The Start of A Busy Offseason For The Cubs & Sox

As fans from both sides of town expected at the end of another disappointing baseball season, change was coming. And both the Cubs and White Sox have already made some big management and coaching changes.

The White Sox were the first to make news by replacing manager Ozzie Guillen with another fan favorite, Robin Ventura. The former White Sox Third Baseman was a pretty shocking choice to me. He has no coaching experience. Prior to this he was a special assistant doing roving instruction in the White Sox farm system. 

The more I think about it though this is the way the White Sox operate. They have always been a club to give a guy his first shot at the manager position. I think the approach is part being cheap, and in this case part of it has to do with GM Kenny Williams wanting “Yes Men” coaching the team after the drama and in-fighting during the Guillen tenure. Hopefully none of Ventura’s kids have Twitter accounts.

As a fan of Ventura I’m happy he is getting this opportunity. As a realist though, I am a little leery that he may be in over his head with some of the head cases like Adam Dunn and Alex Rios. I’m hoping that a change in the clubhouse atmosphere will help some guys. There are still a number of moves that need to be made with the roster this offseason. I don’t expect the “All in” approach like last winter, but hopefully they are not going to fold this winter.

On the North Side, the Cubs made a huge splash recently by bringing in Theo Epstein as President of Baseball Operations. Epstein is famous for being the GM of the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2004 and broke an 86 year curse. Epstein brings along with him General Manager Jed Hoyer and VP of Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod.

With this move Cubs fans have to be patient because the Epstein approach is to build from the draft and the minor league system. It is going to take two to three years before they see the fruits of his approach. In 2004 his series win really did not have much to do with his approach, but the 2007 World Series win and regular success they have had since then has had a lot to do with his philosophies. 

My concern is what is the patience level of the Cubs and their fans? The worst thing that happened to the money printing machine that is the Cubs was the playoff appearances of the past decade. All of the sudden there are expectations to win. I had never experienced those expectations there in my lifetime. Wrigley was full, and fans were angry when things went awry. Will they be patient? Will they be mad when Epstein does not sign Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder this winter? Don’t expect either of them to sign with the Cubs. Neither one wants to be part of a rebuilding process.   

I think with time, Epstein will do well here. I would not guarantee a World Series, but with a good mix of home grown talent and smart free agent signings the Cubs could be looking at a bright future on the field. And, as I wrote this, news was being released that manager Mike Quade had been fired. I don’t think former Red Sox manager Terry Francona will be a fit here. I would expect a younger manager that will grow with the club. Ryne Sandberg would be the ideal candidate.

Now it is time to let the GM’s do their offseason work. Kenny and Theo, you’re up!