When Tom Ricketts hired Theo Epstein, the Cubs clearly stated the team wanted to follow the Red Sox blueprint for success. Ricketts wants Wrigley transformed into the modern Fenway Park, with its sovereign outside the park revenue streams and loyal, overpaying fan base.
At least it was a plan.
But inside the core of this Boston romance lies the darkness of the Boston way of handling things.
The Boston Globe reported over the weekend Cubs personnel are disappointed that Alfonso Soriano won’t waive his 10-and-5 rights to go to the Giants. The report said that Soriano doesn't want to play in a colder climate that could adversely affect his hitting.
Well, Soriano has that veto right. And he told the Cubs before the trade deadline he would not go to the Giants. A snide little note that Soriano doesn't like the cold as a lame excuse for not accepting a trade is a childish maneuver to shift the focus of the bad roster away from management.
So why is the Cub front office bitching to the press (no less, the Boston paper)?
Because that is the sniping, backstabbing Red Sox culture that Ricketts has imported to his organization.
Look at the Valentine situation. Two weeks ago, most of the ESPN analysts (including former players) said that the players were out of line for their mini-mutiny against the manager; they were looking for excuses for underperforming on the field. But this weekend, the analysts have turned and said Valentine cannot come back next year; he had "lost" the team. No, Valentine was left out in the cold by management to take the blame for another bad season. Valentine's actions were not fully supported by the general manager, team president or ownership. In fact, management undercut Valentine's authority from the beginning by not diffusing negative player comments. Instead, management took the public tact of supporting the players in any clubhouse feud. Are Boston fans so spoiled and self centered to eat this garbage like gourmet cake?
Well, no one blames ownership for the Boston massacre. Ownership hired Valentine to be the anti-Francona, who allowed the beer battered chicken meltdown ruin last season. If you hire a disciplinarian and don't back him up when he tries to get the players accountable early on, then management set him up to fail by empowering the players to backstab their coach. Now, ownership meets with the players - - - further butchering any authority Valentine could have had to save his job. It is this type of dysfunctional management style with a "who do I blame" excuses of management and intervening ownership group mucking up the normal chain of command that Epstein is bringing to Chicago.
Epstein bullied Dempster out of town. Dempster really did not want to go to the Rangers, but he has several personal issues to deal with including no contract prospects with the Cubs next season. So he was pressured to be "a good teammate" and waive his no trade rights in order to seem more appealing on the free agent market after the season.
Well, Soriano has that veto right. And he told the Cubs before the trade deadline he would not go to the Giants. A snide little note that Soriano doesn't like the cold as a lame excuse for not accepting a trade is a childish maneuver to shift the focus of the bad roster away from management.
So why is the Cub front office bitching to the press (no less, the Boston paper)?
Because that is the sniping, backstabbing Red Sox culture that Ricketts has imported to his organization.
Look at the Valentine situation. Two weeks ago, most of the ESPN analysts (including former players) said that the players were out of line for their mini-mutiny against the manager; they were looking for excuses for underperforming on the field. But this weekend, the analysts have turned and said Valentine cannot come back next year; he had "lost" the team. No, Valentine was left out in the cold by management to take the blame for another bad season. Valentine's actions were not fully supported by the general manager, team president or ownership. In fact, management undercut Valentine's authority from the beginning by not diffusing negative player comments. Instead, management took the public tact of supporting the players in any clubhouse feud. Are Boston fans so spoiled and self centered to eat this garbage like gourmet cake?
Well, no one blames ownership for the Boston massacre. Ownership hired Valentine to be the anti-Francona, who allowed the beer battered chicken meltdown ruin last season. If you hire a disciplinarian and don't back him up when he tries to get the players accountable early on, then management set him up to fail by empowering the players to backstab their coach. Now, ownership meets with the players - - - further butchering any authority Valentine could have had to save his job. It is this type of dysfunctional management style with a "who do I blame" excuses of management and intervening ownership group mucking up the normal chain of command that Epstein is bringing to Chicago.
Epstein bullied Dempster out of town. Dempster really did not want to go to the Rangers, but he has several personal issues to deal with including no contract prospects with the Cubs next season. So he was pressured to be "a good teammate" and waive his no trade rights in order to seem more appealing on the free agent market after the season.
Soriano does not care. He has his last contract.
He plays in a party town. He does not have to perform great in order to
keep playing. By default, he is the best power hitter on the team.
Common sense dictates that he would never leave his comfort zone as a
Cub.
Given the fact he told the Cubs several times NO to trades, management should move on instead of leaking negative comments about a player who will be on the team another couple of years. There should have never been any story about the Cubs trying to move Soriano if management knew he was never going to be moved. By creating these contradictions and blame, Epstein's crew sows the seeds of anti-management in Soriano, who is a role model to some of the younger players, like Castro. This has the aspect of a train going off the rails as it approaches the old wooden bridge. The engineer does not care what happens to the train itself, because he could always blame the passengers for being too heavy when the bridge collapses underneath them.
Given the fact he told the Cubs several times NO to trades, management should move on instead of leaking negative comments about a player who will be on the team another couple of years. There should have never been any story about the Cubs trying to move Soriano if management knew he was never going to be moved. By creating these contradictions and blame, Epstein's crew sows the seeds of anti-management in Soriano, who is a role model to some of the younger players, like Castro. This has the aspect of a train going off the rails as it approaches the old wooden bridge. The engineer does not care what happens to the train itself, because he could always blame the passengers for being too heavy when the bridge collapses underneath them.
