Chicago Cubs: Theo Epstein won’t panic over something he’s been through
While many feel uncomfortable with the state of the Chicago Cubs, team president Theo Epstein won’t panic. He’s been through this before so he understands the situation of repeating.
Chicago Cubs fans and the baseball world wonder about what’s happening with the team. The Cubs were overwhelming favorites to repeat as World Series champions, yet find themselves only 35-34 before the start of their game against the San Diego Padres.
While some are ready to press the panic button, one person isn’t ready to do so — team president Theo Epstein.
Epstein has been through this before. He was the 30-year old general manager when the Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 that kept them from winning for 86 years. The next season, the Red Sox started out slowly but heated up (after a trip to Wrigley ironically) and made it to the playoffs. Yes, they eventually lost to the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS, who went on to win it all in 2005. The point is that Epstein understands what the team is going through today and won’t overreact.
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Remember, the Cubs are in second place so they are in a good place should they heat up the way everyone expects. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the NL Central. However, they are a team that entered the season in rebuilding mode so they might not have the pieces to endure the long season.
In 2005, Epstein did not panic. His team went on a 12-1 run to get to first place. They finished tied for first with the New York Yankees (but the Yankees owned the tie-breaker).
In 2017, Epstein again won’t panic.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune wrote about Epstein’s attitude towards this season.
"When I asked Epstein in spring training what lessons he learned from 2005, he said: “The biggest takeaway is not to make any assumptions. Players do get pulled off in different directions in the winter following winning, and you can’t assume that just because it’s the same group of guys they’ll come together in the same way.”"
Epstein is correct about the cohesiveness of a team. The offseason is completely different after you win. People ask a lot of your time. Add to that the loss of some key players. Both the Red Sox of 2005 and the Cubs of 2017 experienced that. The Red Sox lost Pedro Martinez, Gabe Kapler, and Dave Roberts. The Cubs lost David Ross and Dexter Fowler. Those guys were big clubhouse guys who kept the team loose and ready to play. Adjusting to life without them takes some time.
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Sure, Epstein may make a move or two to shore up the roster. That is natural. As we see from recent reports, though, he won’t overreact and get rid of a lot of the young talented hitters already on the major-league roster. Make some trades for players who fit into the Cubs’ system and have those already on the team heat up. This is a team too talented to not put it together. Just keep calm and R-E-L-A-X.