Theo Epstein helped turn his hometown Boston Red Sox into contenders, winning the World Series twice. Chicago Cub fans hope his magic will transfer from the East Coast to the Windy City.
Theo Epstein helped turn his hometown Boston Red Sox into contenders, winning the World Series twice. Chicago Cub fans hope his magic will transfer from the East Coast to the Windy City.

Chicago Cubs have hope with Epstein



Can Theo Epstein do for the Chicago Cubs what he did for the Boston Red Sox?

That is the question being asked by fans in Chicago - and around Major League Baseball - as the Cubs prepared a news conference to introduce Epstein, whom they signed to five-year deal worth $18.5 million (Dh68m) to become the head of their baseball operations.

Epstein was 28 in 2002 when the Red Sox made him the youngest general manager in the history of the game. He helped build the 2004 team that ended Boston's 86-year championship drought.

Three years later, the Red Sox won another World Series, earning Epstein a reputation as one of the game's sharpest minds and most accomplished executives.

The Red Sox qualified for the play-offs six times in his nine seasons, won at least 90 games seven times and twice reached Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

But the expectations and pressure can be overwhelming in Boston. After two championships, anything short of a pennant is unsatisfying. Moreover, Epstein told friends that, despite Boston being his hometown, it was never his intention to be general manager of the Red Sox for life.

With the Cubs acting as a powerful allure and new challenge, Epstein was given permission by the Red Sox ownership to speak with the Cubs owner, Tom Ricketts. The two met twice before Epstein agreed to change teams.

The history of the Cubs is even more tortured than that of the Red Sox before their two recent titles. The Cubs last won a championship in 1908 and last appeared in a World Series in 1945.

The team Epstein inherits is not nearly as good as the one he took over in Boston in 2003. Those Red Sox boasted Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra and Johnny Damon. The Cubs, instead, have several underachieving and overpaid players whose careers are in decline, such as Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Pena.

The young shortstop, Starlin Castro, is a star in the making, but the Cubs have precious few others around whom Epstein can build a team. The minor-league system offers little help and is seen as subpar by most in the game.

But Epstein is creative and, as in Boston, he will have significant economic resources to reshape the roster. He values traditional, eyeball scouting as much as he does the game's more advanced methods of analysis.

Should he end the Cubs' seemingly endless search for a World Series championship, he surely will be remembered as one of the handful of top executives in the game's history.

@ For more MLB 2011 news visit thenational.ae/topics

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Wonder
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20EPD%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PRO BASH

Thursday’s fixtures

6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors

10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters

Teams

Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.

Squad rules

All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.

Tournament rules

The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

At Eternity’s Gate

Director: Julian Schnabel

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen

Three stars


Middle East Today

The must read newsletter for the region

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Middle East Today