Chicago Cubs: David Ross certainly sounds like the next manager

Will David Ross be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs? It sure sounds like it after listening to his latest interview.

On Sunday, September 29, 2019, the Chicago Cubs‘ season will mercifully come to an end. As of Wednesday, the team had lost seven in a row, with an absolutely dreadful performance on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which the team committed a whopping five errors.

To say the 2019 season has been a disappointment would be an understatement of epic proportions. After winning the World Series in 2016, it felt like the team had the roster composition to make a run at another ring or two.

Instead, the eulogy on the 2019 team might also include saying goodbye to that championship window. With big decisions upcoming regarding future free agents like Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Anthony Rizzo, along with one of the largest payrolls in baseball, there may not be a whole lot of flexibility in this roster, absent some outside of the box moves.

Though one area though that will almost certainly get a makeover next year is the manager. Pardon the pun, but Joe Maddon has seemed to have lost his fastball. It once felt like he possessed the Midas touch and every move he made turned to gold. His ability to resonate with younger players, who enjoyed his ‘carefree, have fun’ attitude was celebrated.

This no longer seems to be the case as the team has played uninspired baseball for practically the entire season. That’s not an indictment on either the manager or players, as sometimes these types of relationships simply run their course.

It feels like the team needs an injection of new blood — so just who might that be? Well, the new blood may actually be some old blood, as David Ross, one of the heroes of that 2016 World Series championship team, has been rumored to be Joe’s replacement.

There have been no concrete reports linking him to the job, which has been done largely through speculation and deductive reasoning. However, it appears he is certainly interested, as we learned after a recent interview Ross conducted with FanSided.

Mark Carman, the host of the “On the Mark” podcast, recently caught up with Ross to ask him about the prospects of him becoming the next manager of the Cubs.

Listen to “Ep. 23: Cubs WS Champ David Ross, Ken Rosenthal, Paul Sullivan” on Spreaker.

While Ross did not come out and campaign for the position, his comments made it pretty clear that he would indeed be interested if the Cubbies came calling.

When asked if he is feeling the tug to get back in the dugout as a manager, Ross noted it would “have to be the right opportunity” recognizing how much he’s enjoying his current gig covering games for ESPN, as well as enjoying more time with his family. However, he candidly admitted his “heart itches to get back in that dugout . . . and be a part of something special that [he’s] been a part of before.”

It was interesting, if not Freudian, to hear Ross invoke his time with the Cubs, almost subconsciously signaling that returning to the North Side would be that “right opportunity.” And while he did disclose he does not think the Cubs should be moving on from Maddon, he appears honored to even be considered as a potential replacement should the Cubs move on.

As interesting as his comments were, what was even more interesting was that he did not deny interest in the position. So while he thinks Maddon is still the guy for the job, it certainly doesn’t sound like he would turn down the opportunity if it presents itself.

Finally, he went on to say that if he were to take on the role of a manager for some team, because of the sacrifice it takes, it would have to be worth it. Ross characterized himself as someone who does not do things halfway, but rather is “all in,” much like the Cubs motto. Another Freudian slip? We’ll find out soon enough whether he will be the guy to replace Maddon and whether he can rekindle some of that 2016 magic.