Well, not OUR minds. Theo’s mind.
The Red Sox visit Wrigley Field on Friday for the first time since 2005 to open a three-game series with Theo Epstein’s Cubs.
Epstein was the architect of the Sox’s two World Series champions in ’04 and ’07 before leaving Boston after last season to become Chicago’s president of baseball operations.
“First and foremost, it’ll be great to see everybody and renew acquaintances with everybody,” Epstein said. “It’ll be fun to have those guys in town.”
Both clubs are struggling in 2012 and have remained in the cellar of their respective divisions for most of the season. Looking to get back to .500, the Red Sox will hand the ball to Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Matsuzaka completed his return from Tommy John surgery with his first start in the Majors in nearly a year last weekend. Dice-K struck out eight in five innings vs. the Nationals on Saturday, but he took the loss after allowing four runs.
All I have to say is that they had better not play “Sweet Caroline” at Wrigley like they did the LAST TIME the Red Sox came to town. This is OUR PARK. Not theirs.
So, has the house-cleaning at Wrigley begun? David Haugh thinks so:
Seriously, Epstein continues to send signals that the Cubs soon will become the most aggressive sellers in baseball — a development more promising than anything that unfolded on the field during the Tigers series.
Trading Ryan Dempster suddenly seems a matter of when, not if. Trading Garza before the deadline should be just as high of a priority if the Cubs truly want to stockpile prospects the way championship teams do. And if Epstein really wants to impress his former employer, the Red Sox, in Chicago for a three-game series beginning Friday, he will find a taker for hot-hitting Alfonso Soriano before they leave town.
What better way to end a week Epstein clearly blocked off as the unofficial start of Phase II of The Cubs Way.
On Tuesday, the Cubs replaced hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo with minor-league instructor James Rowson, citing philosophical differences they knew existed when Epstein took over. But it shows how low a priority the major league product is in the organization’s rebuilding plan when it takes until June 12 to get around to firing Jaramillo, a respected man whose ideas were no longer welcome.
On Wednesday, Epstein had a long-awaited but impromptu meeting with Dempster in the grandstand. The Cubs splurge for new office space, but Epstein can’t find a room to discuss something as important as Dempster’s future? If that’s the case, they really need to move on the stadium renovation soon before Epstein starts interviewing secretaries in the bleachers. More likely the very public powwow went exactly as Epstein had hoped as media outlets pounced on the image of a player for rent.
On Thursday, Epstein revealed another hint in an interview with WEEI-AM in Boston that echoed what he told Chicago reporters this week in regard to enduring tough times while keeping his priorities in mind.
“What I enjoy most when I think of pure baseball is developing from within,” Epstein said.
I continue to laugh at Theo’s on-going relationship with the Boston media. That can’t be going over well in the pressbox at Wrigley.
Dempster v. Dice-K today at 1:20 pm CT on WGN.
Lineup to come.
Oh God… There are rumors from Cleveland(home of my other beloved woebegone team) that the Tribe might be aquiring Soriano – and as much as I would love to see him out of a Cubs uniform, I dread the thought of seeing him kick balls all over Progressive Field.
As much as I love to bag on Soriano, I actually have enjoyed watching balls get hit to left this year. Even knowing that he was going to get shipped to an AL team to DH for the remainder of his contract, he’s busted his tail to improve to “ackwardly effective” out there in left this year.
I hope we get a bunch of catchers, 3rd basemen, and pitchers over the next few weeks.
he’s been okay so far this year. Not $18 million worth of okay, but not bad enough to make me want to rip on him every day.
Since April ended, his OPS is near 1.000 which is pretty damn awesome.
No DH is worth $18 million, but right now he’s playing like a $12 to $14 million player.
I’d rather watch him kick balls around literally anywhere than in Wrigley.
He’s not going to be fielding if he goes to the Indians. He’ll be the DH.
sorry Julie, I have a feeling Sweet Caroline will play during at least 1 game
on the upside the Red Sox aren’t very good this year so the Cubs have at least a fighting chance of winning a game, and I need them to win at least 1 game
(dear Mozilla, really, Sox isn’t in your dictionary? why are you coming in as misspelled)
I don’t know about these trade rumors sending players to the Red Sox, the longer the season goes with them hovering around .500 what good would it be to get a pitcher who might help with an extra 5? At least in the AL East
Teams can never have enough pitching in August or September-that’s when injured pitchers can cost teams their shot at the playoffs…
but how much is that pitching worth if there is no shot at the playoffs
The Sox have been really streaky this year, they will rattle off 5 or 6 wins in a row, then lose the next 5 or 6. I really don’t expect them to make the playoffs, the only question is which will come first, firing of the front office (again) or the franchise actually admitting the games are no longer sellouts
Reading the opening lines of today’s post, I get a mental picture of Theo taking some of the Red Sox players out to dinner before the first game, and then the players wake up somewhere in an abandoned warehouse….
Wrigley Talk Friday is back today!
I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Dempster go to the Nationals, although their entire rotation is really really good this year so don’t know where he’d fit exactly. But if they’re going to contend in Sept and the post-season, they need to do something about Strasburg’s innings like to go a 6-man rotation or something, or he will NOT be on their post-season roster.
I think Theo needs to pluck his eye brows, he’s borderline Chewbacca…
He’s also getting grayer. Running the Cubs is roughly equivalent to running the US in terms of the toll it takes on a someone’s looks.
I can honestly say that this is these games this weekend are the only ones, outside of opening day (which I went to anyway), that I’m going to miss going to as a season ticket holder.
Of course, if I was smart, I would have sold those tickets for like $300 a piece to some stupid Red Sox fans…then my wife and I would be able to afford to finally go on our honeymoon.
I just crackedup at the clip Judd just played of some announcer saying Deeper, Deeper, Deeper when announcing a home run.
got a link?
No…it was on the radio.
This had me laughing so hard I was crying:
http://gawker.com/5918679/triumph-the-insult-comic-dog-unleashed-on-infamously-rude-chicago-hot-dog-stand
Cubs Win and Marmol didn’t walk anyone.Dempster pitched strong game again. I really don’t want to see him traded.