As was rumored last week, Iowa manager Mike Quade has been named Cubs 3B coach. This is another good signing by Lou Piniella for his staff -- Quade is very highly regarded by almost everyone who's played for Iowa, is seen as a hard worker who prepares well for games, and I like seeing "organizational guys" get a chance to show what they can do at the major league level.
It also is another indication that Piniella is NOT going to do what most managers do when selecting a coaching staff -- the Dusty Baker style of bringing in his old buddies. As you know, I wasn't in favor of the Piniella signing, but if he keeps doing this sort of thing, I may change my mind.
As I wrote last summer when Quade briefly replaced Chris Speier after Speier's DUI arrest, Quade is the eighth man whose name begins with "Q" to wear a Cubs uniform.
Last night, the baseball labor deal was officially announced; the sport will be at labor peace through the 2011 season, the longest such stretch in more than 35 years.
There aren't a lot of substantive changes, but here are some that will have an immediate effect:
In addition, the Dec. 7 and Jan. 8 deadlines for free agents to re-sign with their former teams were eliminated, and management agreed there would be no contraction under the term of the agreement.
Also, the non-tender deadline was moved back from Dec. 20 to Dec. 12, and players who are in the first year of multi-year deals no longer have the right to demand a trade after that first season (as Javier Vazquez did last year after his first year with Arizona).
Finally, the term we so loved to diss Dusty Baker with, his "base-clogging" comment, is well on the way to becoming part of a wider sports vernacular. Check out the Cleveland Browns team comment in this Fox Sports ranking: