The Ryne Sandberg Dilemma. There are a lot of Chicago Cubs fans that would like to have Sandberg as their manager, unfortunately for them they do not own the team. The Ricketts family seemed to want Sandberg as their manager also and they do own the team. However, unlike fans they have decided to let Theo Epstein do the job he was hired to do, and that is build an organization from the ground up. That means doing what is in the best interests of the Cubs even when it comes to the Manager position.
I believe Sandberg will make a good manager one day soon for someone, but for the Cubs the timing is just wrong. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer already have short lists from their previous organizations and it is obvious that he was not on either of their short lists.
Sandberg would have been an interesting hire for the Cubs but also a risky one. What if he failed? How hard would it have been for Theo Epstein to fire the Cubs legend? I am not saying Theo was worried about this because this is a business, but it would have been uncomfortable for both parties more so than if it is someone like say, Mike Quade.
I believe this will be better for Sandberg. He knows early in the process that is not on the list of candidates for the Cubs job. More importantly the rest of the league knows it and he is now in realistically in play for other teams. He has already been called by the St. Louis Cardinals for an interview and may receive other offers at the major league level for 3 rd base coach or bench coach. These positions also lead to major league managerial positions.
Sandberg did not have that same opportunity after Jim Hendry lead him on last year and cost him possible interviews with other teams while he was going through that charade.
Sandberg will get his shot soon, maybe even this year and it will be because Theo Epstein did not play games and politics with him and Cubs fans.