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cubfan531
Cubs (reportedly) land Theo Epstein.
October 12, 2011 at 01:53PM View BBCode
[url=http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/this-just-in/21147021/dc-theo-has-5-year-deal-cubs]5 years, over $15 million to be the Cubs savior.[/url]
dirtdevil
October 12, 2011 at 02:46PM View BBCode
the sox are also reputed to be asking for compensation, so it will be interesting to see how (if) that turns out. i will say that is it comes off and epstein manages to put together a team that ends the cubs drought after putting together the one that ended the red sox drought, he should just retire on the spot.
cubfan531
October 12, 2011 at 03:59PM View BBCode
It's going to be (a) minor leaguer(s) and/or cash.
dirtdevil
October 12, 2011 at 06:06PM View BBCode
if epstein is as good as they say he is, it will be carlos zambrano.
bpearly69
October 13, 2011 at 12:20AM View formatted
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yeah sure.. just take lackey..
barterer2002
After all, he took over Boston in '02. At that point Pedro (1998), Manny (2001), Varitek (1997) Wakefield (1995), Lowe (1997), and Damon (2002) were already in place.
He added Ortiz (2003), Schilling (2004) and Foulke (2004)
The club that he took over won 93 games in 2002 and had topped 90 wins in 3 of the previous 5 seasons.
He should get all the credit for tweaking a good team to make it a championship team but the Cubs position is going to require a different skill set. The club has lost more games than the previous year in each of the past 4 seasons and are coming off a 91 loss season.
While the Cubs aren't small market by any means the salary constraints are greater than they were in Boston. Boston had a team salary in 2011 of 161M while the Cubs were 125M. Approximately 40M is tied up in Carlos Zambrano and Alfonzo Soriano. he's got some room to work with as Carlos Pena is a free agent and Aramis Ramirez has a club option which could free up 24M. Starlin Castro is a stud in the making to build around but Theo has his work cut out and it will take a different skill set that he previously exhibited in Boston.
If he succeeds here he could be the Branch Rickey of his generation. If he doesn't he'll join a long list of Cubs "saviors".
October 13, 2011 at 05:49PM View BBCode
So everything is thinking that Theo is the savior for the Cubs and he may be but I'm curious as to what in his track record makes people think that he can build a team to a contender position.After all, he took over Boston in '02. At that point Pedro (1998), Manny (2001), Varitek (1997) Wakefield (1995), Lowe (1997), and Damon (2002) were already in place.
He added Ortiz (2003), Schilling (2004) and Foulke (2004)
The club that he took over won 93 games in 2002 and had topped 90 wins in 3 of the previous 5 seasons.
He should get all the credit for tweaking a good team to make it a championship team but the Cubs position is going to require a different skill set. The club has lost more games than the previous year in each of the past 4 seasons and are coming off a 91 loss season.
While the Cubs aren't small market by any means the salary constraints are greater than they were in Boston. Boston had a team salary in 2011 of 161M while the Cubs were 125M. Approximately 40M is tied up in Carlos Zambrano and Alfonzo Soriano. he's got some room to work with as Carlos Pena is a free agent and Aramis Ramirez has a club option which could free up 24M. Starlin Castro is a stud in the making to build around but Theo has his work cut out and it will take a different skill set that he previously exhibited in Boston.
If he succeeds here he could be the Branch Rickey of his generation. If he doesn't he'll join a long list of Cubs "saviors".
dirtdevil
October 13, 2011 at 06:08PM View BBCode
i don't think it will. one of the things theo usually gets top marks for is stockpiling picks and drafting talent. that's how you build a long-term organization and it's something that the cubs have stunk at. it will take time, but i'm pretty confident that he'll build the cubs into a contending club. i don't know that they'll necessarily win, but they'll contend. how long that takes, who knows. probably he'll need very one of those 5 years, maybe more.
tworoosters
In 2003, his first draft, he landed David Murphy (who he then foolishly dealt away as part of the deal for Eric Gagne), Matt Murton(who helped them get Orlando Cabrera) and Papelbon, in 2004 he got Pedroia, then in 2005 he acquired a total of 5 1st round, and supplemental, picks and got Ellsbury, Bucholz and Lowrie, in 2006 he got Bard and Justin Masterson, who helped acquire Victor Martinez.
The Boston Globe has a rundown of Epstein's player moves as a GM, you can peruse it [url=http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/10/the_theo_epstei.html]here[/url] .
I do love that some of the Boston media are insisting that Starlin Castro should be the compensation .............. yeah, that's not happening .
October 13, 2011 at 07:03PM View BBCode
Theo did inherit some talent in Boston, but he also really ramped up the talent.In 2003, his first draft, he landed David Murphy (who he then foolishly dealt away as part of the deal for Eric Gagne), Matt Murton(who helped them get Orlando Cabrera) and Papelbon, in 2004 he got Pedroia, then in 2005 he acquired a total of 5 1st round, and supplemental, picks and got Ellsbury, Bucholz and Lowrie, in 2006 he got Bard and Justin Masterson, who helped acquire Victor Martinez.
The Boston Globe has a rundown of Epstein's player moves as a GM, you can peruse it [url=http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/10/the_theo_epstei.html]here[/url] .
I do love that some of the Boston media are insisting that Starlin Castro should be the compensation .............. yeah, that's not happening .
barterer2002
The build from scratch that he has to do in Chicago is a different creature.
October 13, 2011 at 08:20PM View BBCode
I'm not saying that Theo hasn't had great success in his player deals or that he hasn't brought in anyone. Rather, that his history is taking a good team and pushing it over the edge to greatness and then maintaining it at or near that level.The build from scratch that he has to do in Chicago is a different creature.
cubfan531
October 13, 2011 at 10:22PM View BBCode
Yes, but he's in a different position of power in Chicago. Apparently "certain signings" were the result of higher-ups than himself (Larry Lucchino is my guess), as said Curt Schilling a day or two ago. Tom Ricketts has said that he wants the GM to report directly to him, so this is going to be Theo's team. Over five years, he should have a solid team assembled. The Cubs' cupboard is thin, not bare.
dirtdevil
October 14, 2011 at 09:41PM View BBCode
*shrug* he's probably a better left fielder than soriano.
khazim
[url=http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/theo-epstein-disgusted-to-find-cubs-playing-in-old,26488/]Theo Epstein Disgusted To Find Cubs Playing In Old Stadium With Weeds Growing All Over Walls[/url]
The Epstein era has begun
November 01, 2011 at 04:12PM View BBCode
This just in:[url=http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/theo-epstein-disgusted-to-find-cubs-playing-in-old,26488/]Theo Epstein Disgusted To Find Cubs Playing In Old Stadium With Weeds Growing All Over Walls[/url]
CHICAGO?After taking a tour of the franchise's home stadium Monday, new Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein told reporters he was revolted the team played in a stadium so run-down a landscaper had to be hired to cut down the thick carpet of weeds growing all the way up the outfield walls. "That hunk-of-junk scoreboard in center is apparently broken?they change the numbers by hand?and I don't even know if this place has electricity," Epstein said while directing workers to tear down the field's dangerous brick boundaries. "If this is the way they take care of their ballpark, I'm not surprised they never put together a winning team here." Epstein went on to say he is already planning to build a "proper, modern stadium" for the Cubs next to Woodfield Mall in nearby Schaumburg, IL, and hopes to have Wrigley Field demolished as soon as possible.
The Epstein era has begun
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