Joe Is Interviewing with the Cubs Today. Another Name Added to List.

Another day, another interview. The Chicago Cubs are pounding these things out. Sunday night we learned that Carlos Beltran was approached by the Cubs, but he rejected an interview. We know Mark Loretta, Joe Girardi, and David Ross interviewed with the Cubs. There was also talk about Will Venable interviewing. Today the Cubs are interviewing Houston Astros bench coach, Joe Espada.

Astros bench coach Joe Espada is interviewing with the Cubs today for their manager job.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 14, 2019

Surprisingly, there was another name added to the interview list, former Philadelphia Phillies skipper, Gabe Kapler.

Cubs to interview Gabe Kapler and Joe Espada this week for their managerial position. Should be final two candidates.

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) October 14, 2019

I absolutely LOVE Espada as an option. Since the search had officially begun, I believed he would be the best overall option. Now, of course, I have written a lot about Ross, as I do think he is the organization’s favorite, but Espada can bring a little of that Houston success to the team.

What I mean here is a nice blend of the launch angle philosophy and the better situational or two-strike approach. The Astros strikeout less than any other team in baseball, and it is because of their approach. Now, there certainly is such a thing as a good strikeout, but teams need to find a way to eliminate those bad strikeouts. This is something I wrote about several weeks back, and I think the front office wants to change this as well.

While I completely understand and stand behind the Espada interview, I can’t seem to understand the Kapler sit down.

Kapler was once regarded as a “very analytical” manager, and that was the sense you got with some very questionable pitcher moves early in his career. But over time it seemed that he fell more into traditional roles, and even if he was trying to blend the two worlds – it just wasn’t working.

The Cubs are very much an analytically run organization. When you have the tools and numbers at your disposal, you use them. Sure, playing the game by analytical data might eliminate some fun stories you might see, like Adam Dunn’s insane success against Clayton Kershaw regardless of his standard inability to hit lefties – but you end up with more consistent results through the data.

I still believe Ross is the favorite. I mostly believe Espada is the best option. I know Girardi is the worst choice, but Kapler just might be trying to take that crown.