Meet the Cubs Managerial Candidates: Dale Sveum
Word is that Mike Maddux took his name out of the running of the Boston job citing a desire to keep his family in Texas, probably a good bet that the same thing will happen to the Cubs, but haven't heard about it yet.
On to another Brewer coach...Dale Sveum.
Dale Sveum was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 1982 draft out of high school in Calfornia. He made it to the majors in 1986 by age 22 and had a promising sophomore season at shortstop (252/303/454) with 25 Home Runs in the juiced ball environment of 1987. It was all donwhill from there and he ended up going through 7 organizations, most notably the Brewers and Pirates before playing his last game in 1999.
From 2001 through 2003 he was managing the Pirates Double A affiliate at the same time Pete Mackanin was managing a the A and Hi-A levels...apparently the early 2000 Pirates organzitation was a hot bed of managerial candidates. Sveum made the playoffs in his final year and the team lost in the first round. Sveum was named top managerial candidate in the Eastern Leauge that season by Baseball America. That piqued the Red Sox interest and he got the job as their third base coach on the team that won the World Series. He also gained a repuation for aggressiveness that made Wavin' Wendall Kim blush.
He returned to the Brewers as their third base coach in 2006, then up to bench coach in 2007, then back to third base coach in 2008 and took over as interim manager in 2008 when the Brewers fired Ned Yost in the midst of a pennant race. He "led" them to the wild card (7-5 record) before they lost to the Phillies in the first round. He's been their hitting coach the last three seasons.
To the quotables...
I think it's[statistical analysis] just part of the game now. We're all the same in Milwaukee. You're just always open-minded to all the new stats that come into the game, whether it's the matchups, the stats you see. It's all very relevant now.... At the end of the day, you decipher it all and come up with a plan to use what you're capable of using to get through to the players.
“I can't believe Boston third-base coach Dale Sveum sent him, ... The ball was in Jeter's hand when he was rounding third base, so I was very surprised.”
From Bruce Miles
Sveum, also, is said to rely heavily statistical analysis in his game preparation, which should do nothing but work in his favor.
When he left the Red Sox
“We’re sorry to see Dale go,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “We understand and respect his decision to move on for family reasons, but his professionalism and work ethic will be missed."
“We are grateful for the contributions Dale made to the success of the Red Sox -- on the field and in our clubhouse -- over the last two seasons,” said GM Theo Epstein. “We wish him the best with the Brewers.”
“Dale’s leadership, baseball experience, and work ethic commanded tremendous respect from our players, coaching staff and front office for the last two years,” said President/CEO Larry Lucchino. “He will be missed by the Red Sox, but we wish him and his family success and happiness in Milwaukee.”
His interview with the Cubs was suppose to happen today with a press conference at 6:30pm CST.
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