The Cubs have fired Mike Quade. Theo Epstein broke the news to Quade in person. Given the length of time the new leadership spent meeting with Quade, I think it’s a sign that the front office seriously considered the possibility of keeping him on (or at least didn’t enter the situation with their minds made up) and/or that Quade was …
Fates of the Cubs Coaching Staff
Ever since Jim Hendry was fired last summer, most of us assumed that Mike Quade was fired as well, he just didn’t know it yet. Perhaps Ricketts gave Quade’s pink slip to a spare Molina brother to deliver, so he should get the news sometime this month. A few names have been floated as possible new managers, but it hadn’t …
Hoyer, McLeod to Cubs is officially official
According to various sources Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod are officially employees of the Cubs. Hoyer will be the General Manager and McLeod will be the VP of Scouting and Player Development. Still no word on who is the Executive chairman.
Reality Check
As Cubs fans we’re used to not getting good news. If some player leaves a game early we’re trained to think it’s a career ending surgery that will lead to Aaron Miles or Neifi Perez taking over full time. If the team is leading we think it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be losing. If they get a …
Welcome Theo: Sometimes a Dancing GIF is Worth a Thousand Words
Theo is here! This could go on all day, and probably will.
Yes you can measure intangibles
It’s popular for the anti-stats crowd to say that you can’t measure intangibles. Brian Burke explains how we already do measure intangibles. h/t to Tangotiger
Theo Begins a New Era By Eating Lunch (gasp!)
The Age of Theo is upon us and the world of Cubdom is dancing about as much as someone can dance until you stop and remember that we haven’t won anything yet. But this is what we wanted when the Ricketts took over from the stodgy, crusty Tribune. We wanted a real sign that the team ownership wanted to win …
What about Yu Darvish?
Yu Darvish could be posted by his Japanese team this winter makng him available to all 30 MLB clubs. He turned 25 years old on August 16th so 2012 would be his age 25 season. That’s one year younger than Daisuke Matsuzaka who Darvish will often be compared to in the coming months. It’s an unfair comparison. While Matsuzaka was …
Phil Rogers has been drinking again
This is just a bizarre column. Ricketts’ hiring of Epstein directly affects three other franchises, and that doesn’t count the White Sox or anyone else who lost Gonzalez to the Red Sox in the trade last December. What the hell? Should we include all the teams that bid on Carl Crawford last year, but didn’t sign him? If we’re thorough …
Cubs Fans: Here's Your New ID
”We’re going to hire people we trust, give them the opportunity to succeed, and hold them accountable.” That’s what Tom Ricketts said at his opening press conference in 2009. We all remember it. Slightly less than all of us believed it at the time. Perhaps we should have put two and two together. The Cubs didn’t have any positions open …