After all, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer’s additions of Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood last winter proved nightmarish, while the subsequent firing of hitting coach Chili Davis and loss of pitching coach Jim Hickey has made things very tenuous for the Chicago Cubs.
It would be easy to be totally dissuaded by Epstein and Hoyer at this juncture. Their two latest big-money signings – Darvish and Jason Heyward – have hardly lived up the contracts they were given. The acquisition of Daniel Murphy in late August was not nearly enough to bolster an offense that struggled to put up runs in the second half.