Quade Regains Control

I must say that I am surprised at how much attention the Chicago Cubs have received this week. Granted the defensive mistakes are bit concerning, but people need to remember that it is only the first week of Spring Training. As for the scuffle between Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez that took place yesterday, that should be something that never happens. While there is still no official word on what actually happened, my take is Silva probably came into the dugout and got into the face of those – Aramis Ramirez, Koyie Hill, and Starlin Castro – who made the errors behind him, and Ramirez decided to come to the defense of the team by having a few words with Silva. Needless to say, this was the first big test for Mike Quade as the manager of the Chicago Cubs.  Quade held a team only meeting today to bring everyone back together.

"“We just put things to bed and made sure things don’t fester and kind of get a re-commitment to cleaning up some of the mistakes we made,” Quade said. “It’s not just about saying we need to clean some of this stuff up, it’s offering solutions and ideas that we think may help clean things up. Muskat Ramblings"

That is what the Cubs have to do, as well as the media, just forget about what happened yesterday. If Carlos Zambrano did not have his notorious meltdown last season against the Chicago White Sox, then yesterday’s skirmish probably would not have been dragged out to the point where it has gotten. As for turning things around, the Cubs still have a full three weeks of Spring Training to get everything in sync. If these mistakes continue to happen as we head into the regular season, then that is the time to be getting concerned. But certainly not in the first weeks of Spring Training.

"Quade was the only one who talked at the meeting. He was glad to see some of the players were as ticked off as he was by the sloppy play.“I’m glad people are [upset],” he said. “We need to channel that anger at the opposition and within ourselves and that’s all. Just handle it the way you need to handle it. I think we put that to bed and as far as I’m concerned, we did.” Muskat Ramblings"

One player that has gotten my attention from voicing his opinion has been Alfonso Soriano. Soriano was the one who leaked to the media that the clubhouse spat was between Silva and Ramirez. But, I actually have been impressed by what Soriano has had to say about the Cubs early struggles in Spring Training. While his numbers may not be where they should be, in the past couple of seasons he has quietly become a team leader through his voice. Hopefully that can translate into producing at a high level on the field as he has gotten off to a hot start in the Spring.

All in all, I think Quade handled the situation pretty well. While there is no need to be overly concerned about poor play this early in the Spring, Quade had to settle down the tempers that were rising on the team. While the Cubs lost today, the team actually responded well to their team only meeting by playing clean baseball for the most part.

Stay tuned for Joe’s review of the latest Cubs’ Spring Training game.