Theo Epstein takes full responsibility for Cubs' rough 1-6 start
It’s been a rough start to the season this spring in Chicago.
After opening the season with a dominant 12-4 win against the Texas Rangers, the Chicago Cubs dropped their next six games.
One of the biggest issues for Chicago has been on the mound. The Cubs currently boast a 7.85 ERA, the worst in the league. They’ve already sent Carl Edwards Jr. down to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, too. The team ranks near the bottom of the league defensively, too, and has already committed 11 errors — the second-most in the MLB.
“It's been real close to, if not, a worst-case scenario for us, defensively and in terms of our pitching,” Cubs president Theo Epstein said on Saturday, via ESPN. “That gets your attention in a negative way. We're sorry we're putting our fans through this.”
Epstein, though, shoulders all of the blame for the poor start to the season.
“There is always a search for scapegoats when you get off to a tough start,” Epstein said, via ESPN. “[Pitching coach] Tommy Hottovy is not the problem. He's a big part of the solution. [Owner] Tom Ricketts is not the problem. It's not a resource issue. I know he's another one that's been taking a lot of heat. It's not a resource problem. If people have a problem with the allocation of resources, then that's on me. And it has been ever since I got here, with a lot of good and some bad.”
While manager Joe Maddon — who is on the final year of his contract with the team — has offered to share some of the responsibility, Epstein refused. As the president of the organization, he said "it's all my responsibility."
And after all, it’s only April 6. There’s still nearly five months of baseball to go, leaving the Cubs plenty of time to turn things around.
“This search for magic bullets or scapegoats, I don't think that's productive,” Epstein said, via ESPN. “I understand it, but ultimately it's all my responsibility ... I'm not in it alone, thank God. We have really talented people here. We have great players that we trust. We're all going to part of pulling out of this.
“You have to find a way to stabilize it even when things seem unstable.”
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