New GM/Cubs Future News Articles

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So one of the best-run franchises in sports decides that maybe they don't want him anymore. His recent FA track record has been abysmal.

 

Full speed ahead!

[bukie]

So one of the best-run franchises in sports decides that maybe they don't want him anymore. His recent FA track record has been abysmal.

 

Full speed ahead!

Of course, he's probably the biggest reason it is one of the best run franchises in sports. Boston is panicking right now, and if the Cubs can take advantage of it, all the better.

 

That Adrian Gonzalez signing really bit him in the ass, didn't it?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So one of the best-run franchises in sports decides that maybe they don't want him anymore. His recent FA track record has been abysmal.

 

Full speed ahead!

Of course, he's probably the biggest reason it is one of the best run franchises in sports. Boston is panicking right now, and if the Cubs can take advantage of it, all the better.

 

That Adrian Gonzalez signing really bit him in the ass, didn't it?

 

That was a trade.

 

The question is whether he can repeat Boston's amazing farm system success here. Maybe he can, but I don't know why we're certain he can.

 

The man paid $67 million dollars to the 11 MLB free agents on the 2011 Red Sox, and got Carlos Pena's production in total. That has to be a concern.

[bukie]

Are you purposely trying to make it sound like they signed 11 FA failures this year? They signed Crawford and traded for Gonzalez. One worked out spectacularly, and one failed spectacularly.

[Magnetic Curses]

he likes to pretend he's alan dershowitz defending richard ramirez.

[Magnetic Curses]

or maybe he IS richard ramirez, i haven't decided yet

[PrimeTime]

Namely, what they plan to do in the event another club comes calling for general manager Theo Epstein, especially since, according to one major league source close to Epstein, it's "50-50" the GM would leave for the right situation.

 

"I wouldn't be shocked either way,'' the source said. "I know he's not dying in the Red Sox job, and if he went to the Cubs and they won, he'd be a Hall of Fame general manager.''

 

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/7052661/theo-epstein-face-complicated-decision-boston-red-sox

[Guest]

Just noticed this on MLB.com. More of the same speculation, but if you guys are like me at all, you're looking for whatever you can find on this subject.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111003&content_id=25460862&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

BOSTON -- While the Red Sox start the process of trying to fix all the things that led to their historic collapse at the end of the 2011 season, one question that bears asking is this: Will Theo Epstein return for a 10th season as general manager?

 

Epstein has one year remaining on his contract.

 

The situation could come to a head soon if the Cubs request permission to speak with Epstein for their general manager vacancy.

 

The rumor mill has associated Epstein as one of several high-profile candidates who could be in the running for that job. The GM has steadfastly declined to speak to the media about that opening, but he's never said definitively he'll be back for another season in Boston.

 

If the Cubs ask for permission to speak to Epstein, will the Red Sox grant it?

 

"You don't think we have a full enough plate right now? You want to raise another question like that? We're not prepared to answer that question here," Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino said on Friday. "This is a press conference about the contributions that Tito has made to this franchise. Besides, Theo is under contract with us, so it is an issue that has not been addressed or discussed."

 

Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, who was seated next to Lucchino and Epstein at Friday's press conference, interjected.

 

"Nor do I hope to address it, because I think we feel collectively that he has been one of the best general managers in baseball and has been integral to the success of our club the last 10 years," said Werner.

[UMFan83]

Man this is like the Brian Roberts thread with the same info and quotes being posted several times throughout the week.

[Elwood]

Man this is like the Brian Roberts thread with the same info and quotes being posted several times throughout the week.

 

Everyone's champing at the bit for some news. This place is going to erupt whenever something concrete comes along.

[Vinestal]

John Heyman Speculates via tweet:

not sure #cubs have directly contacted epstein or friedman, but see them as the top choices. also see both staying put

He's been wrong as much as he's been right so just another journalist speculating.

[Vinestal]

Ricketts comments on the Epstein rumors (sorta).

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-ricketts-sidesteps-epstein-rumors-20111003,0,3039816.story

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Are you purposely trying to make it sound like they signed 11 FA failures this year? They signed Crawford and traded for Gonzalez. One worked out spectacularly, and one failed spectacularly.

 

How would you characterize the sum total of free agent signings on the 2011 Red Sox?

 

I'm saying that Epstein's FA record is troubling. And unlike the farm system, that's the only part we know for sure was directly his doing.

 

We've had terrible FA signings and a mediocre farm system. We're talking about trying to fix both of those by bringing in a guy who has been terrible at FA signings and keeping the people in charge of the farm system.

[Guest]

I'm not quite willing to accept the characterization that Epstein has been terrible with FAs. In order to have such a high payroll you need to sign lots of them, and there's been plenty of good signings to go along with Daisuke, Lackey, and Crawford.

[SpongeWorthy]

Are you purposely trying to make it sound like they signed 11 FA failures this year? They signed Crawford and traded for Gonzalez. One worked out spectacularly, and one failed spectacularly.

 

How would you characterize the sum total of free agent signings on the 2011 Red Sox?

 

I'm saying that Epstein's FA record is troubling. And unlike the farm system, that's the only part we know for sure was directly his doing.

 

We've had terrible FA signings and a mediocre farm system. We're talking about trying to fix both of those by bringing in a guy who has been terrible at FA signings and keeping the people in charge of the farm system.

 

How do we "know" Epstein, or any GM, is more directly involved in building the farm system than in signing free agents?

Edited October 4, 2011 by SpongeWorthy

[Hairyducked Idiot]

David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre, J.D. Drew, that Japanese reliever.

 

Any other pitchers? I'm having trouble thinking of their mid-2000s pitching staffs.

 

ETA: They paid through the nose for Curt Schilling, but they got solid value out of him except for one season.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Hairyducked Idiot

[Hairyducked Idiot]

How do we "know" Epstein, or any GM, is more directly involved in building the farm system than in signing free agents?

 

The scouting and development portion of the organization is a bit bigger than the "help the GM sign FAs" department.

[SpongeWorthy]

How do we "know" Epstein, or any GM, is more directly involved in building the farm system than in signing free agents?

 

The scouting and development portion of the organization is a bit bigger than the "help the GM sign FAs" department.

 

Sure, but the pool of available free agents (especially high dollar ones) in any given year is only so big while the pool of amateur talent to evaluate is gigantic. I'm guessing for most of the calendar year the GM is spending a bulk of his time managing the roster as currently constructed, looking for add-ons or trades midseason, and preparing for the draft than thinking about how he's going to stare down John Lackey's agent in the winter.

[Sammy Sofa]

I think it's too soon to write off the Crawford deal as being a disaster. Yeah, $20 million a year is certainly more than I would have wanted if I was a Red Sox fan (especially for 7 years), but he's still 29 and when signed was coming two very, very good years where he was seemingly coming into his prime. Fangraphs has him as a 5.9 and 7.6 WAR player in 2009 and 2010 respectively, and worth $26.5 million and $30.4 in those seasons. Yeah, this year is absolutely brutal and a bust, but it's not like this is necessarily Epstein's Soriano-signing.

[Guest]

Are you purposely trying to make it sound like they signed 11 FA failures this year? They signed Crawford and traded for Gonzalez. One worked out spectacularly, and one failed spectacularly.

 

How would you characterize the sum total of free agent signings on the 2011 Red Sox?

 

I'm saying that Epstein's FA record is troubling. And unlike the farm system, that's the only part we know for sure was directly his doing.

 

We've had terrible FA signings and a mediocre farm system. We're talking about trying to fix both of those by bringing in a guy who has been terrible at FA signings and keeping the people in charge of the farm system.

There are whispers that maybe he was pressured up top to get some of those players. They've always had a weird management structure. Both he and Francona seemed pretty pissed at the presser.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

There are whispers that maybe he was pressured up top to get some of those players. They've always had a weird management structure. Both he and Francona seemed pretty pissed at the presser.

 

There were the same whispers about Hendry and Soriano, oddly enough.

[Exile on Waveland]

I think it's too soon to write off the Crawford deal as being a disaster. Yeah, $20 million a year is certainly more than I would have wanted if I was a Red Sox fan (especially for 7 years), but he's still 29 and when signed was coming two very, very good years where he was seemingly coming into his prime. Fangraphs has him as a 5.9 and 7.6 WAR player in 2009 and 2010 respectively, and worth $26.5 million and $30.4 in those seasons. Yeah, this year is absolutely brutal and a bust, but it's not like this is necessarily Epstein's Soriano-signing.

 

Agreed. I was just getting ready to post something like this. Excluding his 63-game debut season, here are Crawford OPS+'s:

 

81

105

111

113

117

89

116

135

85

 

Now, you can argue those numbers don't deserve his contract in the first place, and likely would be right. However, this isn't his first stinker of a season and he's rebounded well from the other two (though only for two years last time). I'm not sure what the future holds; but I think he's likely to rebound in the coming years (though, from those numbers, he's likely to have another stinker or two).

[UMFan83]

John Heyman Speculates via tweet:

not sure #cubs have directly contacted epstein or friedman, but see them as the top choices. also see both staying put

He's been wrong as much as he's been right so just another journalist speculating.

 

What does the bold part mean That the Cubs see them both staying put or Heyman does?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

John Heyman Speculates via tweet:

not sure #cubs have directly contacted epstein or friedman, but see them as the top choices. also see both staying put

He's been wrong as much as he's been right so just another journalist speculating.

 

What does the bold part mean That the Cubs see them both staying put or Heyman does?

 

The Cubs see them both seeing put. According to him.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

 

How do we "know" Epstein, or any GM, is more directly involved in building the farm system than in signing free agents?

 

Well there's not a whole part of FOs dedicated to FA signings (no FA signing coordinator or head of FA scouting or something) like there is with farm systems.

 

The Crawford contract looks bad but he's well rounded and has the kind of athleticism that will help him age well. To me the dumb one was the Lackey contract, and he'd probably do well for an NL or nonAL East team (except Tampa who's got a nice pitchers park, maybe).