MLB: New-look Cubs fire manager Quade

Mike Quade was sacked as manager of the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, the club's new president of baseball operations Theo Epstein saying that a fresh approach was needed. Epstein left the Boston Red Sox last month to take charge of the Cubs where he will try to lead the team to their first championship in over 100 years. "Today, I flew to Florida to inform Mike in person that the Cubs have decided not to bring him back as our manager for the 2012 season," Epstein said in a statement. "While Mike is clearly an asset to any organization and any Major League staff, Jed (Hoyer) and I believe that the Cubs would benefit long-term from bringing in a manager for 2012 who can come in with a clean slate and offer new direction. "I want to thank Mike for his nine years of excellent service to the Cubs, and we certainly wish him well in the future." Quade took over as Cubs manager after Lou Piniella retired on Aug. 22, 2010 and led the team to a 24-13 record over the remainder of that season. This year, however, the Cubs missed the playoffs for a third straight season after going 71-91 to finish fifth in the six-team National League Central standings. "The managerial search process begins immediately," said Epstein, who introduced his former Red Sox associate Jed Hoyer as general manager of the Cubs on Tuesday. "We are looking for someone with whom and around whom we can build a foundation for sustained success." Epstein quit as Boston general manager last month following the team's late-season collapse that saw them miss the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. He had become the youngest ever MLB general manager when Boston hired him in 2002 at the age of 28 and assembled a team that won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, ending a title drought that stretched back to 1918. Since joining the Cubs, Epstein has already brought in Hoyer and Jason McLeod, another former Red Sox staffer, as Chicago's scouting and player development director. The Cubs have not won a World Series title since 1908. — Reuters