MLB: Report: Epstein given permission to talk to Cubs
- Thread starter RhoadsRage
- Start date
Wrong. NOBODY was going to win with this team. Not a Joe Torre, Billy Martin, John McGraw, Francona, NOBODY.
The new GM's first priority needs to be reloading the farm system. Build this from the ground up.
While I agree that nobody was going to win with this team, that doesn't mean Quade wasn't an idiot.
No, get Ramirez to waive his no-trade clause. Trade him,Soriano, and Zambrano to anyone who will take them, even if it's just for draft picks and rebuild their minor system just like tm3308 said.
People are going to have to be patient if this is done right. If we just burn it down and start over, things are going to get worse before they get better. But applying band-aids isn't going to work. That's what got us into this nightmare in the first place.
This will never happen. Soriano has shown that he will never live up to that contract and the red sox already have problems in the club house, why add Z to make it even worse when he gives up 10 runs to the Yankees. Crawford is only one year into his contract so you don't know if he's a bust yet. I'm holding out hope on Adam Dunn for the pale hose cause it's only his first year with a different team.
On a related note, I do hope that Epstein goes to the Cubs cause that guy does a great job of spending money and saying it's not his fault for their performance. What a match made in Cub heaven
Its going to take more then Theo Epstein to fix that **** team. Actually, if your strategy is to use the farm system to build up the team, Theo ain't your guy because thats not how the sox do it. They should go after the TB, LAA, or ATL GM. Now if they just want to throw $$$ around then Theo can probably handle that.
Are you nuts? That's exactly how they do it, to an extent. The Red Sox farm system has provided tons of stars. Don't know what the hell you're talking about.
Pedroia, Ellsbury, Youkilis, Lester, Bard, Bucholz, Papelbon, Varitek are all guys who came from within. Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez were both in the farm system at one time, too, and were traded in the deal for Josh Becket and Mike Lowell (which helped them win the WS in '07).
Their farm system is pretty thin now, but Epstein's success was built through the farm system, and then a FA/trade to find the final pieces of the puzzle.
I'd be fine with Theo running the Cubs, as long as it was the old Theo, and not the one who decided to play "Yankeeball" instead of Moneyball on Boston's budget.
I live in Massachusetts now, and as obnoxious as the Red Sox and Yankee fans around can be, I do think they isolated the problems with the Red Sox of the past couple of years (since 2007, at least) quite well:
-Moneyball has two sides to it
1) application of sensible (i.e. OBP > BA, WHIP > ERA) statistical analysis to player evaluation and how to build a team, a batting order, a rotation, etc.
2) *efficient use of limited financial resources,* even if your limited resources (Boston's, and now the Cubs') are much greater than the limited resources of the other 90% of the league
Theo seemed to lose sight of the latter the past few years. Instead, he neglected the rotation, and chased every high-priced, sexy slugger that other teams were somewhat happy to let go of considering how much they would have to pay them relative to their production. Sound familiar? Definitely kind of went the way of the Yankees in the earlier part of this decade in overemphasizing free agency and power instead of defense and pitching (run denial > run "production," and the former is a lot cheaper). Similar results, as well.
I'd fine it so terrible ironic, but actually a positive thing, if Terry and Theo ended up as the same team in Chicago instead of Boston. Assuming that they remember what made them good in the first place and didn't pull the blank check thing again.
Get something in the rotation to fill-out and compliment Garza, Dempster, and maybe Wells, do what the Rays do and get production out of the bullpen on a shoestring budget, new 1B (not necessary Albert or Prince, but if the price were right...), new 3B, ditch Soriano and ARam, we're okay up the middle (C, SS, 2B, CF), and get some more defense and production for much less the price out of the corner outfielders and we should be taking some steps in the right direction...
I guess a fan can dream...
I live in Massachusetts now, and as obnoxious as the Red Sox and Yankee fans around can be, I do think they isolated the problems with the Red Sox of the past couple of years (since 2007, at least) quite well:
-Moneyball has two sides to it
1) application of sensible (i.e. OBP > BA, WHIP > ERA) statistical analysis to player evaluation and how to build a team, a batting order, a rotation, etc.
2) *efficient use of limited financial resources,* even if your limited resources (Boston's, and now the Cubs') are much greater than the limited resources of the other 90% of the league
Theo seemed to lose sight of the latter the past few years. Instead, he neglected the rotation, and chased every high-priced, sexy slugger that other teams were somewhat happy to let go of considering how much they would have to pay them relative to their production. Sound familiar? Definitely kind of went the way of the Yankees in the earlier part of this decade in overemphasizing free agency and power instead of defense and pitching (run denial > run "production," and the former is a lot cheaper). Similar results, as well.
I'd fine it so terrible ironic, but actually a positive thing, if Terry and Theo ended up as the same team in Chicago instead of Boston. Assuming that they remember what made them good in the first place and didn't pull the blank check thing again.
Get something in the rotation to fill-out and compliment Garza, Dempster, and maybe Wells, do what the Rays do and get production out of the bullpen on a shoestring budget, new 1B (not necessary Albert or Prince, but if the price were right...), new 3B, ditch Soriano and ARam, we're okay up the middle (C, SS, 2B, CF), and get some more defense and production for much less the price out of the corner outfielders and we should be taking some steps in the right direction...
I guess a fan can dream...
The Sox used their farm system way more than the Yankees. I can't even think of any Yanks besides Cano, Jeter, and Rivera that came up through their farm teams.
Good point, guess I just spoke without thinking about it. I was thinking more along the lines of Lackey, Beckett, Crawford, Ramirez, etc. but when all is said and done that is an extraordinary amount of home grown talent. To my defense I have lived out of the country for a while and haven't really been able to follow sports outside of ISU.
Ramirez has an option he plans to waive. He'll be a free agent. If he returns to the Cubs, it'll be on a new contract, not his current one.
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/6642/ramirez-says-he-could-play-for-guillen
(Technically it's a team option, but Ramirez can waive the option. He just loses the buyout attached if the team declines the option.)
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Ramirez was one of the top performing offensive third basemen last year and his salary isn't that bad. Who exactly would you propose to replace him and his production?