As the Cubs get ready to start the new season, Theo Epstein’s master plan is finally coming in focus. At a press conference on Monday, Epstein unveiled a graphic that made clear how his meticulously planned “moneyball” scheme works.
The graphic shows a set of balanced scales conveying the radical team design that he calls “Equalized Ineptitude.”
“On previous Cubs teams, skilled veterans tended to steal focus from younger players, leaving the team in a state of disequilibrium,” Epstein explained. “This year’s team, though, is made up of awful players that fans have grown so sick of that they’ll fit right in with the younger disappointments.”
New manager Dale Sveum likes the new approach.
“The 27 Yankees had ‘Murderer’s Row,” Sveum said. “The ’89 A’s had steroids. We have balanced futility.”
Epstein wouldn’t say if he thought this new design would bear October fruit in 2012, but he seemed excited to offer a cohesive answer to the question everybody will be asking this summer: What were they thinking when they put this team together?
By Dave Narter
