Riggleman returns to Wrigley
Jim Riggleman returned to Wrigley Field on Tuesday for the first time as a manager since he led the Cubs in the late 1990s.
Riggleman, who inherited the Washington Nationals manager's job at the All-Star break, managed the Cubs from 1995 to 1999. He went 374-419 during his time on the North Side, which included a memorable 1998 season that featured Sammy Sosa's 66 home runs, Kevin Tapani's 19 victories, and Rod Beck's 51 saves.
Riggleman spoke with reporters on the field before Tuesday's game. A transcript of his interview is below.
On his memories of Wrigley Field:
There’s a lot of good memories here. Five years, I was here. That’s a long time in today’s world to be some place. I wish I could have made it 10. It was five good years here. We took our lumps, but we had some good times here.
On 1998:
[1998] was a great year. Great people. Morandini and Grace. Sammy and Gaetti, Jose Hernandez, Lance Johnson, Tapani, Trachsel, Wood. Mark Clark. Guys like that.
Mark Clark and Morandini [were] guys under the radar for that year that were really great contributors. Rod Beck, Mulholland. Some real pros there. They really created a a lot of excitement in the city for the Cubs that year, for the whole city.
On accepting tough managerial jobs:
Usually, if you get a job managing, it’s going to be a situation where some struggles have taken place. Every now and then, somebody, if you’re Leyland or La Russa, you can hand pick where you want to go. But generally, the jobs that open up, it’s because there have been some struggles. You feel like you’re the guy whose going to get in there and the struggles will stop. I continue to feel that way.
The main thing is, I love to manage. Regardless of what situation we’re in, if we’re rebuilding or we’re trying to get something going or whatever it is, when that umpire says, "Play ball," your competitive juices are flowing and you’re trying to win that particular game. That’s what excites me about the game. It’s the only thing that really excites me other than playing it, and you get to the point where you can't play it, so this is the next best thing.
On Lou Piniella taking heat in Chicago:
It’s a major market. It’s passionate fans. Lou is a very smart guy, and Lou knows it comes with the territory. A couple of things happened. You get Carlos on the DL, you get a couple of guys struggling with the bat, another club in the division is hot, next thing you know, you’re looking up at somebody else. When you’ve gone through years of that here in Chicago, if you’re the current guy managing the club, you’re the one who’s going to catch the heat.
Fortunately for Lou, he’s got a couple of years in the playoffs here that have been consecutive, which nobody else has done in a long time. That kind of speaks for itself, what Lou has done here, and how good he is. Lou will survive it.
On whether the Cubs just might be cursed:
No, I don’t believe in any of that. It’s just a combination of things. Sometimes the other teams try and win, too, you know. [Fans] just figure figure, hey, you should win. Sometimes also people want to look at the payroll. I’ve come to the conclusion that money doesn’t play. Players play. Sometimes the guys making the money are not playing. You see that in New York. [Mets manager] Jerry [Manuel] catches [flak] in New York, but his top three players are on the disabled list. So you say that payroll is such and such, they should win. But most of the money on that payroll is on the disabled list, so how are they going to win?
They’re not cursed. It just hasn’t really all lined up just perfect yet. Looked like it was in '03, and it got away from them. Anything can happen. Once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen. Wild card teams win the World Series. You’ve just got to get in. If you can get in, anybody can win it once you get in.
Today, with all the off days in the playoffs, if you can just get in, you’ve got two, or heaven forbid, three good starters, you can win the thing with all the off days that are set up. Arizona did it with Schilling and Randy Johnson, and I don’t know, can you name even the third starter? Who was it that year? But those off days, it seemed like every day Randy and Schilling were pitching, [and they won] the World Series.
These guys could do it here with Zambrano and Harden and Lilly. If they can get into the playoffs, they can be a tough opponent. Two years in a row, that’s what they ran into. They ran into that Arizona pitching. If you get a couple of starters hot, you can win in the playoffs. Getting in is tough. You’ve got to overcome the Cardinals hot start.
-Tom Musick
