THE LURE OF THE DUGOUT

Cubs analyst Brenly would like second chance at managing

Four major-league teams hired new managers during the winter, including the Cubs and White Sox, bringing to 62 the number of changes in dugout leadership made since the Arizona Diamondbacks fired Bob Brenly in 2004.

Brenly got one phone call — from Theo Epstein — telling him the Cubs weren’t interested in reassigning their popular TV analyst to the manager’s office.

‘‘Theo said they had identified the four candidates they were considering . . . but if it changed, he would let me know,’’ Brenly said. ‘‘I appreciated him being so upfront about it. I had no desire to fill out somebody’s dance card or be flapping in the wind while they go after the people they really want.’’

Brenly knows that drill. He has been contacted numerous times since the Diamondbacks let him go 33 months after he delivered the franchise a World Series title in 2001 — its fourth year of operation — but a 2008 session with the Milwaukee Brewers, who hired Ken Macha, was the only interview he considered credible.

Brenly is 58. Among former managers who own World Series rings and aren’t managing, only Terry Francona, 52, is younger, and he is a first-year exile. But while unremarkable candidates such as Buck Showalter, Ned Yost and Jim Tracy keep getting recycled into new opportunities, Brenly hasn’t had a nibble despite two division titles and a .536 winning percentage in his three-plus seasons with the Diamondbacks.

The crowning insult will come if Jim Riggleman, with his .445 career winning percentage, gets a shot after walking out on the Washington Nationals in midseason last year.

‘‘It’s galling in a way, but a lot of it is who you know, who you’ve worked with, and I’ve never gone out of my way to cultivate connections,’’ Brenly said. ‘‘I’m not the first guy to get fired without much justification, and I won’t be the last. There’s a pretty big group of us out there.’’

That said, the competitor in Brenly would like a chance to restore his reputation, to prove that the Diamondbacks’ plunge from 98 victories in 2002 to 51 in 2004 was more the result of a disastrous, roster-depleting trade for Richie Sexson than any malfeasance on his part.

‘‘I also heard that I was a pushbutton manager, that anybody could have won with Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson fronting their rotation,’’ Brenly said. ‘‘Well, we were an older team that year, and we had to keep the older guys fresh. We did that by using the whole roster.

‘‘Plus, there’s a lot involved with managing two divas, and they only pitched two games out of every five. Somehow, we were able to win a lot of games they didn’t pitch.’’

Brenly doesn’t despair about his failure to get another opportunity, and he’s realistic enough to sense it might not happen.

‘‘With every year, there are more retired players, more minorleague managers, more big-league coaches trying for a shot,’’ he said.

‘‘I’ve always been a big believer in staying in your lane. Everybody has a job to do, and if we all do it to the best of our ability, we’ll be fine. I know what my job is.’’

Managing’s loss was broadcasting’s gain. Brenly is one of the Cubs’ most popular figures. With candor, humor and a first-rate baseball mind, he has won over even the most skeptical fans who revered Steve Stone and were angry at the Cubs for orchestrating his acrimonious departure from the booth after the 2004 season ended badly.

And Brenly’s not concerned about his tell-it-like-it-is style not meshing with a new management team that has an inferior product to sell — at least for the short term.

‘‘I’m only saying what I see,’’ Brenly said. ‘‘I’m not making it up. If I were to gloss over things, I’d lose my credibility. The fans know what they see, too.

‘‘I recognize effort. I was critical of Aramis Ramirez because I didn’t see him doing the things he needed to do to be a consistently good ballplayer. By the same token, I saw how hard Alfonso Soriano worked on his fielding this spring, and I’ve given him props for the progress he’s made.’’

The view from the dugout still might seem enticing at times, but Brenly has begun to sense he can live without it.

‘‘Every morning, I wake up grateful for the job I have,’’ he said. ‘‘Plus, I’ve got a ring, and I wear it every day. A lot of guys are still out there chasing one.’’