Can you imagine Terry Collins, Sandy Alderson or Fred and Jeff Wilpon ever uttering those words? Me either. Winning has become so far removed from the Mets lexicon that even a sixth straight losing season failed to ruffle any feathers or cause an ounce of grief in the executive offices at Citi Field. There were no outward appearances of disappointment from either Mets ownership or management. No emotion. No remorse. No accountability. We didn’t even get the usual October apology email this time. Instead, the Men In Black took the opportunity to hand out big fat contract extensions while piling heaps of praise on the ones most responsible for assembling and leading the 83-loss product on the field.
How important is winning and how far should one go to accomplish it?
The truth is that it depends on the person you ask.
Cubs team president Theo Epstein has been catching a lot of flack for his decision to fire Rick Renteria and replace him with Joe Maddon.
“Last Thursday, we learned that Joe Maddon — who may be as well suited as anyone in the industry to manage the challenges that lie ahead of us — had become a free agent,” Epstein said.
“We saw it as a unique opportunity and faced a clear dilemma: Be loyal to Rick or be loyal to the organization.”
“In this business of trying to win a world championship for the first time in 107 years, the organization has priority over any one individual. We decided to pursue Joe.”
The move sent some shock waves through major league baseball. Many in the media called the move a low blow by Epstein to Renteria, but was it really?
“Rick deserved to come back for another season as Cubs manager, and we said as much when we announced that he would be returning in 2015,” Epstein said. “We met with Rick two weeks ago for a long end-of-season evaluation and discussed plans for next season. We praised Rick to the media and to our season-ticket holders. These actions were made in good faith.”
“While there was no clear playbook for how to handle this type of situation, we knew we had to be transparent with Rick before engaging with Joe.”
Epstein said he immediately let Renteria know of his intentions as soon as Maddon became available and updated him along the way. “Today I informed him that we will indeed make a change.”
The Cubs have not won a title in 106 years. Epstein was brought in to take charge of an organization that was in upheaval and needed a rebuilt farm system, but mostly a clear vision and direction.
“We have clung to two important ideals during our three years in Chicago. The first is to always be loyal to our mission of building the Cubs into a championship organization that can sustain success. The second is to be transparent with our fans. As painful as the last week was at times, we believe we stayed true to these two ideals in handling a sensitive situation.”
Epstein made some promises to Cubs fans on the last day of the season.
“It’s exciting to be entering that phase where our goal is to go out and compete and win. I’m not ashamed at all of what we’ve done. I think we’ve done five, six years’ worth of rebuild work in about three years.”
He told his fan base that the Cubs now have the young core and foundation that he promised them after he overhauled the entire scouting and player development operation, and that it was time for the next phase. He plans to add the free-agent pitching to get his team into the postseason in 2015. Some predict that Jon Lester will land with the Cubs reuniting him with his former GM from their time together in Boston.
Experts say the Cubs are now poised for sustained success starting as early as next season, so why wouldn’t Epstein take full advantage of bringing in Maddon to lead that charge, something he has already done with great success in Tampa Bay?
“The goal will be to win the NL Central,” Epstein said Tuesday. “We’re going to be competing while we continue to develop young talent, so that’s never easy, but it is exciting. Very exciting. We’ve proved that we can be very competitive in this division.”
“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.”
This afternoon, the Cubs will formally introduce Joe Maddon as the new manager of the Cubs at Wrigley Field. While the media is busy jumping down Theo’s throat, Cubs fans are thrilled for the exciting times that lie ahead and they hold Epstein in high praise for how quickly he turned the team’s fortunes around. And in this game, it’s what the fans think that really matters.
How important is winning? Obviously, it’s very important to Theo Epstein. Certainly more important than being beholden to a manager coming off one losing season – let alone four losing seasons.
