberg is the favorite for his replacement.  This isn’t coming from the team so much as from fans and commentators.  In fact, the impression I’ve gotten from the relevant commentary is that it would be a huge blunder to offer the job to anyone but Sandberg.

The rationale behind Sandberg’s candidacy is that a Hall of Fame player is supremely qualified to be a major league manager.  At the risk of overusing my favorite word, I must call this rationale pure hogwash.