vitoscotti wrote:
Theo now is pretty much lawyer talk sidestepping issues being interviewed . Lack of payroll flexibility=nobody wants our bad money guys. We've worked hardest this off-season than ever= our hands are tied. A lot of our in-house guys will rebound= the minor league system is depleted. We're making adjustments=we're extremely frustrated. We've had a lot of turnover in the coaching staff= scapegoats. We believe Russell deserves a 2nd chance= He's cheap.
I couldn't disagree more.
1.He never said "lack of payroll flexibility." He's said the baseball side of the company, like all businesses, has a budget and they are currently up against the budget. He's also said that he kept the other members of the front office away from the Cubs Convention discussion because he realizes he has to take responsibility for the very big contract moves that have pushed them to the limits of the aforementioned budget i.e. heyward, chatwood, darvish. He's being accountable by being the one who signed those free agents.
2. "alot of our in-house guys will rebound." That's not even close to what he said in that interview. Do you listen to music or do you just skim thru it? He's said (1) we believe in our guys and (2) our guys need to make adjustments because the league has clearly adjusted to them and (3) complacency set in at all levels of the organization after the world series. that's a direct quote from the interview. And his deliberate use of the phrase "all levels of the organization" includes himself, joe, and the players. not sure how exactly that's sidestepping lawyer speak, but i'm sure you'll attempt to enlighten me with some more imprecise drivel after I click submit.
3. "We're making adjustments=we're extremely frustrated." Not sure what you're trying to say with that statement. In fact, he didn't say he was "frustrated" with the broken offense or the way the team faded in the last month, he said he was "disturbed." Again, you clearly didn't listen but why would you. It's much easier and enjoyable to comment without listening after all.
4. "We've had a lot of turnover in the coaching staff= scapegoats." Again, you are projecting your own biases by summarizing his points in this fashion. Also, you're either dumb, ignorant or both if you expect the CEO of the Cubs to publicly throw current and past personnel under the bus by airing out their business in public. Instead, he's facing the music and attempting to be accountable. I'd be curious to know what exactly it is you want to hear him say--publicly--about the turnover of the coaching staff.
5. "We believe Russell deserves a 2nd chance= He's cheap." I believe Theo has handled the Russell situation about as deftly and nimble as is possible within the larger context of the world we live in--Me Too movement, etc--and trying to run a baseball business that balances the managing and exchanging of assets on the field and the personalities and real-life scenarios that inevitably pop up when the assets you're managing and exchanging are human beings. There's alot from this interview that i could post here, but the 3 main points that I think are most noteworthy are when he said (1) Theo recognizes and respects that some "reasonable minds" will disagree with how the Cubs have handled this but that (2) he personally feels a responsibility to be part of the solution because it happened on the Cubs watch and they eagerly celebrated Addison's early on field success and he feels it would be hypocritical and disingenuous to waive him at the point of his lowest, personal failing. (3) Russell's additional chance with the team is "conditional" and they are reserving the right to release and/or trade him at any point depending on how he follows both the treatment plan laid out by MLB's domestic violence policy as well as the one the Cubs in particular have laid out for him.
What say you?
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