CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs have fired manager Dale Sveum after finishing last in the NL Central for the first time in seven years.

The Cubs closed the season dropping 41 of their final 59 games, including six of their final seven. They finished 66-96, and Sveum went 127-197 in his two seasons at the helm. He had one year left on a three-year deal signed before the 2012 season.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't very disappointed," Sveum said to reporters outside Wrigley Field. "You're optimistic, but you know what can happen."

Dale Sveum had one year left on a three-year contract he signed before the 2012 season. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

The move came after a morning meeting with team president Theo Epstein.

"We had hoped that Dale would continue to grow with the organization and see it through here," Epstein said in a news conference.

Sveum's job security was undoubtedly hurt by the slow development of shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who appeared to regress this year.

"Things like this have to settle in. I don't like sitting out," Sveum said of what he'll do next. "I'm a baseball guy and love being around it and part of it."

His dismissal likely will ramp up speculation surrounding the status of New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, a Peoria, Ill., native who played at nearby Northwestern.

Girardi's contract with the Yankees expires at the end of October. He'll talk with the Yankees before exploring other opportunities.

Speaking before Sunday's season finale in Houston, Girardi said, "It's not my personality to drag things out."

Epstein said in the news conference that the Cubs "need certain things we are more likely to find outside the organization at this point."

"We are clearly going to prioritize track record and managerial experience or, in lieu of extensive managerial experience, leadership," Epstein said. "There has to be someone that is a proven leader."

Epstein was effusive in his lauding of Sveum's effort in a morning news release to announce the move.

"In his own authentic and understated way, Dale always put the team first and never complained about the hand he was dealt," Epstein said in the statement. "He and his staff helped us excel in game planning and defensive positioning, contributed to the emergence of several players, and helped put us in position to make some important trades.

"I have no doubt that -- much like Terry Francona, whom we hired in Boston after his stint with a losing Phillies club -- Dale will go on to great success with his next team."

Cubs reliever James Russell also praised Sveum.

"You feel like you've sort of let him down," Russell said Monday on the "Carmen and Jurko" radio show on ESPN Chicago 1000. "Managers are the ones that get blamed for losing ballgames. It's unfortunate, but essentially we're the guys out there on the field, that really didn't play that well ... and it kind of falls down on the manager, which kind of sucks.