Theo Epstein Sploosh Thread

[Brownie]

Let's look again what Dallas Green did with the Cubs. They were more rancid and less interesting in 1981 than they were in 2011. True story. Green rebuilt them into a semi-contender in 1983 (they were a half game out of first on the morning of July 4th, as the Cubs evidently did get hotter than shit just so Lee Elia could shove it up the ass of the 5,000 nickel-dime people who showed up every day) and a division champion in 1984. This was a quick rebuild job, and by the end of 1988, only Sandberg, Sanderson and Rick Sutcliffe remained. In 1989, the Cubs reaped the true fruit of Dallas Green's system.

That's what to expect, ideally, with Epstein. Build a competitive team that could mount a run for a division title early, and then quietly build a pipeline of young talent to replace the aging team later. I don't think it's out of the question to sign Aramis, especially if Epstein has the freedom to pursue Fielder and a top-line starting pitcher.

THIS.

I agree with the gist here. My stance on Theo is simple: I expect him to improve the Chicago Cubs immediately, but I also am willing to wait a few years to see how this plays out. The problem is that when this team goes 11-13 in April or whatever we all know the vast majority of idiots out there are going to spew the "same old Cubs" bile. The problem with TJ's Dallas Green analogy is exactly the fact that the idiots lost patience with the guy that actually had a plan and shit fell apart all over again. I fear this fanbase hasn't changed much, except to become even more impatient.

I don't think the fanbase lost patience with him as much as he and the Tribune Co. sparred over power. This certainly can happen here as well. But Green resigned because the Tribune Company didn't like John Vukovich's footwear choice during his interview with John Madigan (Vuk wore boots), and then when they said Green couldn't hire Vuk to manage, Green offered to be field manager (AND general mgr AND team president). That's why he resigned.

If you look at the follies that were the Chicago Bears in the late 60s to mid-70s, ownership was too involved and too unwilling to change. We can accept that the owner might have thought he invented the game when he, after all, pretty much did. But, George Halas wanted to run the Bears like it was 1940 all over again in a league with Vince Lombardi, Al Davis, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, Tex Schram, Bud Grant et. al is as ridiculous as bringing in a cryogenically-preserved George Washington circa 1796 to take over as President of the U.S. today. So you had Halas' ego that Mugsy downsized enough just to bring in Jim Finks to be GM. Finks came from the Vikings, and he immediately did things to piss off Halas. CAN YOU BELIEVE FINKS MADE NORTHWEST AIRLINES THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF THE BEARS JUST BECAUSE THEY OFFERED MORE MONEY?!?!?!?

Finks had the backing of Mugsy, whom Finks technically replaced (Mugs was President and GM from 1960 until Finks came aboard), and as long as Mugsy looked over him, Finks could do his work. But then Mugs died of a grabber in Dec. 1979, Papa Bear named himself team president as no one but a Halas was going to run the team. Cooper Rollow of the Tribune compared it to Wilbur Wright becoming CEO of United Airlines. As President, GSH started undoing anything Finks would do, except in the area of drafting (and player acquisition, as Alan Page was a nice pickup).

The final straw came when Papa Bear hired Ditka without consulting Finks. Finks was also convinced that Ditka and Halas were chatting it up as early as Dec. 1981 when Neill Armstrong (a Jim Finks guy from Minnesota) was still Bears coach and Ditka should have been working, Dave-Toub style on some magical play to answer Dwight Clark's catch as special teams coordinator for the Cowboys.

So, Finks left. Under Jerry Vainisi and Bill Tobin, the Bears were fine, but Vainisi wasn't long for Beardom either.

So, let's hope the Ricketts are not like the Tribsters or the Halas/McCaskey clan.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Let's look again what Dallas Green did with the Cubs. They were more rancid and less interesting in 1981 than they were in 2011. True story. Green rebuilt them into a semi-contender in 1983 (they were a half game out of first on the morning of July 4th, as the Cubs evidently did get hotter than shit just so Lee Elia could shove it up the ass of the 5,000 nickel-dime people who showed up every day) and a division champion in 1984. This was a quick rebuild job, and by the end of 1988, only Sandberg, Sanderson and Rick Sutcliffe remained. In 1989, the Cubs reaped the true fruit of Dallas Green's system.

That's what to expect, ideally, with Epstein. Build a competitive team that could mount a run for a division title early, and then quietly build a pipeline of young talent to replace the aging team later. I don't think it's out of the question to sign Aramis, especially if Epstein has the freedom to pursue Fielder and a top-line starting pitcher.

THIS.

I agree with the gist here. My stance on Theo is simple: I expect him to improve the Chicago Cubs immediately, but I also am willing to wait a few years to see how this plays out. The problem is that when this team goes 11-13 in April or whatever we all know the vast majority of idiots out there are going to spew the "same old Cubs" bile. The problem with TJ's Dallas Green analogy is exactly the fact that the idiots lost patience with the guy that actually had a plan and shit fell apart all over again. I fear this fanbase hasn't changed much, except to become even more impatient.

Fortunately, neither the fanbase nor the likes of Gordon Wittenmyer run the organization.

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

[Quality Start Machine]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

They've laid out a solid project plan, employed best practices, and gotten the best subject matter experts available.

Let's see how this gets all Cubbed up.

[Eli]

Let's see how this gets all Cubbed up.

OK, Rosenbloom.

[BH]

Let's see how this gets all Cubbed up.

OK, Rosenbloom.

Once hendry gets on hit feet and takes fleita and wilkens, we're going to be hurting.

[Chuck to Chuck]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

[PenPho]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

When did he do this?

[Slaky]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

That's certainly one way to temper one's expectations. Jesus Christ.

[BH]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

When did he do this?

Wannstedt was a horrible president for the bears. This analogy is spot on.

[Slaky]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

When did he do this?

Wannstedt was a horrible president for the bears. This analogy is spot on.

As long as the Cubs don't hire Wannstedt, I think this may just work out.

[BH]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

When did he do this?

Wannstedt was a horrible president for the bears. This analogy is spot on.

As long as the Cubs don't hire Wannstedt, I think this may just work out.

Chuck is my least favorite CT character. When the cubs make the moves he wants, he still finds a way to bitch about them.

[Chuck to Chuck]

And, no matter what Chuck says, the guy who does run the organization has of late given us plenty of reason to believe he has a clue about what he's doing with it.

Yeah.  He hired the best guy out there and gave him a blank check to fulfill said guy's vision.  Mike McCaskey did that with Dave Wannstedt.

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

When did he do this?

Wannstedt was a horrible president for the bears. This analogy is spot on.

As long as the Cubs don't hire Wannstedt, I think this may just work out.

Chuck is my least favorite CT character. When the cubs make the moves he wants, he still finds a way to bitch about them.

Actually, I'm bitching about JWW's new found confidence in Ricketts.  It's positively Yellonesqe.

[R-V]

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

OK, I'll play along. What *else* does Ricketts need to do to prove he knows what he's doing? After all, he went above and beyond your demand for TWO baseball guys - he hired THREE!

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

If Kenney has been marginalized to the point where he has absolutely zero input into baseball operations (which none of us know for sure, but is a distinct possibility), who the fuck cares if Ricketts keeps him in the organization as Vice President Emeritus of Rubbing Elbows with Other Ivy League Assholes in High Places?

[BH]

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

OK, I'll play along. What *else* does Ricketts need to do to prove he knows what he's doing? After all, he went above and beyond your demand for TWO baseball guys - he hired THREE!

That Crane is still here (albeit no longer a company director) is strong evidence that there's plenty of McCaskey in Ricketts.

If Kenney has been marginalized to the point where he has absolutely zero input into baseball operations (which none of us know for sure, but is a distinct possibility), who the fuck cares if Ricketts keeps him in the organization as Vice President Emeritus of Rubbing Elbows with Other Ivy League Assholes in High Places?

Until i read theo, jed and mccloud's contracts, I'm withholding an opinion.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Just because you hire the best guy available doesn't mean you know what the fuck you are doing.

OK, I'll play along. What *else* does Ricketts need to do to prove he knows what he's doing? After all, he went above and beyond your demand for TWO baseball guys - he hired THREE!

Too late.

After all, the Theo signing itself was just another testament to how royally fucked the Cubs have been under the Ricketts regime.

If the Ricketts get Theo, it's because they can't afford to screw around anymore... In 2011, the empty seats brought the Ricketts something they didn't expect. Fear... They had to do something.

Nothing he can do now can erase the original sin of not rashly burning down the existing organization from day one like a real business leader would have done. That, and letting Crane get away with that whole Greek priest thing.