Id like some of the anti Epstein people to come up with some tangible reasons why he is NOT a good gm.

If the Lackey signing is the best you've got....you lose.

you have pretty low expectations for 16-17 mil a year. id like to know what your opinion of lackeys performance and contract situation would have been if hendry had signed him and he had a 4.40 in year one and a 6.41 in year two.

That is only bad for the White Sox.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

im not anti-epstein. my only point is the difference between him and hendry may not be as big as people hope. you have deep enough pockets you can afford a few clunkers like lackey and (potentially) crawford.

All GM's in a big market have regrettable contracts. 100% of them. The reason Andrew Friedman doesn't is 100% budgetary related. If Tampa had the money, Crawford will still be a Ray. This is a home run signing by the Cubs.

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Team Cutler.

Epstein was constantly in competition with the Yankees for players so he was forced to overpay for them in order for the Yankees not to get them. The Cubs have no team in the NL Central that can compete with them financially for players. Epstein will not have to overpay to keep players off of other teams within the division anymore. He may not get them, but they will not go to the immediate competition.

I think its a great signing but he has his work cut out for him the Cubs organization is in shambles. Need to start rebuilding the farm system ASAP.

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Im not saying he's been good. He just hasnt been nearly as bad as the guys youre comparing him to (Soriano, Zambrano,Bradley)

Also, he makes 15.25 per year.

Lackey, 31, is 102-71 with a 3.81 ERA in eight seasons with the Angels

That was he was when he signed.

That day and the days after it seemed like a solid baseball move. Maybe overpaying a bit, but a good move. Hendry's deals were obviously dumb right away. It hasnt worked out but its not just outright dumb like giving someone 8 years or counting on a pyschotic #2 pitcher to be your #1 for years.


Also, im not one of the ones who killed Hendry at every turn, but Epstein
is on another level. Its not close.



Also, I find it odd that you dont "buy the Theo as a great Gm thing"

Why would you assume otherwise with the track record he has. I mean thats the main thing to go off of right?

Seems backwards. With two world series wins the proof should need to come from the anti Theo camp.

im in the chicago cubs camp. i hope they win. if he comes here and they win, thats great. we heard the same stuff about andy macphail, he was a whiz-kid with a a couple world series who knew how to put together a great system. it didnt pan out. ive heard all this before.

im on-board with getting him. my enthusiasm is tempered, thats all.

and john lackey has been a terrible signing, no matter how many ways you tell me it isnt. even based on his prior numbers that was a bad idea. 5 years, 80-something million for a 30+ year-old pitcher with a career 3.80? cmon.

Any Cubs fan who isn't sure about this move has rocks in his head. For the love of God, who would you rather have as GM than Theo???
I am really excited to follow & root for the Cubs again after the shitfest of the last 2 years.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I predict you are leading the charge to fire Theo in the next 3 years...

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If the Cubs haven't made any progress in 3 years, your damn right I'll be leading that charge. So will lots of other fans.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

There is no one you should rather have than Epstein. The thing is, it really isn't anything to get crazy excited about. He's as good a guy as any but he won't be playing any games.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Success in any organization starts at the top with good solid competent leadership, which the Cubs have not had in many many years. Theo has been there & done that, & he is young.
Theo & Ryno will be a great leadership team on the North side.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Why are you so hung up on Ryno? What makes you think he will provide "great leadership"?

And 3 years?! Gimmie a fucking break. It honestly could take 5 or 6 before you start seeing division championships. Just because they big league club maybe finish between 78-84 wins the next 2, 3, 4, seasons does NOT mean that progress is not being made.

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I think you're still thinking in terms of 1980's ERA

4.40 is about average and 3.80 over 8 years in the Steroid AL is very good.

That's kind of my point. Overhauling the Cubs is a big project and I don't feel that many meatball Cubs fans realize that. If they aren't in the NLCS next year people are going to be pissed and Scorehead is going to turn on that Epstien as just another overpaid nut.

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Scorehead is an overpaid nut.

I mean nut as in he's batshit fucking crazy, not nut as in he plays with a dradle.

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okey dokey. is his contract about average?

New sig line.

I just don't want my long-suffering Cub fan friends to be disappointed. Baker and Piniella were going to change things too. A whole lot is being made of a GM. bernstein can say how big this move is over and over and over, but the truth is that the Cubs got more for their money last season than Boston did. I know. I checked it out on Fangraphs.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Ahem....

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I just hope Theo Epstein isn't 2011-speak for Andy McPhail.

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F-A-I-L...

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Sandberg has been successful with every team that he has managed & has earned a reputation as a good manager & leader. Ryne has earned his stripes with both the Cubs & Phillies, & has earned a reputation as a great leader & a smart manager. The time is right for a guy who understands the dynamics of the Cubs & Wrigley Field.
After the Phillies early exit from the layoffs this year, there is actually chatter in Philly about replacing Manuel with Sandberg.
Then again, this is the same city that booed Santa Clause.

Regarding how progress under Theo is determined, it has absolutely nothing to with wins the next 3 years, which is why I did not reference wins in my post.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Then how do you determine it? In spite all the gibberish one may hear coming from his radio from 1 to 6 each day, Epstein is coming here to fix a fucked-up baseball operation. Nothing else. He's not coming to Joo it up with Rahm behind closed doors and shake loose hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars that don't really exist in order to repair falling concrete and construct a triangle building. As if he were capable of such a thing. The mere idea is preposterous. Epstein... is... a ... baseball... guy. HE'S NOT A POLITICAL FUNDRAISER!!!!!!!! ARE YOU BASEBALL RETARDED???????????????

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

yawn.

they're better known now as the city that throws batteries and boos anti-cancer ads.

No its a little above average, but nothing crazy. he makes slightly more than Ted Lilly and less than Zambrano....which brings us back to the original point.

The Lackey deal is not on the level of stupid some of Hendry's deals have been. Lackey was not a good signing. I never said it was. But its not nearly as bad as the Hendry deals.

If your worst deal is a guy who has won 26 games in two years for you...thats not a bad track record.

Epstein's bad deals win 13 games instead of 17

Hendry's bad deals end up out of baseball one way or another (Zambrano, Bradley) or are so bad, people are clamoring for the guy to just be cut and paid (Soriano)

Booing the kid with the prostetic hand for not getting the ball to the plate is my favorite.

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