Joe Posnanski’s profile of Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein provides a wonderful portrait of the changing culture within the organization. It’s a hefty read, but well worth sitting down and contemplating for a while. Here’s a snippet:
He sits now behind his desk at Hokoham Stadium in Mesa, and he finds himself unconsciously slapping down on a book called “The Cubs Way.” Outside these walls, a book called ‘The Cubs Way” would probably have a very different plot. It might tell the amazing narrative of black cats and Harry Caray and Wrigley Field day games and Steve Bartman and a team that has not been to the World Series since World War II ended, and has not won one since Geronimo died (yes, that’s right, Geronimo, the Apache leader).
This is a different kind of book. Epstein believes deeply in it. “The Cubs Way” was co-written by, well, pretty much everybody around here — all the managers and coaches and instructors and front office people in the Cubs organization. They gathered together for days and put it together. The book details the direction for the Cubs in every facet of the game — hitting, bunting, infield defense, outfield defense, pitching, strength and conditioning, everything you could imagine.
That’s right, Cubs fans. Not since the days of near mythical Native American chiefs has the team been a champion. However, things like that “Cubs Way” organizational handbook–not some sort of magical “curse-busting” skill inherent in former Boston Red Sox general manager Epstein–give me plenty of hope that the Northsiders will be a perennial contender within the next few seasons.
Most evidence–injuries to starting pitchers Matt Garza and Scott Baker and third baseman Ian Stewart, plus the team’s general lack of offensive talent–points to the team “earning” another high draft pick for 2014, but prospects like Javier Baez and Jorge Soler look like the real deal and will likely help form an offensive core with the Cubs’ budding stars Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo.
Remember: Optimism.
Defeating Boredom 