Mention the name Andy Green to new Cubs manager David Ross and it’s like plugging in a Vegas casino sign for the first time. His face lights up, pure neon, as he rattles off the knowledge seeping into all corners of his first camp.

In a meeting Thursday, Green told pitcher Jon Lester he hated him when both played — a jarring moment, until all involved figured out it was the ultimate compliment.

Green shared with veteran Anthony Rizzo that, while a coach with the Diamondbacks, he showed video of his defensive work to Paul Goldschmidt as the All-Star chased gold gloves.

“He’s got so much experience that he’s given me that I’ve been able to pull from,” Ross said. “I don’t know where I would be right now without that guy.”


In professional sports, so many bright beginnings are born from painful and awkward divorces. Appreciating fresh, reinvigorating starts can mean living with the bruises and scars that led there.

Green understands both, explaining the transition from Padres manager for nearly four seasons until he was fired Sept. 21 with two years left on his contract. In his first interview since the Padres decided to shake up the dugout, he discussed what’s ahead and what he left behind.

“I was not surprised,” Green said during a 20-minute discussion, sitting in the sunshine behind the Cubs spring training facility. “I think you watch how people interact with you at certain points in time. As those relationships begin to change, you can start to feel that if you’re paying attention.”

Just as quickly, Green attempted to add context.


“There’s no resentment for how it played out,” said Green, 42, the Cubs’ bench coach and right-hand man, ears and eyes for the rookie Ross. “Nobody feels good in that moment, of course. We didn’t finish well. I take full ownership of that.

“Those are painful moments, for any person. Those are moments you can choose to either look at your circumstances and lash out and be upset about things, or you can look internally and figure out what did I do wrong.

“I spent a few days looking internally and very little time at all looking at what was wrong with the circumstances or other people.”

The Padres failed to finish higher than fourth or closer than 23 games in the National League West during Green’s four seasons, though no rational baseball follower was shocked with the rosters assembled those first three seasons.


While big-money deals with Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado raised expectations in 2019, the freckle-faced pitching staff — the youngest in baseball — ensured an early-season run would not be maintained. Still, the swoon in the final months and perceived lack of effort by players sealed his fate.

“Retrospectively, would anybody want to look back and do a few things differently? Heck, yeah,” said Green, who finished 274-366. “But I love what I got to do and love the people I got to do it with.”

The first clue? Green asked a question before a single one was asked of him.

“How’s the brown (uniforms)?” he said.


Drilling for specifics surely felt a bit like surgery without anesthetics. Green, however, realized the questions are coming with a spring training game against the Padres on Feb. 28 at the Peoria Sports Complex and split-squad (March 11) and full-squad matchups (March 23) at Sloane Park.

Green’s present and past intersect again during a four-game series May 14-17 at Petco Park.

“I guess I’ve managed for (five) months not to give any official comments, huh?” he joked.

So, Green good-naturedly gritted teeth for the questions he knew were coming. Did you overwhelm Wil Myers with too much information during his offensive struggles, potentially compounding the problem?


“As a manager, you want to create an environment where guys flourish,” Green said. “When you know guys have more in the tank than comes out, you always look at yourself and figure out if there’s more you can do.

“Wil is incredibly talented, a good person with a good heart who wants to do great. You’re always going to take ownership of the context you create for your players to perform in.”

Was the whirlwind of Manny Machado signing after spring training began in 2019 enough time to build the right relationship with the cornerstone of the organization’s future?

“Manny’s awesome. Yainee (his wife) is awesome. They’re absolutely great people,” Green said. “He’s passionate about winning. I very much enjoyed the time with Manny. All those guys over there, you hope they do well. Manny’s definitely the kind of guy who you root for.”


Did ownership give him a real shot with enough tools and enough time with the right tools? Green paused to consider.

“Yes,” he said. “Were the stars perfectly aligned? That’s for the rest of the world to determine. That’s not a narrative I’m interested in. I think we always looked at 2020 as the time to go. I don’t think organizationally anything shifted in that mentality.”

Green knows talking about it all feels a bit like a lose-lose situation. Speak glowingly about all of it and it’s perceived as safe and carefully sculpted lip service. Peel back the curtain on the rough patches and the whiff of sour grapes lingers.

A parade of no comments potentially paint an inaccurate framework of his thoughts and feelings, as well.


“I poured everything I had into what I had the opportunity to do and loved that opportunity for the time I had it,” Green said. “I ran really fast for four years. It felt like it took about two months to get off that treadmill mentally and slow down and be a dad, really being with my kids and family.

“They’re months my family needed and I’m grateful for.”

The toughest part? Talking about it with his three young daughters.

“There’s no script for those moments,” he said. “In those moments you don’t think about your life changing. You think about the fact that you’re going to move your girls from a city and school they love.”


Managing, so freshly taken away, has no room in Green’s thoughts because mentoring and assisting Ross demands it doesn’t.

“There’s no thought in my mind about, will that opportunity come back to me some day?” Green said. “I was blessed to have that opportunity in San Diego for four years. If it circles back around to me and I get a chance again, great. If I don’t, my contentment is not contingent on that.

“I want to win. I want to be a part of something that’s bigger than myself. Whatever role that is, it doesn’t really matter to me.”

Ross gushed about Green, precisely because of the bumpy road he navigated.


The most lasting lessons can be the toughest ones.

Ross said Green emailed him once a week leading up to spring training with tips and timelines about how to organize camp. He’s bent the ear of his bench coach on everything from clubhouse speeches to player-contract sensitivities.

“He’s been awesome. I can’t say enough about the guy,” Ross said.

The feeling, fully reciprocated.


“He might pretend like I’m helping a lot, but he doesn’t need a lot,” Green said. “He’s got a great handle on things. Some guys have natural leadership skills. He falls into that group. So some of the detail stuff I can take off his plate, that’s what I’m here to do.”

Green’s middle name is Mulligan.

On a sunny spring day in Arizona, it’s clear he plans to take advantage of his.