CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- The funny part about the question of how new Cubs manager David Ross will handle doling out tough love to players who were his former teammates is that it's those individuals who understand better than anyone what's coming their way.
"You think he is this really nice and funny guy," then-Cubs right-hander John Lackey said about Ross in 2016. "You guys (the media) have no blanking clue about him. He is a blanking a******. He isn't a nice guy. When he is out there or if people get him upset, he will get in your grill. He wants to win, and that is how he goes about it."
Like the retired Lackey, Cubs players who remain from the 2016 championship team know well how the 42-year-old Ross will operate. After being introduced as the 55th manager in franchise history Monday, he'll approach the job with passion and respect for his players while demanding accountability and not being afraid to have honest, tough conversations.
That's what the Cubs front office had in mind in hiring Ross to replace Joe Maddon after an 84-78 that resulted in them missing the playoffs. Executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer believed the Cubs lacked cohesiveness and had a sense of malaise.
Ross has no managerial experience, but he's well-versed in providing passion and helping bring a team together.
"I have had an eye on this job my entire career," Ross said of his inexperience. "My name had been thrown around about jobs for the last three years. I can tell you I took all of that time to prepare for this job.
"I have been a part of a lot of winning teams. I know what winning looks like. There are things that I am going to expect out of the players and myself that entail winning. Some of those things come with respect, trust, commitment, hard work and accountability. These things are important to me. They can expect that from me, and I will expect that from them."
A 15-year MLB veteran who served as a special assistant to the Cubs front office for the past three seasons after retiring, Ross believes what he has learned previously will provide the foundation and inform him to make up for what he lacks in in-game managerial experience.
"I have always been a guy who asked questions to my teammates and managers," Ross said. "I always tried to soak in those answers and use that preparing for this opportunity I am about to take on. There are many ways to get experience. I don't think everybody takes the same road. I know I am ready for this, and I appreciate the whole organization trusting me in this.
"It was a long list of what Theo presented to me over the past three years that he wanted me to check off. I think I am the kind of guy that will watch each game and see how it is playing out. I may not do the predictable like bunt every time. When you sat behind the plate as a catcher, you are still managing from that perspective. I think managers that go in with a lot of preset notions can get in trouble. I will let the game come to me as a manager. I am excited about finding out what that looks like."
Ross was affectionately known as "Grandpa Rossy" late in his playing career. That was all well and good but also a bit of a misconception, he said -- and it certainly won't be the case now.
"I know there is that Grandpa Rossy fun thing out there," Ross said. "But if you ask any of my friends or what kind of teammate I was, I didn't shy away from tough conversations. I know there is a strong relationship between me and Jon Lester. If I had been mic'd up for some of those conversations on the mound, they were rarely friendly conversations. I think there is a little bit of a misconception of the fun-loving Grandpa Rossy. Some of that I love and am very thankful for. I don't think that is me in the dugout as much as I would want to say I am that guy. I don't shy away from having tough conversations, good or bad. I hope to build the player's trust and respect. They will have mine. I hope to gain theirs."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
