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          Joe Borowski endorses Eric Wedge

          • ESPNChicago.com
          Oct 14, 2010, 01:00 PM ET

          Former Cubs closer Joe Borowski said "thick skin" is the most important trait for a Chicago manager, and ex-Cleveland Indians skipper Eric Wedge would be a great fit to lead the Cubs.

          "He had a unique way of going about it," Borowski, who played under Wedge in Cleveland in 2007 and 2008, said Thursday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He expected the players to police themselves in the clubhouse which I loved. He wasn't in your face and expecting you to do this, that and the other thing. He expected you to take care of yourself and if you didn't then he would get involved. He wasn't a big meeting guy. He picked and choosed his spots at the right time."

          Wedge already has interviewed with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, and ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine reported that Wedge met with team chairman Tom Ricketts on Monday. Wedge also has interviewed for the Pittsburgh Pirates managerial job.

          Borowski, who played for the Cubs from 2001-05, said the biggest adjustment for Wedge if he lands in Chicago will be dealing with the media.

          "[Have] thick skin," Borowski said he would advise Wedge. "You're going to get the media from every angle, and that's the one thing if I have to say about the difference clearly between Chicago and Cleveland is Cleveland is a very small market. You didn't have to deal with the media as much as you have to in Chicago. I thought he did a good job dealing with the media in Cleveland, but it's a totally different beast going from there to Chicago."

          The Indians won more than 80 games four times and twice won more than 90 under Wedge from 2003-09. He was fired following a 65-97 season a year ago, after the rebuilding Indians shed several players.

          Wedge won AL Manager of the year in 2007 as the Indians went 96-66 and led the AL Championship Series 3-1 before Boston rallied to win the pennant. Wedge was 561-573 (.495) with Cleveland.

          "I like Eric not only as a person but as a manager," Borowski said. "I thought he did a great job with the cast he was surrounded with. You've got to remember, [Cleveland] was a team that didn't have a big payroll so there was a lot of turnover, you had a lot of young guys and then finally when they all started getting to the age where they had been in the big leagues for a few years we had our great run. And then they started getting rid of everybody. As a manager you can't do anything about that."

          Other known candidates for the Cubs job are Triple-A Iowa manager Ryne Sandberg, interim manager Mike Quade and former Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners manager Bob Melvin.