Cubs hire Sveum
It's official. The Cubs have hired Dale Sveum as manager.
Sveum, 47, will be introduced during a news conference at 9 a.m. Friday at Wrigley Field. He will succeed Mike Quade, whose tenure as Cubs skipper lasted only one season.
Sveum (pronounced "Swaym") most recently was the hitting coach of the Milwaukee Brewers, the team with which he began his playing career in 1986. He spent 12 seasons as an infielder in the majors before beginning a coaching career that included managerial stints in the minor leagues as well as big-league coaching posts with the Boston Red Sox and Brewers.
In Boston, Sveum was the third base coach from 2004 to 2005 and cultivated a relationship with new Cubs bosses Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. The Red Sox won a World Series championship during Sveum's first season with the team in 2004.
The Cubs interviewed a half-dozen candidates for their managerial job opening. Others who vied for the job included Texas Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux, Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin, Cleveland Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. and Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale.
-Tom Musick
