Chicago Cubs

With the announcement of Mike Quade as the new manager of the Chicago Cubs, the organization has finally done the impossible. They have taken away all hope from fans of the team and the promise of "Wait Until Next Year."

Most of us already assumed it would never happen in our lifetimes, but they just hammered the final nail in the coffin for fans of the North Side ballclub.

The announcement today that Mike Quade would return as Cubs manager and be given a two year contract with a team option for a third year, is not all that surprising. But it is disappointing.

While the reports are saying that Quade has had the interim label removed from his title, in essence any coach or manager in every sport is interim. They are all hired to be fired. Heck, truth be told, as humans we are all interim.

The Chicago Cubs have hired Mike Quade as permanent manager for 2011 and beyond, and have officially removed his interim tag from 2010.

He did a fantastic job in his short time as skipper in Chicago, and deserved this opportunity after a long career in the minors.

Did he deserve the spot over Cubs hero and fan favorite Ryne Sandberg, however? Many fans may disagree, much like the dispute in New York over Don Mattingly's prospects of managing before Joe Girardi's eventual hire.

The Chicago Cubs have named Mike Quade their manager and signed him to a two-year contract, according to the Chicago Tribune. Quade returns to the Cubs dugout full-time after going 24-13 as interim manager of the team following manager Lou Piniella's retirement in August.

Reports are in that the Chicago Cubs have taken off the interim tag from manager Mike Quade.  Quade, the 53-year-old manager who has been serving as interim manager since the retirement of Lou Piniella after the season, is finally getting his shot at managing the big leagues.

The cubs reportedly signed Quade to a two-year deal with a club option for the 2013 season, according to ESPN.

Larry Rothschild has exercised his option to remain as the Cubs pitching coach for another season. Apparently this means that if it is OK with the new manager, he gets to stay. One of the odd things about Jim Hendry's tenure as GM is the number of no-trade contracts and player's and coach's options he has handed out.

This is part two of a series of articles outlining the decisions that the Cubs will need to make this offseason. You can read part one and introduce yourself to their current situation by following this link.

The final trial runs have been completed, and the horses are on the track and ready for the home stretch. So who will come spinning out of the turn as the one to beat in the race to be the Cubs' next manager? 

I'm sure that there are more than a handful of Cubs fans who are under the impression that the organization will acquire a few impact players this offseason, much like the post-2006 and post-2007 offseasons. However, the fact of the matter is that the team's current 40-man roster will need to be tweaked quite a bit before any additions can be made.

To begin with, only two players on the team's final 40-man roster can leave on their own volition: Aramis Ramirez and Xavier Nady.

No one could argue with the Indians' decision to trade Chris Archer as part of the deal sending Mark DeRosa to the Indians prior to the 2009 season.  Look at the ERAs he has posted through his first three years: