About Joe Girardi

Today, I am going to jump onto the Joe Girardi bandwagon.

And I am going to tell you why, because as you know, I have in the past NOT been in favor of hiring him as Cubs manager. Most of this is because of his perception as a my-way-or-the-highway sort of guy, and I have never liked those sorts of men as managers. The last Cub manager who was anything close to that was Don Baylor, and he had other problems that prevented him from succeeding -- and Baylor wasn't anywhere close to being a Lou Piniella-type, the screaming-in-your-face type that I see as the archetype of a "tough" manager.

Clearly, Dusty Baker's laissez-faire style did not work with the Cubs the last three years. It DID work in 2003, despite the fact that his lineup selections and use and abuse of the pitching staff were much the same as they were in 2006, for two reasons: first, that team did have talent, particularly pitching talent, and second, it had player-leaders in Eric Karros and Damian Miller who were able to "police" the clubhouse in a way that Baker was either unwilling, or unable, or both, to do in the rest of his tenure here without such leaders.

Joe Girardi is a leader. Of that I never have had any doubt -- this goes all the way back to his days as a player, particularly on June 22, 2002, when he was the man chosen, voice breaking with emotion, to tell a sellout crowd at Wrigley Field that Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile had died. Here are the remarks he made that day:

Girardi was a leader then, and it was clear that he was destined to manage someday. He went and learned under Joe Torre, and was supposedly being groomed to replace Torre, only to take the Marlins job when offered. A year ago, Fredi Gonzalez and Girardi were both finalists for the job that Gonzalez got yesterday; today, in Chris DeLuca's column, we learn more about some of the reasons Girardi and Larry Beinfest didn't get along, and they had nothing to do with the celebrated tiff between Girardi and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria: I would imagine Girardi learned something from this. I would also imagine Jim Hendry has learned something from his four years with Dusty Baker in the dugout.

But here, in today's Tribune, is one of the best indicators that Girardi is the Cubs' target:

I have been pilloried here in the past for saying that people "get it", but that, in my view, IS an important factor in choosing a leader. I always knew Girardi "got it"; I was simply unsure whether he was the right fit for this team, and further, until very recently I didn't think that the Marlins were going to dismiss him, although in retrospect it has probably been obvious for a couple of months. Hey, when I'm wrong, I admit it.

McDonough is right. This move, if made, would mirror what the White Sox did when they hired Ozzie Guillen -- a popular former player who clearly has very strong views on how to be a leader. Girardi has one more year of managerial experience than Guillen had when hired; apart from that their backgrounds are quite similar -- both players of average ability who made long major league careers in part from sheer determination and hard work, and have been able to impart that view to those who have played for them.

I have long said, and I am not changing my mind here, that another retread, old-boy-network manager, a Piniella, a Fregosi, a Bowa -- what's the point? The winners of three of the last five World Series -- Mike Scioscia, Bob Brenly and Guillen -- were all first-time managers with little prior experience. With the dismissal of the entire Cubs coaching staff, including Larry Rothschild, a move I heartily endorse, it's a perfect time to start fresh, to bring in new ideas, to form a professional coaching staff rather than the manager's old playing buddies.

So go, Jim Hendry. Joe's out there. He's available. Go get him, and do it soon, so a plan can be put in place. It's time.