Yesterday’s snarky reference to Ryne Sandberg aside, I think what #23 is doing is pretty admirable. God knows there are less taxing, more pleasurable ways for a Hall of Famer to kill a summer than a 5-month bus tour of Peoria, Clinton, Burlington and Beloit.

Who knows if Ryno will thrive or if he’ll ever attain his ultimate goal of managing in the majors. The popular notion is that Sandberg is too reserved, too non-communicative to effectively lead a group of early-twenty-somethings and teach them how to be ballplayers.

That strikes me as an unfair, knee-jerk judgment based on nothing more than the personality Sandberg projects on camera or when he’s chewing the fat with Pat & Ron before singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.”

As fans, we can’t possibly know what he’s really like in the lockerroom or how he will conduct himself with his new charges.

For now, I think it’s fine the Cubs are enabling the ambition of a great ex-player, and I applaud the ex-player for being willing to start at the bottom.

Winter Meetings update: Nothing much to comment on, though this morning on ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza,” Steve Phillips suggested it might make sense for the White Sox to sign Barry Bonds.

I will go to bed tonight praying that it happens.

Winter Meetings Update update: Lilly is ours for four years and a whole big bunch of money. Plus Hendry is in the hospital for overnight observation after complaining of chest pain. Sorry to hear that. Also, I'm considering feeling sorry they signed the control-challenged Lilly. It was amusing to hear Sweet Lou's comments about Lilly this afternoon on ESPN Radio. (The comments were made before the signing.) Lou said something like, "Ted is a good guy who really likes to compete and doesn't like to come out of the ballgame even if he's having to pitch through tough spots." Sounded like a gentle acknowledgement of the Lilly/John Gibbon punch-out I referenced a few days ago. Clearly Lou has been reading this blog.