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" The 'Chicago Sun-Times,' I remember, ran a full-page, front-page photo-shop of me walking on water across Lake Michigan, as if by showing up I was going to miraculously fix the team's fortunes. Imagine their disappointment, then, when I announced a long-term rebuilding plan focused on acquiring young players and winning in five years. "

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" I believe in our players. That's why they're here. I also know slumping is part of baseball. What's surprising is sometimes when it lasts awhile, for really good players when it lasts awhile. "

Theo Epstein

Sometimes

Baseball

Know

" If you reach a point where your entire farm system is in the big leagues, you've traded a couple guys for players who are now in the big leagues, you know what you do? You start over in your farm system, and you keep developing the talented players you have. "

" We don't live in isolation. Most people don't like working in isolation - some do, but they typically don't end up playing Major League Baseball. "

" When we build that foundation for sustained success, and it ultimately results in a World Series, it's going to be more than just a World Series. "

" I believe in the First Amendment. But I also believe we should be mindful of how other people feel. "

" I still wake up thinking about draft choices we should have made that would have impacted the franchise for a long time, but I don't wake up thinking about one individual player move. "

" You don't want to make a living or habit out of trying to solve your problems with high-price pitching free agents because over the long run, there's so much risk involved that you really can hamstring your organization. "

" Bostonians vs. Chicagoans, they have different sensibilities, and I can only say this because I consider myself a Bostonian. You know, the Puritanical roots in Boston - the 'sky is falling' mentality a little bit. We could be on a great run, and we'd lose one game, and everyone's panicking. "

" The 2011 Cubs were the oldest team in the division, the most expensive team in the division, and the worst team in the division. And we really needed to start over. "

" It's a natural push and pull that exists in any sports organization. When you are in a big market and then you win, and you're up against the Yankees, and ratings are what they are and attendance is what it is, no one wants to go backwards; as a business, you don't want to go backwards. "

" Typically, it takes young players years to adjust to life in the big leagues and to start performing up to their capabilities. Most of the blame for this rests on these ridiculous old baseball norms that say young players are to be seen and not heard. "

" We want to try and transform the Red Sox into a team like the Braves or the Yankees, where you can almost count on the postseason every year. "

" The Cubs, we built one of best farm systems - I think for a while there, it was the best farm system in baseball. And that was great. It got a lot of attention. But we didn't want the credit for the farm system. What we wanted was to see if we could do the tricky part, which was turn a lauded farm system into a World Series champion. "

" To win the World Series, you have to be able to do a lot of things well. "

" Something as simple as transparency is really scalable because it quickly impacts the culture. And the culture is something everyone feels. If upper management is really transparent with everyone, that has this amplifying effect. Then you tend to attract players who operate that way, on the same wavelength, and coaches and fans. "

" The only time I think about my contract is when I'm asked about it by the media. "

" This game will make you cry more often than not. "

" I don't think I'm a chameleon. I can feel where people are coming from, what makes them tick, where they are vulnerable, what makes them feel good about themselves. I get just as much out of it as they do. I love connecting. "

" I think everyone deserves more than one World Series every 108 years so. "

Theo Epstein

World

Think

" Once you thrust yourself out there in the public domain, it's really hard to retreat, to say no or reclaim that certain part of your life as private. "

" If we think a playoff spot's not in the cards, there will be no concern for appearances or cosmetics whatsoever. We'll continue to address our future and trade off some pieces that would keep us respectable. "

" I tend to solicit opinions from all those around me. I like to hear opinions and the rationale behind it from everybody in the room. Perhaps it's the result of going to law school and using the Socratic method. "

Theo Epstein

Result

School

" I work for the Chicago Cubs, a team with a following so loyal and adoring and a history so forlorn that we were known nationwide as the Loveable Losers. "

" You have years where most things go your way, and you have years where more things than usual seem like a challenge. "

Theo Epstein

Challenge

" When people you don't know say nice things about you, if you allow yourself, even subconsciously, to attach a shred of meaning to it, when the opposite happens, when people you don't know say bad things about you, you can't attach that same meaning. "

" When people do things they weren't even sure they were capable of, I think it comes back to connection. Connection with teammates. Connection with organization. Feeling like they belong in the environment. I think it's a human need - the need to feel connected. "

" The goals is to create a really high 'floor' for this organization, where the 'off' years are years where you might win in the high-80s and sneak a division or a wild card or win 90 games and get in and find a way to win in October. And the great years, you win 103 and win the whole thing. "

" No one is immune to needing to sit or needing to go down at the right time, and you want to give guys a chance. "

" We knew the 2017-18 offseason would be one of our most challenging. We've known that for a long time. "

" Baseball is a game based on adversity. It's a game that's going to test you repeatedly. It's going to find your weaknesses and vulnerabilities and force you to adjust. That adversity, in the big picture, is a really good thing because it shows you where your weaknesses are. It gives you the opportunity to improve. "