Ronald Edward Santo:

Welcome to the National Baseball Hall of Fame!

Born too late into the 1970′s, I never had the pleasure of watching Ron Santo play baseball. The only things I have to look back on are stories and statistics. Those statistics have long been his ticket to Cooperstown. Only, it took nearly 40 years before that ticket was cashed in. Sadly, his election also came a year and two days too late. Ron succumbed to complications from diabetes and cancer on December 3rd, 2010. Diabetes was a struggle Ron fought with every day of his playing career, at a time when controlling the disease wasn’t simplified by the medication and blood meters diabetics have at their disposal today.

The injustice that was his absence from the Hall of Fame was finally righted today. Shameful that Ron can’t enjoy it.

Ron, it wasn’t the way you or any of your fans hoped it would be, but you finally made it. Congratulations.

Related articles

• Finally voted to Hall of Fame, Santo a lesson on never giving up (cbssports.com)
• Ron Santo the Third Baseman; Ron Santo the Broadcaster; Ron Santo the Baseball Hall of Famer (theoutfield.wordpress.com)

Excuses are just copouts for your own insecurities ~ New Chicago Cubs Manager Dale Sveum

First thing you got to do is get to meet him. I heard he’s a big teddy bear. I might pick him up and just burp him. ~ Texas Rangers Pitching Coach, Mike Maddux, about pitcher, Carlos Zambrano, during the interview process for Chicago Cubs managerial opening

The Theo Epstein press conference has concluded. As a life long Cubs fan, it’s easy to say everything is looking up, simply from the signing of Epstein. To his credit, His departure from Boston was classy — An editorial printed in the Boston Globe should have Red Sox Nation feeling proud. Entering the Friendly Confines, he also said all the right things. The hope now, is that all the words translate into actions … on the field, in the front office, with the scouting department, in the minors, etc, etc etc.

More …

Yes, the signing is enough to be a move in the right direction, but what Epstein had to say, almost 45 minutes worth, will hopefully resonate loudly. Some Highlights:

• Cubs Way: He talked at length about building the organization from the ground up. Something that personally, has been discussed at great lengths. A common philosophy is huge when your talking about a sport with so many levels to traverse, before players even make it to the big show. Echoing Tom Ricketts grand plan of players understanding what it means to be a Cub, to embrace it, respect it, and reflect it, is extremely refreshing and hopefully another bright spot that the new President and the Chairman are on the same page.
• Sustained Success: Goes hand in hand with building from the ground up, I suppose. But, he touched on that as well, especially when asked regarding payroll and the state of the roster in general. In not looking simply to make a big splash, kill the “curse”, then sit on that for the rest of his Cubs career, I think that says a lot about his drive. He wants to give the Cubs an opportunity to win, every season, saying the fans deserve that. It will be interesting to see how those words play out in regards to a complete rebuilding, or just a relatively slow climb towards the top of mountain.

A personal opinion: Theo comes off as confident, but not arrogant. Refreshing, in a sense. Plus, fans would eat a guy alive in this city, coming in with an ego bigger than the centerfield scoreboard. He seems willing to talk, and listen. He appreciates and loves the history of baseball, the tradition of it all, while also instilling his own philosophies and criteria to get the job done.

Simply. I’m sold. I was sold when word first game down that Theo Epstein was on the way, I’m even more sold after hearing him speak AND seeing the title “President of Baseball Operations” under his name, on the TV, during the press conference. As sold as I am, my original statement still holds true to me. The words are great, I want them turned into actions. I will be watching intently and like everybody else in Chicago, will be happy to pass along an assessment report as necessary and as is warranted.

There were more highlights, I’m sure. Sadly, I’m writing this off the top of my head and quite simply, I’m moments away from falling asleep at the keyboard. Sometimes, keeping a schedule opposite of the majority of the world really sucks. But, oh well.

Seeing as how negotiations between the Red Sox and Cubs dragged on worse than the American Idol auditions. I wasn’t sure when this post was going to get written. That said, the day we started to think would never get here, has finally come as it was announced in a joint press release of the Cubs and Red Sox that effective immediately, Theo Epstein is under the employ of the Chicago Cubs, with a press conference to follow on Tuesday, 10/25.

More …

Most fans are genuinely excited to see Theo Epstein run the Cubs Front Office. Others, not so much. Is he the Cubs savior? Will he bring a World Series winner to the north side of Chicago for the first time in over a century? I don’t know, and neither do you, or anyone else. The facts: With Epstein in charge, the Cubs are in the best shape possible and likely are in better shape than they’ve been in for quite some time. Epstein is a proven talent evaluator who surrounds himself with a staff of baseball and stat smart individuals. He’s not Andy MacPhail, Lou Pinella or Dusty Baker. He’s also not the Cubs GM. Instead, he is their new President of Baseball Operations, with longtime friend Jed Hoyer assuming the role of GM and his assistant in San Diego, Jason McLeod, assuming the same role in Chicago.

Much has been said, about Epstein and his track record of poor free agent signings. I can’t bring myself to lay all of it at his feet, though. It’s not as if he was the only GM in baseball to throw large sums of money at guys like Carl Crawford and John Lackey. it just so happens he offered them either the most money or the best opportunity to win. If Crawford and Lackey bounce back for the remainder of their contracts, all will be forgiven in Red Sox Nation.

Don’t expect a “We’re All In” season right out of the gate for Epstein and the Cubs. If it happens and succeeds, fantastic. If not, well as a Cubs fan, I’m perfectly content with building up the organization from the bottom up to give us a team that’s consistently in contention.

As for myself, I am excited for the arrival of Theo Epstein and can’t wait to watch his tenure in Chicago unfold. Hopefully, one of the first things on his agenda, is sorting out the situation regarding the Cubs on-field manager.