Theo Epstein came to the Chicago Cubs five years ago. A franchise that hasn’t played a World Series game in 71 years, is four wins away from ending that drought. Epstein has been the architect of the rebirth. He, along with manager Joe Madden, are the two faces of the Cubs franchise. Two points to consider here if you are the Arizona Diamondbacks. Turning a beleaguered franchise around rather quickly CAN be done, but you need the GM and the manager to be the only voices in the room. Enough of a sample size has passed with the Diamondbacks to understand that Owner Ken Kendrick and President Derrick Hall have been the two mainstays through these lean years. Both have good intentions, but their recipe hasn’t worked. Time to turn it COMPLETLEY over to others, rather than having a voice. Josh Byrnes, Jerry Dipoto, Kevin Towers, and Dave Stewart have all had to report and navigate through ownership.Kendrick has a responsibility to be fiscally sound, Hall has a responsibility to make sure the business side of the stadium, partnerships, fan experience, and work environment are top-notch. That’s where it needs to end. The new GM and manager should be face and voice of the team in ALL media. The Owner and President should be at opening day, midseason, and last day of the season as part of the faces. If there is something substantial happening with the stadium or business side, Derrick should be the ONLY face at the podium. Kendrick can pick and chose what baseball related events to sit at the podium(trades, signings, etc.)
The Cubs handed Epstein everything and he worked his magic. He drafted Kris Bryant and Javier Baez among others.He traded for Jake Arrieta, Anthony Rizzo, Aroldis Chapman, Addison Russell, and Miguel Montero. Epstein spent big money on free agent pitchers Jon Lester, John Lackey and second baseman Ben Zobrist. Oh by the way, he convinced Joe Maddon to come manage the team and Jeb Hoyer to be the GM. The recipe has worked in Chicago it can work in Arizona. Kendrick and Hall need to find the right GM and get completely out-of-the-way. The question has been and continues to be, will they?
