Chicago Cubs President Theo Epstein is with his struggling team in Milwaukee, and he dropped some pre-game thoughts that I thought you’d want to see.
Frankly, I kinda can’t believe he’s saying some of this stuff, but I suppose there’s no sense in trying to talk around it anymore:
Theo on slow start/still-early thinking:
“It’s not like we’re brushing it off in the least. It’s got our attention and then some.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) April 6, 2019
Epstein: “It’s been real close to, if not, a worst case scenario for us, defensively and in terms of our pitching. That gets your attention in a negative way. We’re sorry we’re putting our fans through this.”
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) April 6, 2019
Theo: "We're sorry we're putting our fans through this. It's not the start we wanted; we want to put our best foot forward. … We know that we need to change the script. We also know we control that."
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) April 6, 2019
Theo on heat pitchng coach taking:
“I don’t put any of this on Tommy Hottovy. He’s a big part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Adds: “Tom Ricketts is not the problem. It’s not a resource problem. If people have a problem with the allocation of resources that’s on me.”
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) April 6, 2019
Theo was clear that any blame for team issues should start with him. Not Tommy Hottovy, not Tom Ricketts. No one named Tom at all, in fact. pic.twitter.com/yKUGICVdej
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) April 6, 2019
Theo on Carl Edwards Jr.: "Once he really takes control of his mental game, he's gonna be as good as anybody."
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) April 6, 2019
There’s a lot there in quick succession, and probably more to unpack tomorrow. But before tonight’s game – whatever happens – I think it’s notable that Epstein is already being very honest about the disastrous start, and wants to take the blame for the way the roster has been constructed with the resources available. I don’t think it’s accurate that he’s entirely to blame, but it’s also not unfair to note that so many of the additions the last few years have taken up considerable resources and have not worked out so far.
Just win tonight, man. Just win. I would like to talk about a win.