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Right when we felt confident that we knew how to pronounce the name of the Chicago Cubs Manager Mike Quade (KWA-dee), they go out and find another dude with an even harder name to pronounce:  Dave SWAYM (spelled “Sveum”).  This completes (we think) the rebuilding of brass on the North Side after they raided the Boston front office to swipe Theo Epstein as Team President, snatched like thieves in the night two dudes from the Padres’ front office named Jed and Jason, and now coach-nap the hitting coach from the Brewers.  And they may not be done on second thought:  Rumors are swirling that they may kick Brewers fans in the groin one more time and steal legend Robin Yount for Sveum’s staff.  Read On:

The Chicago Cubs have hired Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum (pronounced: swaym) as their new manager.

The Cubs announced the move Thursday and said he would be introduced at a news conference Friday at Wrigley Field.

Sveum replaces Mike Quade, who was fired after the season by Theo Epstein, the team’s new president of baseball operations.

Epstein and Sveum worked briefly together in Boston, when Epstein was the team’s general manager and Sveum served as the Red Sox third base coach during the 2004-05 season.

At the time, Sveum was often criticized for an aggressive approach that led to runners being thrown out at the plate. But the coach with the nickname of “Nuts” was part of a championship team and is a believer in the advanced statistical analysis that Chicago’s new leadership loves and is counting on to build up the farm system.

“I do my due diligence and video work and prepare as much as anybody,” Sveum said before he was hired. “As far as the stats, those are what they are, and we can use them to our advantage. It’s a big part of the game now. It’s helping us win a lot of ballgames, the stats and the matchups. That’s just part of the game now, and you use what you can.”

Sveum was also under consideration by the Red Sox for its managerial vacancy and interviewed twice with the team.

Sveum began his pro career as a switch-hitting shortstop for the Brewers and had a 25-homer season before his career was slowed after an outfield collision.  In 12 seasons with Milwaukee and six other teams, he batted .236 with 69 home runs and 340 RBIs in 862 games. He was drafted by Milwaukee in the first round (25th overall) in 1982.