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A panel of ESPNChicago.com experts ranked the Top 50 Cubs of all time.

Here is a gallery of our Top 50.

Who did we miss?

Did Kerry Wood belong? Randy Hundley?

Should Shawon Dunston have been left off?

For a team with so few championships, there is no shortage of Hall of Famers who have donned the Cubs jersey.

Ryne Sandberg is sticking with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The former Chicago Cubs great will return for a second year as manager of Philadelphia's Triple-A team, philly.com reported on Monday.

New Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told Sandberg that he would not be considered for the managerial opening that was filled by Dale Sveum. Sandberg was passed over by then Cubs general manager Jim Hendry in favor of Mike Quade the year before.

Sandberg did interview with the rival Cardinals to replace Tony La Russa this offseason, but that job went to Mike Matheny.

Sandberg had been clear in recent years that he would like to someday manage the Cubs and has worked his way up from the low minors. But after success throughout the organization, the Hall of Famer didn't get the top job and decided to accept an opportunity with the team that drafted him, the Phillies.

He led the IronPigs to their first ever postseason berth last season, making it all the way to the championship before losing.

As I read that Ryne Sandberg, Cubs legend, Hall of Famer and Chicago icon, could be in the running for the managerial position of the Cubs' arch-rival, the Cardinals, my brain froze for a second. The fan in me was baffled, hard-pressed to imagine a Cubs legend being in such a position. This is Ryno, and where else would he have ever work in uniform than as a Cub?
I pause at this possibility because I always thought of myself as a loyal person. My brother connected me with sports as soon as I could walk, and it turns out the teams I supported back then are the teams I follow to this day.

Since I was very young to be an avid sports fan, my one main reason for picking my team was clear as day. Cool uniforms. And so one day, I saw the Phillies in those powder-blue uniforms and I believed I would be a Phillies fan for life.

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Tony La Russa has confidence in his former front office to name his successor as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, but he believes Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is an impressive candidate.

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Former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa discusses the search for his successor, Ryne Sandberg and the draw of managing the Cubs.

Now that the Chicago Cubs have parted ways with Mike Quade let's take an early look at what may be Theo Epstein's short list of managerial candidates:

Terry Francona, former Boston Red Sox manager: Coming off an eight-year run with the Red Sox, Francona's relationship with the Cubs' top three executives will definitely put him on the short list of any managerial candidates. Epstein's bond with Francona remains intact even though Red Sox ownership gave a thumbs down to a return by Francona. The only question on him is whether he is ready to manage again and whether there has been enough time between the alleged clubhouse drinking debacle in Boston for Francona to get re-energized and take on the awesome challenge of another hungry fan base looking to win a World Series after 103 years. Francona has the hardware and the moxy, having won two World Series in Boston.

Dale Sveum, Milwaukee Brewers coach: He played many years in the major leagues and has a solid reputation for handling and communicating with players during his coaching stops in Milwaukee and Boston. Sveum's previous claim to fame was managing the Brewers for the last 12 games of 2008 after the team fired Ned Yost. He interviewed with the Red Sox on Wednesday. Sveum is a known quantity to Epstein. He also coached in Boston for two seasons.

Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland Indians bench coach: Considered one of the best and brightest of the up-and-coming coaches, the former All-Star catcher is a baseball blue blood. He and his brother Robbie are second-generation players. Their father Sandy played in the majors for 12 years and coached for 20, including three seasons with the Cubs. Alomar was promoted to bench coach after the 2011 season after two years as the Indians' first base coach.

Pete Mackanin, Philadelphia Phillies bench coach: The Chicago native began his coaching career in the Cubs organization in the 1980s and was on a fast track to become a big league manager then when he ran afoul of then-GM Jim Frey after an infamous incident with pitcher Les Lancaster, who hung a dart board with a picture of Don Zimmer in Mackanin's Iowa Cubs clubhouse. Mackanin was the interim manager in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and is also known to be on the short list for the Red Sox's manager job.

DeMarlo Hale, Red Sox bench coach: Hale was one of Francona's chief lieutenant's in Boston. Known for strong communication skills, Hale's interview would be much more than just a courtesy to a former Red Sox employee. Hale was thought to be a finalist for the Toronto Blue Jays' job that eventually went to John Farrell last offseason. Hale began his managerial career in the Red Sox's minor league system in 1993.

Dave Martinez, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach: The former Cubs outfielder has been Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon's bench coach throughout his very successful run with the Rays. Martinez stock is high, and he was mentioned as a candidate for the Chicago White Sox job before Ventura was surprisingly named to the position. Martinez played for 10 teams during his lengthy big league career.


Others: San Diego Padres manager Bud Black would have been mentioned, but Jed Hoyer said Tuesday that there is a freeze on the Cubs being able to bring anyone from San Diego. For that reason, Black was not included on this list. There's an obvious connection between Hoyer, McLeod and Black, as well as Epstein, who is known to admire him. Blue Jays manager John Farrell would be at the top of the lists for the Cubs and Red Sox if not for the Blue Jays denying permission for other teams to talk to him about a manager's job.

The St. Louis Cardinals have received permission from the Philadelphia Phillies to interview Ryne Sandberg for their vacant managerial job, a baseball source familiar with the situation confirmed to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

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Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein crossed Ryne Sandberg off the list of potential Cubs managers as soon as the search for Mike Quade's replacement began.

In his statement announcing that Quade wouldn't return next year, Epstein laid out criteria for the next manager. And one qualification excluded Sandberg, who was a Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman and highly successful manager in the minor leagues.

"The next manager must have leadership and communication skills; he must place an emphasis on preparation and accountability; he must establish high standards and a winning culture; he must have integrity and an open mind; and he must have managerial or coaching experience at the major league level," Epstein said in the release.

By all accounts, Sandberg possesses all of those qualities, except the last one.

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported that Epstein reached out to Sandberg to tell him he's not in their plans.

The Chicago Cubs’ seemingly imminent hiring of former Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein should be met with approval by the vast majority of the fan base. After all, in Tom Ricketts’ pursuit of his front office chief of the future, he was looking for a man like Epstein.

Up until 10 days ago, the Ricketts family never imagined Epstein would be the man to fulfill the void created by the Jim Hendry’s late-season firing. From the very beginning, Epstein was at the top of the Cubs’ wish list, Major League sources said. Tampa’s Andrew Friedman, Oakland’s Billy Beane and New York’s Brian Cashman were perceived by the Cubs as the other front-line candidates. Those three never interviewed with the Cubs, sources indicated.

It took a perfect storm of circumstance to bring the Cubs and Epstein together.

Boston’s colossal collapse – the Red Sox squandered a nine-game September lead to lose the AL Wild Card – led to a mutual parting of the ways between the organization and manager Terry Francona. That September swoon, which caused the Red Sox to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, also put Epstein in a difficult situation. He had one year left on his contract and his power within the organization was eroding.

The first inkling that the Red Sox would part with Epstein was on Friday, Oct. 7, when owner John Henry stated on WEEI radio that regardless of how the situation worked out, “Theo is not going to be general manager forever.”

The best leverage the savvy exec had was 1,000 miles away, where a new ownership group was looking for a young, exciting baseball man capable of combing the worlds of sabermetrics and conventional scouting in his player evaluation.

Epstein will have a honeymoon period with ownership, fans and the media during his first year on the job. He’ll need it; the Cubs’ farm system – although improved and somewhat productive over the past three years – still has a ways to go in producing enough talent to allow the team to bypass the free-agent market for pitching and hitting help.

In spite of Epstein’s addition, the Cubs’ payroll likely will be in the neighborhood of $130 million – the same figure Jim Hendry had to work with in 2010. Epstein will inherit the locked-in contracts of Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster. The Cubs owe Soriano $54 million, Zambrano $18 million and Dempster $14 million – assuming he elects to pick up a player option for the 2011 season.

The biggest challenge for Epstein will be remaining patient. An initial trade or two should help invigorate a team that has finished in fifth place the past two seasons. The learning curve for Epstein in Chicago will include spending free agent money wisely. With a lesser budget than he had to work with the past few years, Epstein must avoid cumbersome contracts. His bad signings include Julio Lugo, JD Drew, Mike Cameron, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Lackey and Carl Crawford. In fairness to Epstein, his commitment to the Red Sox’s farm system and his overall approach to scouting in Latin America and the Pacific Rim, have given the Red Sox a steady flow of good talent to augment his free agent signings and trades.

Among Epstein’s first moves will be to address the Cubs’ manager post. Incumbent Mike Quade and his coaching staff will have to be informed in a timely fashion what their future holds. Of the Cubs' staff, only Quade and hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo are under contract in 2012. At the end of the 2011 season, Quade told his staff they were free to seek out new employment after he was told by Ricketts that hiring a new GM would take upwards of a month.

Rumors have had former Red Sox manager Francona and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg as possible candidates. Epstein tried to hire Sandberg as a Triple-A manager in Boston’s farm system prior to the 2011 season. A Major League Baseball source with knowledge of the Epstein interview process said that Sandberg’s name wasn’t mentioned when Epstein was asked about future managerial candidates if Quade was replaced.

It’s being presumed Epstein will have total baseball authority, which may have been a factor in his decision to take the job. In Boston, Epstein was engaged in a power struggle with team president Larry Lucchino. Keep in mind that Epstein was brought through the ranks in both San Diego and Boston by the aggressive and sometimes acerbic Lucchino. This move will allow Epstein to be his own man at the very top rung of the Cubs’ organization. With Luchino in place, that was unlikely to happen in Boston.

Ryne Sandberg was passed over as Chicago Cubs manager last fall, but the Hall of Fame second baseman said he won't rule out a return to his former team if the position opens up in the future.

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Ryne Sandberg joined "Waddle & Silvy" to discuss his managerial future, the Cubs' struggles and the possibility of a return to the North Side.

As divorces go, the one between Ryne Sandberg and the Chicago Cubs was the result of irreconcilable differences. It was quick, but it wasn't painless.

Sandberg, the Hall of Famer whose retired jersey number flaps from the right-field flagpole at Wrigley Field, wanted to manage the Cubs. But the Cubs fell in love with someone else in September -- Mike Quade, well-respected among seamheads, but a relative unknown outside of Wrigleyville.

Quade got full custody of the Cubs' job and Sandberg, who was one of three finalists interviewed by owner Tom Ricketts, got a cooler of ice water thrown on his dreams of managing a big league team. So rather than return for a second season as the Cubs' Triple-A manager (and fifth season in the organization's minor league system), Sandberg accepted a similar position with the Philadelphia Phillies' Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Triple-A team.

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CHICAGO -- The big news from The Ricketts’ Family Forum on Saturday at Day 2 of the Cubs Convention was the announcement that players will wear a No. 10 patch on their sleeve in honor of Ron Santo and that the team icon will be honored with a statue.

But more was unveiled, primarily from Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts, who revealed that team is expanding its use of sabermetrics, will seek the All-Star game -- possibly for 2016 -- and will be committed to enhancing the “Wrigley Field Experience.”

Answering questions from members of the audience, the subjects stretched from the team budget, to Ryne Sandberg’s departure from the organization to Jim Hendry’s job status to upcoming Wrigley Field improvements.

One thing Ricketts seemed intent on making clear was that his first priority in owning the Cubs was not to line his own pockets with cash.

“Just so everybody knows, it’s simple math when it comes to a baseball team,” Ricketts told the crowd of about 1,000 Cubs fans. “No money leaves the system. We sell tickets, we get our revenues from television, we get our revenues concessions and that’s where we start.

“… Every single dollar not spent on operational expenses goes to the baseball budget. … We give [general manager] Jim [Hendry] every dollar we can, literally. Then he decides if it goes to the amateur side or to the payroll. In terms of payroll, we still are among the very highest in the league.”

In a separate gathering, Cubs president Crane Kenney reiterated that Ricketts is dedicated to putting all profits back into the operational budget.

Perhaps the biggest potential stir came halfway through the one-hour session when a fan from Skokie asked how Sandberg could be allowed to leave the organization and how Hendry still has his job.

Ricketts said that Sandberg is still a valued member of the organization, but as for passing him up and giving the manager opening to Mike Quade, he was 100 percent in favor of Hendry’s decision. He said Sandberg was not asked to leave the organization but made the decision to leave on his own. There are no hard feelings from the Cubs’ view on Sandberg deciding to leave in order to enhance his chances of becoming a manager.

As for Hendry, Ricketts gave his support.

“We came in a year ago and I think it would be incredibly unfair to walk into an organization and judge people without information,” Ricketts said. “We spent a lot of time traveling to the affiliates and getting to know [staff]. Over the past year I have grown in confidence with Jim, to be honest. He has a good team of people that he’s put together.

The real judge of how well he does is how many players we’re consistently bringing up to the major leagues and are the dollars we’re spending [worth it]. Hopefully we’re becoming smarter with how we do contracts.

“I think Jim is doing a great job and we’re starting to see some of the fruits of his labor.”

One question was whether or not the stadium facade will change during a planned Wrigley Field makeover that could cost more than $200 million and is scheduled to be completed by 2016, the 100th anniversary of the Cubs at the historic ballpark. When it comes to the Wrigley Field marquee, no changes will be made. When it comes to the chain link fencing that can be seen all over the ballpark, the plan is to eliminate all of it and replace it with decorative iron work.

Ricketts admitted that the hope of bringing the All-Star Game to Wrigley Field by 2014 isn’t likely to happen. They’ll seek to play host to the Midsummer Classic by 2016 and have the game as a centerpiece of the 100th anniversary of the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

On sabermetrics, Ricketts admitted that the club did not place a huge emphasis on the analytical analysis of the game when he took over. There will be a bigger effort to including the mathematical analysis as an effort to enhance the team’s current scouting practices in the near future.

Ryne Sandberg was asked Tuesday if he believed the Chicago Cubs gave him a fair shake during the interview process for their managerial position, and Sandberg sounded as if he didn't believe his candidacy was taken seriously.


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Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, passed over by the Chicago Cubs as the team's next manager, has joined the Philadelphia Phillies organization as manager of their top minor-league club, the Phillies announced Monday.

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Ryne Sandberg, who recently decided not to return as the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A manager, is a candidate for the same position with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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CHICAGO -- After being passed over for the Chicago Cubs managerial job, Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg will not be back with the organization next season.

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