"I’m just focused on growing the organization. But I’m sure we’ll talk this winter about sort of longer-term plans and how all of the different personnel fit into that mix. It’s not really a pressing issue. I love coming to work each day. I love the people I work with. I love the challenge that we have here.” So said Cubs President Theo Epstein as the Cubs season ended.
The Cubs barely made it out of another historic milestone. The last game victory over the Brewers stopped the record books from reflecting that for the first time in franchise history, the Cubs would have lost 90 or more games in four consecutive seasons. It would have been a new level of futility.
Epstein continues to talk around the fact that the "business side" challenges are impacting on his ability to use all the tools on the baseball side of the business. The bottom line is always money. The team's high debt service, and massive capital improvement projects leaves no free cash for the team to spend on highly priced free agents.
“It’s a good feeling for everyone associated with the Cubs to see the process start,” Epstein said. “It’s been a long time coming, a lot of hard work from many of the folks on the business side overcoming a lot of obstacles. But it’s not something that we monitor on a daily basis or anything like that.
“We’re just trying to go out and execute our baseball plan, and I think eventually it will mean some more revenue. But the big mechanism by which we’ll realize significantly more revenue is really the TV deal. The Wrigley improvements will help move the needle, but the sort of paradigm-shifter is really the TV deal.”
Things budget crunch won't change until 2020, when the Cubs are free to start their own cable network. It’s still unclear where the team will take its WGN games after this season, or how to bridge the TV money while Wrigley Field is under construction.
But the turnaround still has not left the harbor dock. Yes, there have been many prospects called up to the majors, but the boat still has many leaks to fix, including Javy Baez's massive strike out rate. And just as the columnists speculate about an open checkbook to sign free agent pitchers this winter, the fiction continues as well that in 2020 there will be a billion dollar television deal for the Cubs. As technology continues to speed along with mobile connectivity, there may not be a traditional sports cable channel business model in 2020.
So Epstein continues to hedge his bets on his own Plan by saying that it is still all contingent on a great TV deal in 2020.
But a week after the season ended, Epstein was back selling "the hope machine" for 2015.
"Overall, for the organization, I think 2015 will be a little bit different than the previous three seasons in that we now think we have the talent to compete,"said Epstein said on September 30th. "And any time you have enough talent to compete you want to set your sights high. We proved we can be very competitive within this division and when you have a chance to compete you should set your sights high and that means our goal is the NL Central title next year."
Even though his the finished in last place with a 73-89 record, Epstein sounds optimistic.
"We're going to be competing while we develop young talent," Epstein said. "It isn't easy but it's exciting, very exciting. We're in a position, perhaps as soon as this offseason, and certainly over the next 15 months, we're going to be adding some talent from outside the organization that will further round out our club," Epstein said. "We're going to be very involved," Epstein said. "We will add talent from outside the organization. I hope we add impact talent, but it has to make sense. We can't completely sell out for 2015. It's starting to be the right time to add impact talent. We try to look at these things in stages. Between this offseason, next year's trade deadline and next offseason, we will add impact talent from outside the organization."
Okay, we get the bullet point: you are bringing in more talent "from outside the organization." Which means two things: one, the organization does not have depth; two, the prospects may not be the impact players sold to the public; and three, maybe adding "impact" players will help divert attention that the Cubs have tremendous holes to fill in their 2015 roster. And when do you "skip" adding impact free agents unless you don't have any money to spend?
But then at the same time, he puts the burden of winning back on his coaches with the current talent.
"Their job will be to continue to develop young players but also put the team in a position to win on a nightly basis," Epstein said. "The 2015 Cubs are in a much better position to compete and to win, certainly than the 2012 Cubs," Epstein said. "We acknowledge it's a process. I do think we have so much going for us."
Epstein said the higher expectations are built into the ongoing process of ‘‘developing young players’’ in the big leagues. ‘‘So we’re not going to sell out to win in 2015,’’ he said.
The last quote is the big takeaway from Epstein's State of the Cubs end of season press conference.
For all the quotes, there is little information on how Epstein plans to turnaround the sunken ship. And there is clearly a ramp up of expectations, but a down play on spending money to improve the team.
