Theo Was Chatty Today

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 12:45pm

I guess Theo had a press conference today, lots of stuff is said at press conferences, some of it actually has merit, some of it is bullshit. Only time will tell us which is which, but here's an aggregation of quotes from twitter. I won't attribute each one indivudually, but mostly coming from Jesse Rogers, Bruce Levine, Jordan Bernfield, Jon Greenberg, Bruce Miles and Paul Sullivan.

In no particular order...

Theo on the Cardinals: "How do you balance admiration and contempt?"

The long term Local TV deal is essential . We believe it will change are revenue picture and payroll . -Theo

Epstein: Our goal is to win NL Central next year. We're going to compete while developing young talent.

Theo likes job Renteria did. Blames the roster they handed him, which made it "hard to be a brilliant tactician."

On Manager - He fulfilled our expectations for having right atmosphere For our players to grow - Theo

We never list untouchables . There are certain players that would be difficult to move to stay true -Theo

No plan or anything to move Castro off short Theo says. Russell will move around in spring like others will.

We are making our plans for 2015 with Starlin Castro as our Shortstop.

Theo says Addison Russell will work at 2B and 3B in spring training next year. Coming to ST as a short stop, though.

Theo: says he doesn't believe in "untouchables" but don't read into that as players will be traded. Doesn't sound likely.

Epstein says the plan is to keep Ramirez and Grimm in the bullpen.

Theo: "What motivates us is how patient our fans have been... They've trusted us and we don't want to let them down."

Theo: looking to add veteran leadership. Not "essential", but it is something he wants to add to the bench, or in the right spot, a starter.

We need some help in leadership to help Rizzo and Castro -Truly seasoned guys are something we would like to add .

Theo: "Pirates done phen. job acquiring young talent...that young OF, that's not going anywhere, young pitching, that's not going anywhere."

Theo: can compete in 2015 but won't sell out or abandon Long term plan to do so.

Theo didn't call Manny a candidate for Cubs assistant hitting coach job yet but also wouldn't rule him out. Manny wants to play winter ball.

Theo: It's right time to add impact talent and have tremendous payroll flexibility.

I'll add anything else in the comments if I come across it.

Tags: 
Theo Epstein
Cubs News of the Moment

Comments

Submitted by Rob G.  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 12:48pm  

all coaches coming back except assistant hitting coach Mike Brumley

Submitted by Rob G.  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 1:06pm  

guess this was obvious, but "Cubs project Javier Baez will be their Opening Day 2B in 2015."

from Patrick Mooney

Submitted by Newport  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 1:58pm  
I wouldn't complain if he started in AAA, he was fucking awful at the plate.

Submitted by crunch  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 2:00pm  
"We're going to compete while developing young talent." thank gawd...been waiting to hear this for years. i'm not expecting $40m of free agents to flood in or anything like that, but some investment in talent that's expected to stick around past the trade deadline would be nice...something to help fans forget ejax anyway...

Submitted by Rob G.  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 3:07pm  

Playoff predictions?

I'm going Tigers vs Dodgers and taking the Tigers.

I'm rooting for Angels of course, although A's winning it after that horrific second half would satisfy my inner contrarian. Otherwise Pirates or Royals would be fun to watch win.

Submitted by Carlito  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 6:40pm  
I'm going Dodgers over Angels.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 7:19pm  
It probably won't happen and it would probably be a ratings disaster, but I'd love to see a Pirates/A's series.

Submitted by Cubster  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 3:23pm  
Cubster predicts Cardinals vs A's (kiss of death prediction, of course and Adam Dunn as Series MVP)

Submitted by Charlie  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 3:49pm  
A's and Nats says I. Or at least that's the World Series I'd rather see. (The gambler in me is saying I shouldn't bet on a team that could be eliminated with a loss today, of course.)

Submitted by jacos  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 4:24pm  
Dodgers vs Os

Submitted by John Beasley  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 6:43pm  
Rob G and I both have Dodgers v Tigers, but I've got the Dodgers this year.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 4:04pm  

"We're going to be very involved," Epstein said. "We will add talent from outside the organization. I hope we add impact talent, but it has to make sense. We can't completely sell out for 2015. It's starting to be the right time to add impact talent.

"We try to look at these things in stages. Between this offseason, next year's trade deadline and next offseason, we will add impact talent from outside the organization.

 

Submitted by Jackstraw  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 6:36pm  
"I hope we add impact talent, but it has to make sense." This is the take-away quote regarding free agency for me. I'd paraphrase that as "We'll pay, but we won't overpay". Not sure how that gets impact talent here since one or some owners are almost always willing to overpay. Get Lester in this winter on a fair but not absurd deal because of previous connection to Theo, and then Price (or other TOR starter) next winter and plan to overpay since he will be key/final piece of regular playoff runs.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 6:46pm  

I can't fathom a world where Max Scherzer isn't a Yankee or a Red Sox.

I think Shields is a bit long in the tooth for Cubs to make a run, plus the draft pick comp.

They'll certainly get well on down the road with Lester, but a lot of teams will. We'll see where the Cubs cutoff for risk aversion is, because pretty sure will be offered get 6-7 years, some sort of NTC and around 20-25M per year.

Submitted by Old and Blue  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 7:20pm  
Free agency and overpaying go hand in hand, when it comes to impact talent. There isn't a workaround here.

Submitted by Jackstraw  on Tue, 09/30/2014 - 7:58pm  
Damn you and your clear-headed analysis.

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  • JustSayin' 5 hours 51 min ago (view)

    The organizations will cut rosters down, as if the full-season teams were breaking camp to start the season, THEN pay the remaining minor leaguers $400/week or whatever.  That's similar to what costs would have normally been but the "one last chance" players who got spring training invitations this year and didn't have an obvious roster spot won't be getting their last chance.

     
  • crunch 7 hours 23 min ago (view)

    "According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, all minor league players will be receiving $400 per week from MLB through at least May 31."

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  • crunch 2 days 23 hours ago (view)

    "Jeff Passan of ESPN writes that the players and league agreed that the 2020 season won't start until "there are no bans on mass gatherings that limit the ability to play in front of fans, there are no travel restrictions and medical experts determine games will not pose a risk to health of teams and fans." Passan does add that the two sides "will consider the feasibility of playing in empty stadiums" and also at neutral sites.

     
  • crunch 3 days 5 hours ago (view)

    i miss baseball.  it could happen in june...it may happen in late may...it might not happen either way.

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  • JustSayin' 3 days 8 hours ago (view)

    COVID 19 + a short draft + Manfred's obsessive drive to shrink the minor leagues will change baseball forever.  It WAS still America's grass roots sport.  Where I live, from June through August, you could see a quality live game any day of the week, within an hour's drive.  I believe that era is over.  What's going on will have ripple effects, contracting serious college ball, college summer leagues and independent pro ball just as much as the MiLB systems.  With those changes, some of the game's charm will also go.  I've seen a kid from Cape Cod play in the Ca

     
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  • bradsbeard 4 days 13 hours ago (view)

    I imagine because the new labor agreement freezes rosters as of whenever the agreement is approved by the owners and it might affect what those guys are paid under the agreement. 

     
  • Hagsag 4 days 15 hours ago (view)

    AZ Phil. what was the reason that a whole bunch of teams optioned or assigned players to the minor leagues yesterday on March 26 ? Thanks.

     
  • Arizona Phil 4 days 19 hours ago (view)

    jdrnym: Ordinarily, players on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) who are on Optional Assignment to the minors do not accrue MLB Service Time, are paid at the minor league rate rather than at the MLB rate if the player has a "split" contract, and if the player gets hurt or becomes sick after being optioned, he can be placed on a minor league IL instead of on an MLB IL (so that he cannot accrue MLB Service Time or be paid at the MLB rate while he is on the IL). Also, a player who is optioned to the minors for at least 20 days will burn an option year.   

     
  • jdrnym 5 days 7 hours ago (view)

    AZPhil, what are the technical ramifications of optioning/not optioning guys during this period of no baseball? Seems like some teams are more eager than others to trim their roster down.

     
  • crunch 6 days 11 hours ago (view)

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    ---

     
  • bradsbeard 1 week 1 day ago (view)

    This one has me scratching my head too. Surely they knew Lakins would have a hard time clearing waivers. Hate to just lose Pereda like that. Feels like they gave up more for Lakins than for Sadler, and I'm guessing Sadler might have been slightly more likely to clear waivers since he's out of options. 

     
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    I think the most puzzling aspect to the Travis Lakins Caper is that the only plausible reason for the Cubs to have struck a pre-emptive trade with the Red Sox instead of waiting and hoping to win a waiver claim is that the Cubs believed that another club with a better waiver claim priority would almost certainly claim him. So to ensure that they would be able to acquire Lakins, the Cubs must have offered the Red Sox something more than the $50,000 waiver price, otherwise there would have been no point in the Red Sox agreeing to the deal. 

     
  • crunch 1 week 1 day ago (view)

    RedSox acquire catcher Jhonny Pereda from the #Cubs, completing the January 21 trade for RHP Travis Lakins

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  • Hagsag 1 week 2 days ago (view)

    I am installing a padded room to sit in until this hell is over.

     
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