Over And Out

Revision:

The other day I wrote this about Ryne Sandberg:

From the outside looking in Ryne Sandberg appeared to be a good man.  That's basically a variation on the customary opening to a post-mortem when one is then going to write that someone was really way over his head or worse.  Sandberg was really over his head as a manager.

He didn't have the temperament for managing today's high-priced ball player nor was he smart enough to manage generally.  When Chase Utley showed his displeasure with his manger's decision to use a position player to pitch in a blow-out recently the handwriting was on the wall.  Then came the dreaded vote of confidence.

Sandberg beat the ax man to the punch and resigned.  It was his best move though quitting won't get his a spot on any shortlists for future jobs.  But, then, he clearly doesn't want one.

What I should have written is this:

Ryne Sandberg knew he was going to be fired.  He just didn't know when.  So, not acting in the best tradition of the captain of a sinking vessel, Sandberg abandoned ship in mid-ocean.  His team was already the worst in baseball and steaming toward a 100-loss season, so Sandberg decided he didn'td want the ignominy of an axing on his resume, apparently believing that quitting would look better down the road.

Sandberg isn't overburdened, as my mother-in-law would say, but he's probably smart enough to know that managing a big league team is not for him.  Prospective employers down the road take note:  this guy quits when the going gets tough.