Red Sox Exec VP & GM Theo Epstein has agreed to a five-year, $18.5M deal with the Cubs that "will become official by the end of the week, barring an unlikely last-second change of heart," according to sources cited by Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. The sources said that the Red Sox are "expected to receive compensation in the form of cash or minor league prospects for Epstein, who had a year remaining on his contract." The sides also are "negotiating which staff members Epstein would be allowed to take with him to Chicago." The move is a "stunning coup for the Cubs and owner Tom Ricketts, who in August identified Epstein as the man he wanted to run his team and pursued him relentlessly." Red Sox Owner John Henry "did not stand in the way, saying last week that such transition was inevitable, given the pressures of the job." The Red Sox are "expected to replace Epstein with his top assistant," Senior VP & Assistant GM Ben Cherington (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/13). In Chicago, Paul Sullivan notes Ricketts "essentially finished off his two-month search for Jim Hendry's replacement over the weekend, bringing Epstein to Chicago to let him know he was going to be the face of the franchise." Epstein "will report directly to Ricketts and is to be responsible for all baseball decisions." His title "has yet to be announced, but Cubs' czar would seem to be an apt description because Epstein is being given unprecedented authority to change the culture of the franchise." Epstein's power "will be on par" with that of team President Crane Kenney, whom Ricketts "insists is involved only in the club's business dealings despite Kenney's involvement in the GM search." Sullivan notes Kenney's "reputation for micromanaging the baseball operations department after replacing John McDonough in 2008 caused considerable turmoil in the front office" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/13).
MAKING MOVES: Bloomberg TV’s Michele Steele said the Cubs "think that the Boy Wonder in Boston will help reverse over 100 years of not winning the World Series because they are spending a fortune on Epstein” ("Inside Track," Bloomberg TV, 10/13). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner notes Epstein "shrewdly acquired players like Keith Foulke, David Ortiz and Curt Schilling for the 2004 championship team." But he also had "costly misfires on acquisitions like" Matt Clement, Julio Lugo, Edgar Renteria and John Lackey. Epstein will "find a bloated payroll in Chicago." The '12 Cubs "will have $50 million tied up in three players of minimal value: Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano and (if he exercises his player option) Ryan Dempster" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/13). ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski wrote Epstein "could be a terrific hire" by Ricketts. Wojciechowski: "But I'm not going to blindly and automatically pledge my baseball allegiance to the Cubs just because Epstein has a new address and team logo on his business card. I'm not going to celebrate his hiring until I hear exactly how he and Ricketts plan to repair a Cubs franchise with more holes than a batting cage net." Hendry "was bashed -- and deservedly so -- for a number of free agent acquisitions and big-money contracts that went terribly wrong." But Epstein "has had his clunkers too" (ESPN.com, 10/12).
REASON TO BELIEVE AGAIN: In Chicago, David Haugh notes nearly two months after Hendry's departure, "belief in the Ricketts Plan never has come easier." Epstein "believed in it enough reportedly to leave his hometown and the Red Sox franchise with which he won two World Series." Cubs fans "should believe in it enough now to give Ricketts the benefit of the doubt he never has enjoyed." The "imminent hiring of Epstein represents Ricketts' first major move, and he won't make a better, more significant one as long as baseball Theocracy rules on the North Side." Haugh: "This was something you could imagine owners of the Yankees or Red Sox doing, but the Cubs? This is Steinbrenneresque, combining Mark Cuban-like boldness and Jerry Jones-like audacity" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/13). ESPN CHICAGO's Jon Greenberg wrote the Cubs "need to dress this city in Theo Epstein's face and remind everyone this is a Cubs town." Wrigley Field and SS Starlin Castro "used to be the franchise's only marketable assets, but once the five-year, multimillion-dollar deal is final, it's Epstein's team and Epstein's town." Optimism "has finally returned to Wrigley Field, and to the far-reaching, self-pitying Cubs fans across the globe." With Epstein and his "golden-boy sheen on his way, everything has suddenly changed for the franchise" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 10/12). ESPN's Michael Smith said, "This is an excellent hire. Cubs fans have a legitimate reason to be excited” ("Numbers Never Lie," ESPN2, 10/12). In Chicago, Dave van Dyk writes if Epstein leads the Cubs to a World Series championship, he would become the "baseball equivalent of Alexander the Great -- the smartest and greatest general manager in history." But while the "pressure in Chicago will be nearly overwhelming, it is nothing compared to his first days" as Red Sox GM (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/13).
TURNING TWO TEAMS AROUND: ESPN's Dan Le Batard said if Epstein wins the World Series with the Cubs, he is "going to end up being hailed as one of the great baseball executives ever." Le Batard: "Now he gets to take a legacy leap possibly. What’s better than fixing the Red Sox? Fixing the Cubs too” (“Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable,” ESPN2, 10/12). The GLOBE's Abraham notes if the Cubs "can win the World Series during his tenure, Epstein will go down in baseball history as one of the game's greatest executives" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/13). ESPN’s J.A. Adande said if Epstein can win a World Series with the Red Sox and Cubs and “satisfy those two famished fan bases, you go down as the greatest general manager in history” ("Jim Rome Is Burning," ESPN2, 10/12). KNBR-AM’s Brian Murphy said Epstein “is the only guy who escaped any fallout from the nuclear bomb the Boston Globe dropped on the Red Sox” Wednesday. Murphy: “This guy has a chance to become one of the all-time great executives in the history of American sports” ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 10/12). But Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Cubs announcer Len Kasper: “This is a long-term hire. I don’t believe this is a short-term fix, and I think it would behoove Cubs fans everywhere to realize that this doesn’t mean you can print your World Series tickets to 2012” ("Chicago Tribune Live," Comcast SportsNet Chicago, 10/12).
THE RIGHT CHOICE? In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom wrote the Cubs' "best hire" would have been Rays Exec VP Andrew Friedman, a "similar boy wonder who did more with less in Tampa Bay than anybody anywhere." Rosenbloom: "I want Epstein to succeed. ... But it’s hard to get past the idea of the most embarrassing franchise in sports empowering the man in charge of the most embarrassing death spiral in baseball history without concluding that, yep, the Cubs are getting exactly what you’d expect" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 10/12). FOXSPORTS.com's Greg Couch wrote, "He surely is the right guy. Probably the best guy. But the Curse of Bambino was nothing compared to this" (FOXSPORTS.com, 10/12). In Chicago, Rick Telander writes, "Theo, please get it out of your head that the Cubs are just a factor of the Red Sox times two. The Red Sox are not Cubs Lite" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/13). ESPN Radio 1000 Chicago's Harry Teinowitz said there will be a “honeymoon period” for Epstein as he takes over the Cubs, but eventually “he’s going to have oodles and oodles of pressure.” Teinowitz: “Nothing but a World Series trip will do” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 10/12).
LASTING LEGACY IN BOSTON: ESPN BOSTON's Jackie MacMullan wrote Epstein's "departure is abrupt, but with the benefit of some time and perspective, his legacy will sit well with Sox fans." He will be "remembered as the young hot shot who boldly pulled the trigger on a Nomar Garciaparra trade that turned his team's season around" in '04, culminating in its first World Series title in 86 years (ESPNBOSTON.com, 10/12). In Providence, Brian MacPherson writes the "successes -- the World Series titles and the rejuvenation of a moribund farm system -- will endure as the legacy of Epstein long after the contracts" of Carl Crawford, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Lackey expire (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 10/13).
