Bobby Valentine interested in returning to dugout as Cubs manager

CHICAGO – Count Bobby Valentine among those who would like to manage the Chicago Cubs.

The ESPN analyst and former New York Mets and Texas Rangers manager says he's interested in taking over for the retiring Lou Piniella after this season.

Valentine, who led the Mets to the pennant in 2000 and managed the Texas Rangers, calls the Cubs job "one of the most coveted positions in all of sports" and adds "anybody who thinks of himself as a manager would love to be considered as one of the people who might take his place."

Valentine spoke before Sunday's game between the Cubs and Cardinals.

He returned to ESPN during the 2009 playoffs after his second stint as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Pacific League. He says he won't leave the network "unless something very special came up," and the Cubs job "falls in the category of very special."

Valentine managed the Rangers from 1985-92 and the Mets from 1996-2002.