Focus for Epstein, Hoyer remains on Cubs’ big picture
A three-game homestand in the middle of 16 on the road is supposed to be an oasis for a baseball team.
But Cubs bosses Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer felt compelled to meet the media on a Memorial Day Monday at Wrigley Field.
A 12-game losing streak, and its attendant questions, brought out double-barrel interviews with the team president and general manager.
Maybe they should talk more often.
On a day when the wind howled out at 24 mph and gusted to 35, the Cubs’ offense awoke from its slumber with 14 hits, including 4 homers, to beat the San Diego Padres 11-7.
Homering for the Cubs were Darwin Barney, Ian Stewart, Alfonso Soriano and Starlin Castro. Starting pitcher Travis Wood gave up 6 runs (4 homers) in 5 innings, but the offense bailed him out with a season high in runs scored.
Both team president Epstein and GM Hoyer acknowledged the fans’ frustration with the Cubs’ lack of performance and 110-loss pace.
But both also cautioned against doing anything that would steer the organization off course from its long-term plan of building a team that contends year after year.
“It’s hard,” Epstein said. “It’s kind of almost taken on two personalities. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the short-term, live-and-die-with-every-pitch and get really frustrated along with everybody else. That’s natural. We’re all competitive.
“This is a very difficult period to get through, but at the same time it’s important to stay disciplined and take a step back, too, and realize that what we’re trying to accomplish here requires some time and some changes and some growth as an organization and to make sure that even as we’re scuffling badly during this period, we don’t lose sight of where we’re trying to get, and the work behind the scenes gets done in the minor leagues and with the draft and international and everything else.”
All of that was in response to just one question. Epstein then sounded an old-school theme.
“On both fronts, on short and long term, there’s work to do,” he said. “Short term in the trenches, there’s work to do to get ourselves to a respectable level.
“We have to start playing for some pride right now, dig in. This is a bad stretch. Just sort of appeal to the base instincts and start scrapping and keep grinding for pride.”
Aside from Monday, the Cubs haven’t been hitting, and there’s not a lot they can do to change things now.
“We have guys that have good track records that aren’t hitting,” Hoyer said. “Right now we’re going through it; it all happens at once.
“Some of it’s patience. You’ve got to be somewhat patient to get out of it, but we’re also very open to making moves. A lot of our conversations are what we can do to shake things up, what we can do to change the rooster a little bit.
“We’ll keep looking at those things. We don’t have the most flexible roster in the world because of some players’ options and situations.
“But we don’t want to get into a situation where we start dumping guys off just to make a point. We’re a little bit constrained, but that doesn’t mean we don’t talk a lot about what we can do to improve things.”
So there’s nothing left for fans to do but hang in there while knowing Cubs bosses feel their pain.
“The 12-game losing streak is torture for all of us, there’s no question,” Hoyer said. “I don’t think any of us ever hesitated for a second knowing better times are ahead.
“There’s no question in my mind we’re going to build a consistent winner here. This is a really painful bump that we’re going through right now on the way to get there.
“It might help us certainly, years in the future, looking back on this as a character-building thing. Right now it doesn’t feel like character building at all. It feels like a 12-game losing streak.”
Afterward, manager Dale Sveum had another term for it after a rare victory.
“Relief,” Sveum said. “Let’s not kid yourself.”
bmiles@dailyherald.com