Chicago Cubs: Youngsters come to contribute positives
The Chicago Cubs had a very steady start when the 2012 Major League Baseball season kicked off. The club had recently undergone a big overhaul, with the dismissal of the former manager Mike Quade, to the preceding developments involving the arrival of Cubs
president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, and the general manager Ted Hoyer.
Theo Epstein had spent a large chunk of his professional career with the Boston Red Sox, bringing the enviable World Series title for the Red Sox after decades. Under Epstein’s auspices, the Red Sox won the World Series title after nine decades.
The last time the Red Sox had won the World Series was in 1918, and when Epstein came to take the charge as the general manager of the team, it was the resurgent Red Sox that outshone the rivals, winning the World Series in 2004 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It did not stop there, with that great milestone; the Red Sox came back in 2007 – once again, to win the World Series, this time by beating the Colorado Rockies. Clearly, among other things, Epstein’s being the Red Sox had brought about an incredibly big
difference. That young general manager of the Red Sox was to now take charge of Cubs’ president of baseball operations.
But not everything was in order. The fact that the Chicago Cubs have not won any World Series title for over nine decades now is a big challenge for Theo Epstein. Be that as it may, he is not someone to easily give up.
So next move he was to make was to bring the Jed Hoyer in the Cubs – someone who had previously worked with Epstein. With the management combination that he started making, something will have to pay. Although no quick results are to be expected, the Cubs
are now making gradual strides.
What is interesting now to note is the fact that when the Cubs descended on the ballpark on the Opening Day, they had a team of veterans. And as things move, with progression made, out of 25-man roster, 11 of them are young players who were not there with
the Cubs on the Opening Day.
The Cubs have traded their veterans like Paul Maholm, Ryan Dempster, Geovany Soto and Jeff Baker – among others, bringing in the relatively young players in the side. As for Theo Epstein, he has pinned hopes on the able leadership of the manager, Dale Sveum.
The day Sveum took the charge of managerial post, he was greeted with laudation by Epstein.
"He knows the game inside and out," Epstein said. "He has a great combination of intelligence and intuition both between the lines and in the clubhouse. Next is his rare ability to hold players to high standards and hold them accountable, while also earning
their respect and admiration. Dale demands a lot of his players but is held in universally high regard by them. That's a tough thing to pull off."
As things are progressing, the Cubs hope that they will have a better result this year that the ones in the previous seasons. They would like to end the 2012 season with a positive note whereby the youngsters are in good form, learning a lot from their veterans’
presence and making maximum use of this learning on the field.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions contained herein are of the writer's, and do not express the views of the company.
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