It seemed that last winter, whenever we wanted legitimate rumors about the Cubs, we had to turn to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who had better information than any of the Chicago beat writers. It hasn’t been quite as bad this year (other national writers are getting in on the act), but today’s only Cubs news come from Cafardo. He spoke with Theo Epstein, who talked a bit about the strides that have been made since he showed up on the North Side.
“We’re certainly farther along than we were last year at this time,” said Epstein. “When we got here, we identified one core player [Starlin Castro] and now we can look around and see Anthony Rizzo, Darwin Barney, Jeff Samardzija , and others. We do have more positional prospects than pitchers, so we felt Jackson will be with us for many years to come.”
Epstein is hoping his top prospects — namely outfielders Jorge Soler (a Cuban defector), Brett Jackson, and Albert Almora , shortstop Javier Baez , and pitcher Arodys Vizcaino — will all be in the majors together by 2015. First baseman Rizzo is already there.
It sounds like Theo knew what he was getting into when he took the Cubs job, but found out that we Cubs fans were a different breed than he has previously encountered.
The Cubs have been waiting 108 years for a championship, a feeling Epstein is familiar with from his Boston days. While he doesn’t feel the Cub fans’ pain the same way, he understands it. He has always wanted to build a team from the ground up, and he’s getting that opportunity.
“I think, initially, what I’d been through in Boston was of interest to our fan base,” he said. “But I think they have bought into our plan and our vision. People are excited about good young players and we hope to keep adding to it and get to the point where we’re an exciting contending team year in and year out.”
He thought we’d remember that Boston had its own World Series drought, but we can hardly remember commiserating with the Red Sox fans, what with their championships and all. We’re all alone and even more rabid than we were 10 years ago.
Well…let’s see…
Nick Cafardo is a competent reporter and a good writer…unlike any chicago reporter.
Nick Cafardo has connections with Theo Epstein and his lieutenants…unlike any chicago reporter.
Nick Cafardo is right a majority of the time…unlike any chicago reporter.
Yep.
Awww. C’mon. Bruce Miles is a very good reporter. If Theo is talking to anyone, it should be Bruce.
Still, this will never not be funny to me.
Agree, give Bruce a break here. He’s actually good, too – not just good in comparison.
As an outsider looking in, Bruce Miles is a very good read but like most other Cubs reporters its mostly rehashed material thats already been whispered, talked about, and/or written about.
When Cubs reporters aren’t rehashing day old material there writing about some stupid idea they come with themselves thats so outlandish it’s stupid.
Well, that’s largely because they can’t get this front office to talk to them.
They don’t do much criticizing either. Our reporters are a large shade on the weak side all the way around.
Ok. I agree about Bruce Miles on point 1. The other two points are completely valid with Miles, though.
I’m moving desks, up to the editorial part of the Tribune today.
One the one hand, super-cool to be sitting where all the action is. On the other, I’m afraid Paul Sullivan might find me and kill me.
That awkwardness is going to be so awesome.
I’m pretty sure you could crush Paul Sullivan’s hobbit-like body with your pinky finger.
Maybe you could hire a bodyguard to just sit there and look menacing if Sullivan walks by…
If she had a hamster on her desk, it would have the same effect.
maybe Nick Cafardo is hoping to move to Chicago
Maybe Nick Cafardo was Theo’s stalker.
Maybe both.
Oh…in case you didn’t know…
The Cubs made a major signing today when they brought back Zach Putnam after not tendering him a contract last month after claiming him off waivers in November.
I’m trying to figure out how that wasn’t a run-on sentence.
Oh joy…I can’t wait to see why my company will reveal at CES tonight and then shortly after, have Samsung announce 50 new products that are way better and way cooler than ours.
Your company didn’t come up with the thing that hooks to glasses to view your smartphone while the phone is in your pocket did they? I saw that on the news this morning. That and the 55 inch t.v. that is the width of 3 credit cards….
No…I don’t think so.
We have a new waterproof phone, a new walkman, and a TV that costs $25,000.
I wish my company would invent flying cars or teleporters or something.