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Theo Epstein to Cubs: No more staying out late, Chicago nightlife has ruined careers

March 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For those of you who who unaware, it has been a while since the Cubs won a World Series. The same was true of the Red Sox when Theo Epstein took over as general manager 10 years ago. Epstein helped break a life-long drought for the fans of Boston, and the Chicago faithful are hoping he can do the same for them. One of the ways Theo believes the Cubs will be able to achieve their goals is to ignore the Chicago nightlife.

“It’s been a factor in ruining some careers,” Epstein said at the Cubs convention according to the Chicago Tribune. “And I’m sure it’s been an impediment to the Cubs in winning. … The approach we’re going to have is the opposite of laissez faire. We’re not just going to say, ‘Oh, that’s the way it is. This is Chicago. Boys will be boys. I’m sure they’re going to get enough sleep and I’m sure they’ll show up the next day ready to play.’

“That’s a failure on the organization’s part. We have to take a very proactive approach in setting a high standard.”

In other words, Epstein isn’t going to tolerate the type of behavior that went on in Boston in 2004 when the Red Sox snapped their 86-year curse. If he doesn’t want his team enjoying the nightlife in Chicago, I doubt he wants them ripping shots of Jack in the clubhouse before big games. Outfielder Reed Johnson agrees with the new team president.

“It’s important for young players to recognize that you need to get your sleep,” Johnson said. “This is your career. This is what you do for a livelihood. You need to treat it that way, especially in our park. You don’t have that extra 10 hours when you wake up in the morning to get ready for that 7 o’clock night game. You’ve got to be able to get into that routine. … I know I’m in bed probably by 9, 10 o’clock at night to get ready for that day game.”

In reality, we’re talking about professional athletes. Guys are going to do what they want and aren’t going to adhere to a curfew just because the new sheriff in town says to. That doesn’t mean Theo’s advice should be taken lightly.

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Terry Francona Reportedly Would Love to Manage the Cubs

November 12, 2011 By 1 Comment

After the debacle that became the Boston Red Sox 2011 season, one would assume a fresh start would be best for all parties involved.  After going 7-20 in the month of September, the Red Sox pushed manager Terry Francona out the door and Theo Epstein chose to leave.  Epstein will now be leaned upon to rescue the most disgruntled fan base in America while Francona continues to search for a job.  Initially, it was believed that Epstein had no interest in hiring Francona, given the clubhouse issues that plagued Boston at the end of last season.  If that is indeed the case, it sounds like Francona will be disappointed.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago is the preferred landing spot for Francona.

Epstein has admitted he and his former manager with the Red Sox have talked at length and that “I don’t think we’d have to” go through a formal interview if Francona indeed becomes the choice.

For his part, Francona says he is “trying to stay under the radar” with his unspoken candidacy, but a source very close to him says “deep down” he badly wants to manage the Cubs — for whom he played in 1986 while falling in love with Wrigley Field — and has told Epstein so.

Francona and Epstein rescued the Red Sox together, bringing Boston its first championship in 86 years.  It has been more than 100 years since the Cubs won the World Series, so it would make sense that both general manager and manager would want a shot at breaking another historic curse.  However, you can understand the risk that would be involved if Epstein hired Francona.  If Chicago doesn’t perform, everyone will wonder why Epstein had to bring in his old buddy, who happens to have overseen the worst September collapse in MLB history.  While tempting, the move may be too risky for an already cranky city of fans.

Fist pound to Hardball Talk for passing the story along.

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Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Josh Byrnes, Ben Cherington Play GM Musical Chairs

October 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Being a baseball GM as of late has become something of a merry-go-round ride. Still in the thick of the World Series, MLB is getting dizzy with management changes within big-name ball clubs.

The official announcement came Friday night: Theo Epstein is leaving the Red Sox to become the Cubs’ president. That was the first domino.

With a big hole to fill, Boston quickly slotted assistant GM Ben Cherington into Epstein’s former seat. Both teams will hold press conferences on Tuesday, the next off day in the World Series, to present their new bosses.

Another domino fell when Epstein decided to poach long-time friend (and former Red Sox assistant) Jed Hoyer, the Padres’ GM, and bring him into the fold. This would be Epstein’s first move as President since he managed to swing a deal where Hoyer comes in as the Cubs’ GM.

So in one decision, Epstein has rocked the executive world of three franchises. And, it seems, a lot of nepotism was in play since Cherington and Hoyer worked together as co-GMs during Epstein’s absence from the Red Sox in ’05. Remember too, it was Hoyer who traded All Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox.

The good news for the Padres is that they get a few players in exchange for letting Hoyer go. The San Diego club is turning the reigns over to Josh Byrnes — another former Theo Epstein assistant — who was the Padres’ former Vice President of Baseball Operations.

All this and baseball hasn’t even hit the off-season yet.

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Billy Beane May be Interested in Cubs Job

August 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s peculiar the way timing works. Moneyball the movie is finally coming out in theaters next month, eight years after the book was released and five years since the A’s were any good. The movie’s premise is completely outdated and the mystique of Billy Beane’s A’s has worn off. Maybe the rest of baseball has caught on to Oakland’s secrets. Maybe the constrictions of a limited payroll are too difficult to overcome. Whatever the reason, Oakland is a sub-par ballclub and Billy Beane may be ready for another challenge.

On Thursday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Beane might consider an offer to take the Cubs GM job. The A’s want to move into a new stadium but the process has stalled, making a potential sale of the club a possibility.

Additionally, current team owner Lew Wolff says he will not stand in Beane’s way if he wants to pursue another job. He understands that Beane might be interested in a new challenge and a bigger market. Whether it’s Chicago, Los Angeles, or elsewhere, the appeal of managing a larger payroll may be enough to convince Beane to finally leave Oakland.

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Ryan Dempster Kindly Disagrees With Your Decision to Pull Him, Good Sir

July 10, 2011 By 2 Comments

Ryan Dempster is a competitor. Like any true pitcher, he aspires to finish games he starts and he is upset when he’s pulled from games before he feels he’s done.

Naturally, when Cubs manager Mike Quade decided to lift him for a pinch hitter after just five innings of work Saturday, Dempster did not respond too well.

Dempster let Quade hear about being pulled and pleaded his case to remain in the game. He got so upset he smacked the cooler in the dugout, though he didn’t go full-on Brian Wilson.

Dempster missed his previous start because of a bad back and had already thrown 87 pitches through five innings, so it’s understandable why Quade felt it was a good time to make a change. It’s also understandable why Dempster was ticked. He brushed the incident aside after the game, saying he was fine because they won. Quade was more measured with his response.

He said about the incident “If it’s happening because a guy’s a competitor and he’s pissed off or whatever — even if it’s with my decision — I’m OK with that. He’s earned that right as much as anybody, from a veteran’s standpoint. If a young kid does that, we might have a little different [situation].’’

If it’s an issue of respect for the manager that’s one thing, but where I come from, if the pitcher doesn’t want the ball, there’s something wrong with him.

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Court Document Indicates Cubs Threw 1918 World Series Against Red Sox

April 20, 2011 By 1 Comment

It has been more than a century since the Chicago Cubs won a World Series — 103 years to be exact.  Call it poor management or blame it on the players.  Take it out on some goat or a guy wearing headphones who wanted to go home with a souvenir.  And if none of those excuses tickle your fancy, you can always convince yourself that the games were fixed.  In fact, a small amount of evidence might even support your theory.

A court deposition from 1920 that sheds some light on the situation was recently purchased at an auction by the Chicago History Museum for $100,000.  Eddie Cicotte, one of the eight players who became known as the Black Sox after the 1919 World Series fixing scandal, claims within the deposition that the same thing went on during the previous World Series.  That series, of course, was won by the Boston Red Sox.

“Well anyway there was some talk about them offering $10,000 or something to throw the Cubs in the Boston Series,” he said. “Somebody made a crack about getting money, if we got into the Series, to throw the Series.”

Cicotte says $10,000 was left in his hotel room for his role in the 1919 fix, so the fact that he’s pointing fingers and saying, “they did it too!” is not a surprise.  The fact of the matter is — as Sean Deveney wrote about in his book “The Original Curse” — baseball players during that time weren’t like players now.  By that I mean they weren’t swimming in cash, so it’s almost a certainty that game fixing was a part of life.  Whether or not Cubs fans would like to believe their players threw the 1918 World Series or not is up to them.  103 years, 93 years…what’s the difference?

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Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez Have Spring Training Dugout Fight

March 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It may be spring training, but the Chicago Cubs are already acting like a team that’s in a bad place in mid-August. By that, I mean they are already fighting one another in the dugout. According to Foul Balls via Chicago Breaking Sports, Carlos Silva got roughed up by the Brewers on Wednesday afternoon, giving up six runs in the first inning.  The three errors Silva’s defense committed behind him were no help, and the pitcher let his teammates hear about it when the frame ended.

CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler informed us that the player Silva got into it with was Aramis Ramirez, who committed two of the Cubs three first-inning errors.  Ramirez later told reporters, “I’ve never had that problem (fighting teammates) anywhere, even in Little League.”  Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune later added that Silva left the field without talking to reporters and still refused to comment later in the game.

Perhaps Chicago was exhibiting a lack of focus as a team, but it is early March.  Does Silva really need to be getting that fired up?  The Cubs haven’t won a World Series in over 100 years and they have a pitching staff that features hot heads Silva, Matt Garza, and Carlos Zambrano.  If things aren’t going the way everyone planned by the All-Star break, we could be in for plenty more posts about dugout scuffles in Chicago.

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