Brenly weighs in on Ryno, Quade, Santo

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cubs Nation may have been shocked by it, but Bob Brenly said Saturday that he really wasn't.

The assumption was the Chicago Cubs would hire favorite son Ryne Sandberg to manage the ballclub for the 2011 season. The Hall of Famer spent four years as a skipper in the Cubs minor league system, including last season with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

But in November, Chicago decided to keep interim manager Mike Quade, with the “snubbed” Sandberg agreeing to manage the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple-A Club in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., this season

“I can't say I was surprised,” Brenly said before the Cedar Rapids Kernels' annual Hot Stove Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Brenly, a Cubs television broadcaster, was the keynote speaker and joined Los Angeles Angels catcher Jeff Mathis, former Cincinnati Reds Manager Dave Miley and longtime board of directors member Mike Novak as official inductees into the local club's hall of fame.

“Baseball can be a very funny game,” Brenly said. “It certainly on the surface seemed like the most obvious thing to happen. He was told to go to the minor leagues and get some experience. He did and did very well at it, by all reports from his players and opposing managers. Everybody said he did a nice job. It just seems like it was time for him to make that big step.

“But for whatever reason, a lot of people have to be on board when you hire a manager. It's not like one person comes in and says ‘This is going to be the guy.' I think there was a huge segment of the organization that was in support of Ryno, and maybe a smaller group that thought he needed a little more seasoning.”

Brenly said he thought Quade did fine the final month of a bad season for the Cubs after replacing Lou Piniella, who retired.

"He did a really nice job," Brenly said. "It's a little hard to evaluate that at the end of a very long season. They tell you don't your judgement on a player from what you see in September. I think the same could be said for a team and a manager.

"But that being said, I liked the way he approached everything he did in his time as the manager. He was very upfront with the players, told them what they needed to hear, whether they wanted to hear it or not. That's not an easy thing to do as a manager, especially one who has managed in the big leagues before. I thought he handled himself real well."

Brenly said he thinks Sandberg will be a big league manager some day and is sorry he left the Cubs organization. For his part, the 56-year-old said his chances of managing again are dwindling.

Brenly skippered the Arizona Diamondbacks for four seasons, winning the World Series in 2001.

“It's obviously a very coveted job. I'd love to do it again if the situation was right,” he said, wearing his World Series ring. “However, you need advocates, need somebody pushing (you). I've never had an agent, always negotiated my own contracts, dealt with teams or TV stations on my own. Certainly that doesn't help my chances much. And with each passing year, more guys, like a Ryne Sandberg ... are looking to manage in the big leagues. I think maybe that window is closing.”

Like all Cubs fans, Brenly said he was saddened by the early December news that Cubs legend Ron Santo had died from bladder cancer. He said he had no idea the 70-year-old Santo was as sick as he was.

“I've known Ronnie for so long, first met him in ‘90-91 when I first started doing radio for the Cubs,” Brenly said. “At that time, I was a lot younger, he was a lot younger. We got into a lot of trouble together back in the day. I feel like Ronnie was one of my closest friends in the game and the organization. It's just not going to be the same without Ron around.”