Theo Epstein joined Steve Phillips and Todd Hollandsworth during The Leadoff Spot (MLB Network Radio) last Friday. And the Cubs President of Baseball Operations discussed a variety of topics before the start of the Cubs Convention.
Theo Epstein explained why the additions of Joe Maddon and Jon Lester are important to the team, the expectations of the 2015 team, Anthony Rizzo’s guarantee and constructing a roster that plays at Wrigley Field and in Chicago.
Plus, the Cubs’ execs could participate in Joe Maddon’s themed road trips …
On the buzz and the fan enthusiasm around the Cubs
“I am happy for our fans. They have something to get excited about. They’ve been extremely patient with us as we’ve tried to build this organization over the last three years. With a busier winter and a little more focus on the Major League team, they are feeling it, they’re getting excited. Cubs Convention should be pretty crazy. Ultimately the buzz is nice for them and this time of year I guess that’s what it’s about but it doesn’t mean anything. We look forward to trying to earn their affections on the field, the only place that it counts.”
On the changes the Cubs made this off-season and why adding Joe Maddon and Jon Lester was so important to the team
“I think different reasons. I think [Joe] Maddon, it’s really hard to find a long-term manager especially one that’s a potential difference maker for you both in the clubhouse and on the field. It’s hard to find a manager with that kind of track record. Usually when you are set out to find a manager you are either trying to find someone you believe can grow into that and you’re taking a risk on a first-time manager or you’re hiring someone who had something go less than optimal in the previous situation and you’re betting on him, sort of learning from that and applying. This is just a rare case where we had someone at the top of his game that was such a great fit for us. He brings such optimism, such positivity, such energy, open-mindedness. He’s new school. He’s old school. He’s a humanist. He’s invested in the players. He believes. I just think he does a great job believing in young players and helping them develop while he wins. He’s assertive. He dictates the game of the other team. There are so many things that we are going to deal with here over the next five years or so he’s probably the ideal guy to lead us. So that was a great fit.”
“And with Jon Lester, we are getting closer to having a really competitive Major League club but still the strength of the organization is our stockpile of potential impact, young position players. So we are a little bit imbalanced. We’ve had many underrated pitching staffs the last couple of years. I think we were second in WAR in the National League in pitching last year, not that’s be all, end all or anything, it indicates we were a little bit better than some people thought on the hill. We don’t have the depth. We don’t have definite quality starters moving through our system who are on the verge of breaking in outside of a couple of exceptions. So to take the next step at the Major League level we needed to add to the top of the rotation to go along with Jake Arrieta. And Jon Lester is a guy we know extremely well. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball and he’s at the point of his career where he is looking for this kind of challenge as well so we are excited to have him.”
On if the executives will participate in Joe Maddon’s themed road trips and also dress up
“Hey, I’d be more than willing to. Don’t know what we are looking at here in Chicago. I guess like Blues Brothers trip or something. Yeah, absolutely, we’ve got to keep a united front.”
On how he manages the expectations and what are the expectations for the Cubs in 2015
“Well, I just think it’s not necessary to like damper the enthusiasm. I think enthusiasm is great especially with our players. Anthony Rizzo came out yesterday and you can quote him on the fact we are going to win the division. I want our players thinking that way. Having a little bit of swagger off the field your words are a good thing. Having it on the field with your actions is a great thing. I think one can lead to the other. As far as expectations I think from our perspective is to just keep a balanced, reasonable approach to what we are. In the last three years we’ve been growing the organization and now we’ve transitioned to a mode where we are growing the organization and specifically the Major League club and we have a lot of talent on the field. That said, we are extraordinarily young. We were the youngest team in baseball last year. We will probably be among the youngest teams in baseball this year. I think there will be a point in time during the season where you’ll look up and you’ll see four or five position players 23 years old and younger, probably seven 25 years old and younger on the field for us and the four or five 23-year olds, 22 and 21-year olds, they are going to be guys without a lot of experience. That’s really where the risk lies with this club and why I think we understand that even though we might be really good, we’re trying to be really good, there is also a chance there’s an adjustment period. You look at the Royals organization that developed a lot of really talented young position players it took those guys, 1500-2000, 2500 at bats somewhat into their career until things clicked. When it all clicked late last summer it was magnificent and they rode that to the World Series. I think some of our group will have that same kind of adjustment period. Some will click a little earlier. But there’s never been better pitching in the history of baseball than what you see in the Major Leagues right now and it’s really hard to hit Major League pitching and it’s really hard for young players to transition from Triple-A to the big leagues and hit this kind of pitching right away. I think we have to brace ourselves for an adjustment period at the same time we are competing. You are not going to hear about that during the season. You are going to hear about doing what we need to do to win ballgames.”
On how he looks at improving the team, is it the younger players the Cubs are absolutely committed to or bring in some maybe key guys, maybe some bench players/role players who are veterans that are going to help these guys grow up or is it just kind of letting these guys feel it out at the Major League level and doing it together?
“I think the latter. I think you’ve seen what we’ve done this off-season is that if you’re committed to growing the nucleus of young players, a generation of young players that come up together and can break in together and can learn how to win together that’s great. There are some things that go with it. One is that it requires patience, it requires patience and two, I think you absolutely need veterans around them who can teach them A) how to be professional, B) how to overcome adversity and C) how to win. We haven’t really had that in spades the last few years. We’ve had a few guys here and there, but the focus hasn’t really been on the Major League team quite as much the last few years and now that it is, it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet but it’s a fundamentally important part of the game to have the David Rosses of the world, the Jon Lesters leading the starting staff. Having a veteran like a Jason Motte to help lead the bullpen. To have someone like David Ross help lead the position player group and guys who take an active interest in young players around them. There are critical moments, critical things that young players go through where there are forks in the road where they could go either direction. You don’t just figure out how to survive in the big leagues. You don’t just figure out how to prioritize learning. You don’t just figure out how to be a good teammate. It’s a process and you rely on those around you and the environment created around you to help make that happen. That’s just not touchy, feely stuff and that does translate into wins because when you have enough players developing that way it makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts and that’s what you are looking for when you are trying to win 90 games and get into October.”
On the Cubs having Miguel Montero, David Ross and Welington Castillo on the roster and if all three catchers factor into the team’s plans for the upcoming season
“There is always a possibility of taking three catchers and we are in a position to all of the sudden have some depth in that area. We’ve listened on some trade opportunities and nothing’s come to fruition yet and that might be a situation if we don’t find a match that we like, that we’re not overwhelmed, we might just go into Spring Training because a quick way to derail a potentially good team is to have an injury to one of your catchers and most organizations aren’t deep enough. You’re calling up a minor league free agent or someone from Triple-A to really create a bit of a black hole in your lineup. To have three quality guys that provides tremendous depth and insurance for us. So, we are open-minded to a trade. We are open-minded to carrying three catchers on the roster and we certainly enjoy the position of depth to where we can withstand injury right now. We are not rushing out to fit in those ranks but certainly a trade is a possibility.”
On what type of player he thinks Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant can become
“Well, long-term I think each of those players you mentioned and also Addison Russell, also Kyle Schwarber. I think each of those players has the potential to be among the best in the game at their position. That’s just based on tools, talent and upside. Expectations for the immediate calendar year, A) continue to develop but B) once they do get to the big leagues, its help our team win ballgames and that has to come first at the big league level. Yes to continuing to develop but you absolutely have to prioritize winning. As I said there’s never been a more difficult time to break in as a position player because you are facing ridiculous velocity. You are facing really good secondary [pitches]. You are facing plus command and then that’s just with the starter. And when the bullpens come in, it’s ridiculous what’s coming out of the bullpen these days. I think young hitters that come up these days they find your holes and they stay there until you make an adjustment. It would be really nice to see each of these players adjust back to the league at some point during their rookie year after the league adjusts to them and find the confidence to do those adjustments to understand who they are and understand their foundation as hitters and thrive, but it’s all in the context of helping the big league club win games. That might be continuing to focus and play good defense while you are struggling offensively and while you make those adjustments. It might mean moving a runner and playing the game in the batter’s box instead of Home Run Derby all the time. So for each of them it means a different thing but we look forward to growth.”
On the likelihood of the Cubs adding another starting pitcher this off-season
“I’d be surprised if we added another starting pitcher. I think we feel pretty good about the rotation as it stands and especially good about the depth. I think we like our sixth, seventh, eighth starters better this year then we have in a long time. I think it fits together well. I know there are a couple of big free agents out there but we really fired our bullet in that area for this off-season and we like the staff that we have right now.”
On John Mallee, the fourth hitting coach the team has had, and what he would like to see the group of young hitters improve in 2015
“Well, I mean every hitter is different. If I had to speak about them as a group, number one rule of hitting is swing at pitches you can drive and that is something that is important to us as an organization. We focused on controlling the strike zone in the draft and in player development and we haven’t been really good at it at the big league level. I think some of the disciplined hitters we have coming through here have to change that a little bit. We’ve probably been over aggressive as a group and our young players can be a little bit over aggressive at times. The key is helping them swing at pitches they can drive and be a little bit more selective without taking away their natural aggressiveness. We don’t want to change who they are but there is a maturation process for each. Figure out what you can drive and swing at those pitches and make things a little more difficult on the pitcher working the counts, not being somebody they look forward to seeing in the on-deck circle because they know from the advanced reports exactly where they can go tease you and get you out. Our young hitters are in different places in that process and sort of naturally geared that way and others have some steps to take in that area and the big leagues is a difficult place to do that. But that’s what we are striving to do as a group.”
On playing at Wrigley Field and the type of player the Cubs consider in free agency, does Wrigley and the city factor into those decisions
“Yeah absolutely, I think that is a factor in the talent acquisition process at all levels just not in free agency and with trades even with the draft. I think the ballpark, Wrigley doesn’t necessarily favor a certain kind of player because it plays two different ways as we know based on what time of year it is and what the wind is doing and what the temperature is. You can’t really build it for fly ball pitchers or groundball pitchers or left-handed hitters or right-handed hitters. Looking for balance as far as the way your players play the game is important at Wrigley. We do play a lot of day games. We are in an intense media market. There is something special about the Cubs and Wrigley Field. There is a lot of attention on our players since we haven’t won in more than a century so I think the way we are going to combat that is 1) I think Joe Maddon really helps because he does a great job of circling the wagons creating a culture in the clubhouse that is sort of an insular place. You don’t rely on the outside world down there. You’ve got to create kind of a 25-man secret society, if you will, where I think they are going to rely on each other and their goals and what they are trying to accomplish and everything outside doesn’t really matter. And then also bringing in character guys and it starts with the draft. We look for players who are motivated for the right reasons. They are not motivated by external factors. They aren’t trying to appease people. They’re not in it to necessarily make money. They’re in it to win. Winning-type players who care about their teammates, who can rely on their teammates and are proud to be Cubs and players who play the game hard and the right way. I think the Kris Bryants and the [Kyle] Schwarbers and guys like that and you find that type of character. You can trade for it like Addison Russell and you develop leaders that way. Anthony Rizzo is just 25 years old but he’s already demonstrated through his words and most importantly through his actions that he’s comfortable with leadership on this club. All of those things combat the sensitive situations that you sometimes get playing in a really intense market but I think it’s something our guys thrive on.”
On how he would define the philosophy on the type of organization the Cubs fall under, stat-driven or scout-driven
“That’s a good question. Very competitive and I enjoy consensus building. I enjoy working in a group. I enjoy sacrificing with others to get ahead. As far as decision making in our organization building, I really believe that you can tell which organizations are going to be successful over a long period of time by which organizations draft well. In Boston I think we were maybe the best drafting organization over the 10-year period and then sure enough, it didn’t go exactly how we planned, but three World Series results. You can trace back almost any World Championship to a string of successful drafts in a row. That’s the lifeblood of an organization. And player development, establishing a culture in player development where the players can be proud of the organization because they stand for something and believe in each other and believe in what’s going on in the organization. I think creating that culture is essential. I spend a good deal of my time as President of Baseball Operations trying to help build an organization that has that kind of culture, that has successful drafts, that can develop players the right way through the minor leagues. And then in the big league puzzle, it’s all about kind of making moves that make sense giving your personnel. We are going to use all of the factors. I think we are going to try to be on the cutting edge with statistical analysis but that’s such a flat landscape right now. Everyone is doing that. It’s really hard to get an advantage if you’re just going to rely on stats alone and we never have. I think you balance stats with good scouting and then taking a deeper dive into who the person is try to take a holistic approach to who that person is and how they are likely to perform as player going forward in your environment.”