Addio, Theo

So it’s official.  Theo Epstein is the new President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.  The announcement came around 10pm last night and the press conferences from the Cubs and Red Sox will come on Tuesday, the next off-day for the World Series.  I thought I’d feel different than I do.

I thought I’d be fine with Theo moving on, and part of me is.  Part of me believes that if the team is going to make changes this time why not go whole hog? Although I suppose it could be argued that moving from Theo Epstein to Ben Cherington (a move that hasn’t been made official yet) isn’t that huge a change.  I feel some comfort in having Cherington in there….like a small piece of Theo is still around I guess…but I woke up this morning to discover that I was a little sad about Theo going.  I feel like my younger brother just left home and I know he won’t be calling, not even on Sundays or holidays.

There will never be a way to fully describe how the Red Sox victory in 2004 changed my life.  Some call it hyperbole, but it truly did (and there are many folks who understand because it changed their lives too).  2007 was the cherry on that sundae and for those two things I don’t think there will ever be enough ways to truly thank Theo…but I do.  I thank Theo Epstein with all my heart for helping bring this area some joy and some peace.

So I’m okay with him moving on but not as okay as I thought I was…if that makes any sense.  I wish him happiness in Chicago but not luck.  And that has nothing to do with him.  I just can’t wish luck to a team whose fan base did what the Cubs fans did to Steve Bartman.  I keep tweeting about it and I wrote about it over the summer, but the film Catching Hell has forever tainted how I feel about the Cubs fans and I wish them another 100 years of losing.

There is also a part of me not too happy that Theo is bailing on the team with a year on his contract and leaving us with the mess that he is leaving us with…but I suppose in a post written to say “thank you” and “goodbye” I shouldn’t dwell on that too much. We have a good four months to flesh that one out.

Ultimately, my strongest emotion right now is relief.  I feel like once they get a general manager in there they’re that much closer to getting a manager and that will bring us closer to moving the hell on.  Tuesday can’t come soon enough.