Five things we learned Tuesday: All hail Theo Epstein

quote:

---

1. Theo Epstein had a big day. What do you mean? Of the 17 All-Star starters announced on Tuesday, nine of them were acquired by Epstein -- all five of the Chicago Cubs starters and all four from the Boston Red Sox. The list:

Theo's Starting Nine

A look at the nine All-Star starters that Chicago Cubs executive Theo Epstein had a hand in acquiring.

POSITION
PLAYER
TEAM
HOW ACQUIRED

1B
Anthony Rizzo
Cubs
Drafted/trade*


2B
Ben Zobrist
Cubs
Signed as free agent


3B
Kris Bryant
Cubs
Drafted


SS
Addison Russell
Cubs
Trade


SS
Xander Bogaerts
Red Sox
Signed as amateur free agent


OF
Dexter Fowler
Cubs
Trade/re-signed


OF
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Red Sox
Drafted


OF
Mookie Betts
Red Sox
Drafted


DH
David Ortiz
Red Sox
Signed as free agent


*The Red Sox drafted Rizzo under Epstein and then Epstein acquired Rizzo for the Cubs in a trade with the Padres.


Of course, all nine names aren't necessarily deserving All-Star starters, especially Russell, who is at best the third-best shortstop in the National League behind Corey Seager and Brandon Crawford. Still, it's an impressive list of talent acquisition and doesn't include Jake Arrieta, acquired in a trade with theBaltimore Orioles; Jon Lester, signed as a free agent; or Dustin Pedroia, who could win the AL's final player vote.

---

It is quite absurd that the ENTIRE Cubs infield will start the all star game. And pretty much all of them are actually deserving of that outside of Russell. The Cubs are beyond loaded. Remember when Kyle Schwarber went down with that injury and they struggled because of it? .....Me either.

quote:

---

quote:

---

Of course, all nine names aren't necessarily deserving All-Star starters,

---

This. No doubt he is a great GM....but that's alot of ballot stuffing.

---

Russell is the only one you can really argue doesn't deserve it and he is still a very good player.

quote:

---

quote:

---

Plus any GM would've drafted Bryant.

---

That sound you hear is Astros fans banging their heads on their desks

---

WTF does Theo Epstein have to do with the Astros? Get a fuggin life loser.

Meanwhile the rest of us will have a meaningful baseball conversation.

I give Theo and the scouts props for finding and signing the talent.

The All Star game nomination doesn't mean anything since you can spam someone to a nomination. One of the candidates for the AS game was in 5th place for a position and didn't even have a team.

The fact you can spam players into an All Star game with fan balloting... and that every team has to have a representative, even if they aren't worthy ... means the teams winning the AS game should get a cookie and not the honor of hosting the World Series.

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

Of course, all nine names aren't necessarily deserving All-Star starters,

---

This. No doubt he is a great GM....but that's alot of ballot stuffing.

---

Russell is the only one you can really argue doesn't deserve it and he is still a very good player.

---

Throw Fowler in there also.

I'm not saying they are not deserving....but it was obvious from the get go there was a push for Cubs and Red Sox.

No shlt Sherlock. When in my post did I mention Mark Appel or the Astros?

I was simply stating that at #2 with Bryant available that was the pick. Epstein shouldn't be crowned a genius for making that pick.

Once again the only response you idiots have to anything is about the Astros. Can you guys not have an educated baseball conversation without reverting to mentioning the Astros? It's unbelievable.

quote:

---

I'd like to see him do it for a small market.

Hell I could sign quality FAs with the checkbook he has access to. Plus any GM would've drafted Bryant.

Impressive sure, but not as impressive as some are making it out to be.

---

Zobrist & Papi are the only big FA signings there, Sparky. What now?

And honestly, was Ortiz a "big" signing at the time?

Care to talk about the very obvious move of trading Scott Feldman & Steve Clevenger for Jake Arrieta & Pedro Strop instead?

No I wouldn't say Papi was a big FA signing. I'd actually put Fowler ahead of Papi. I'm just thinking in terms of FA signings where they just outbid other teams. Not really diamond in the rough type signings like Papi.

And to me the jury is still out o Jackie Bradley. He was on absolute fire during his hit streak but he's since cooled off. If it wasn't for that hot streak he'd be a mediocre player. It'll be interesting to see where he finishes this season.

The Arrieta trade was no doubt nails.

And I'm not saying he's a lousy GM, just that it's easier to be a successful GM of big market teams like the Cubs and BoSox.

The Cubs didn't outbid anyone on Fowler. He could've had a 3 year deal with Baltimore for more per year than the Cubs gave him on a 1-year contract.

I was talking about Theo Epstein and the Cubs taking Bryant.

Yes. At pick #2 with Bryant still on the board (and Appel off the board) it was an easy, no brainer pick.

Good pick, but not one that deserves a entire lot of praise.

It wasn't a no brainer at No. 1. Actually, Chicago had Appel on top of their board. If they pick first Epstein takes Appel and Lunhow gets all the praise.

At 2 it was indeed a no brainer.

Yes Appel was/is a bust and Bryant should've been the first pick. You'll get no argument from me on that, but at the time it was the opposite. Appel was the right pick at the time and many other GMs and pundits would agree. Look I'm not the world's biggest Jeff Lunhow fan and actually think he's a mediocre GM and besides 3 players the team he's built is pretty ho-hum. Even though it didn't work out the Appel pick is one I'm not mad at.

Including Bryant in the Hail to Epstein list is a joke. He's had way more impressive moves that belong on that list.

Jason Heyward also took less money from the Cubs than multiple other teams were offering.Whether or not that turns out to be a good deal is up for question but it's not always just outbidding everyone else. The Cubs don't have an unlimited checkbook like the Yankees or Dodgers.

quote:

---

Jason Heyward also took less money from the Cubs than multiple other teams were offering.Whether or not that turns out to be a good deal is up for question but it's not always just outbidding everyone else. The Cubs don't have an unlimited checkbook like the Yankees or Dodgers.

---

But to be fair, there is a historical aspect to both Boston and Chicago that makes it easier to draw in free agents without having to moneywhip them.

Getting a free agent to take less money to come play in Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee, etc... is the more impressive feat.

quote:

---

quote:

---

Jason Heyward also took less money from the Cubs than multiple other teams were offering.Whether or not that turns out to be a good deal is up for question but it's not always just outbidding everyone else. The Cubs don't have an unlimited checkbook like the Yankees or Dodgers.

---

But to be fair, there is a historical aspect to both Boston and Chicago that makes it easier to draw in free agents without having to moneywhip them.

Getting a free agent to take less money to come play in Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee, etc... is the more impressive feat.

---

Oh, no doubt about it. But it's not as easy as "hey, let's drown the best FA's in money" like some people think. At least not with the Cubs, it isn't. Maybe in a few years when they can negotiate their own TV deal like the Yankees & Dodgers have done but certainly not now. If that's the case, David Price would also be in the current rotation without subtracting anyone else.

I completely agree - I'm certainly in the "I think Epstein is one of the best GMs around" camp.

Epstein is a great GM, but he's basically the Phil Jackson of MLB GMs.

Would we be talking about him as much if he was the GM of the Rays or the Marlins? Not likely.

He's killed it in big markets with the type of funding most GMs dream of.

I don't agree about the Cubs having a "limited checkbook." The Cubs have as much $ to spend as anyone.

I thought about Phil Jackson earlier, too, but I don't really like the comparison.

I think the sticking point with Phil Jackson is his lack of responsibility for the great rosters he had. He wasn't in Chicago when Jordan was acquired, he had just been hired as an assistant when Scottie Pippen was acquired. He wasn't in Los Angeles when Kobe and Shaq were acquired.

Those players were a great gift to Jackson. (Although I have learned to appreciate the great coach that was Phil Jackson.)


As GM, Theo is responsible for everything in the organization. While I know he has had resources many GMs would love to have, many GMs have been at wealthy organizations and not turned them into a perennial World Series contenders and winners, yet alone potentially 2 of them.

Would we know about Theo if he was in Miami or Tampa? Impossible to know. But, Theo seems to draft and trade well and that'll take you a long ways at a smaller club in MLB with the salary and free agent rules MLB has.

quote:

---

I don't agree about the Cubs having a "limited checkbook." The Cubs have as much $ to spend as anyone.

---

Well you can choose to ignore facts if you want but that doesn't make it true. Sure the Cubs aren't operating on a shoestring budget but Theo has absolutely been working under financial constraints since he arrived in Chicago.

Theo got a good young player in Addison Russell for a portion of a season from Samardzija and Hammel, then got Hammel to re-sign the following season.

He's always been a fan of Rizzo, giving up Cashner. He made Rizzo the cornerstone of the team years ago, and he doesn't have a huge contract.

Schwarber, Bryant, and Soler were all draft picks.

Heyward and Fowler both turned down more money from other teams.

And though the Cubs aren't poor, the new owners told Epstein around 3-4 years ago that they were in "saving money" mode until they saw moves that they thought made sense. They were denied an "open wallet" approach in 2011 in favor of building up a team.

quote:

---

New owner Tom Ricketts, in dropping Hendry in favor of Hoyer, and hiring Epstein as the president of baseball operations, indicated to Cubs fans that he cares about, and is committed to, winning. With Hoyer and Epstein aboard, and with the Cubs' payroll demons slowly but steadily shedding over the next two or three seasons (Soriano is signed through 2014), an era of sustainable success akin to Boston's past decade could be upon us. Drafting and prospect loading will be key over the next couple of years, as will be finding good low-risk, high-reward contracts that could return dividends.

---

The same article described the Cubs' farm system as a "disaster", and it was ranked #1 by some publications last season before so many of their players came to the pro team.

So, he's done a great job and hasn't been handed endless cash, which actually resulted in some of the less-talented and overpaid Cubs teams of years past.

Maddon has to get some credit, right? He's a pretty good manager.

quote:

---

Maddon has to get some credit, right? He's a pretty good manager.

---

Absolutely. He is incredible. I never thought a manager could affect that much change but he definitely does.

I could argue for Daniel Murphy over Zobrist, Marcell Ozuna over Dexter Fowler, and [insert at least 5 shortstops] over Addison Russell.

Ballot stuffing.

quote:

---

I could argue for Daniel Murphy over Zobrist, Marcell Ozuna over Dexter Fowler, and [insert at least 5 shortstops] over Addison Russell.

Ballot stuffing.

---

Just because you can make an argument doesn't mean the person voted to start doesn't deserve it.

And what is "ballot stuffing" when people are encouraged to vote multiple times every day? They do cap the number of times you can vote per day at 25, I think. Zobrist beat out Murphy by 88 votes. It's not like New York has a small fan base compared to the Cubs. Why didn't Mets fans vote more?

quote:

---

quote:

---

I don't agree about the Cubs having a "limited checkbook." The Cubs have as much $ to spend as anyone.

---

Well you can choose to ignore facts if you want but that doesn't make it true. Sure the Cubs aren't operating on a shoestring budget but Theo has absolutely been working under financial constraints since he arrived in Chicago.

---

Proof? Link?

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

I don't agree about the Cubs having a "limited checkbook." The Cubs have as much $ to spend as anyone.

---

Well you can choose to ignore facts if you want but that doesn't make it true. Sure the Cubs aren't operating on a shoestring budget but Theo has absolutely been working under financial constraints since he arrived in Chicago.

---

Proof? Link?

---

http://www.stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm

Well as of Opening Day 2016 they had the 14th highest payroll in baseball. Is that enough? Seriously, if you followed the Cubs at all since Theo took over it was common knowledge that he was absolutely working with a limited budget. Otherwise he would have spent plenty of money on the big league club while also rebuilding the minor league system. Why do you think they sucked so bad for the first few years of his regime?