For sheer futility in professional sports, the Chicago Cubs are the standard. They have not won the World Series in 103 years. They have not won a pennant since 1945. Their history is pocked with excruciating near misses — a Billy goat, a black cat, fateful errors on the field and in the stands.Read the rest here.
So who better to enter that caldron of despair than a man who survived it in Boston? Theo Epstein, the general manager who helped the Red Sox reverse their own epic curse dating to 1918, is close to completing his transition from Fenway Park to Wrigley Field.
According to a Red Sox official speaking on condition of anonymity, Epstein is nearing a deal to become the Cubs’ top baseball operations executive. Another Red Sox official said the Boston front office widely expects him to leave.
Wow.
With both Theo and Tito Francona leaving, it is truly the end of an era in Boston. Together they have presided over a magic time in the history of the Red Sox: five trips to the post-season and two World Series titles in an eight-year span, for a club that had not won it all in 86 years.
ReplyDeleteI am sad to see Theo go, but I am even sadder to see Tito go. He is, without a doubt, the best field manager the Red Sox have ever had.
I wish Theo and the Cubs the best. If they win the Series on Theo's watch, that would forever secure his place in baseball history.