By BOB BAUM
updated 6:58 p.m. ET Feb. 18, 2012
MESA, Ariz. - Theo Epstein and his supporting cast in Chicago are busy installing the "Cubs Way" with his new team. Don't ask him to explain it in a few words, either. It's not that simple for the former Boston Red Sox executive hired to guide the Cubs out of their role as baseball's loveable losers.
Epstein says there were "outstanding" organizational meetings in Arizona this week to develop the specifics of what the "Cubs Way" will be. He says it will amount to few hundred pages.
As the new Cubs president for baseball operations put it: "Playing hard is a big part of it but playing the game the right way and teaching it consistently are as well."
Pitchers and catchers reported to the team's spring training facility in Mesa on Saturday.
"But urgency is important as well," he said. "The goal of the 2012 Cubs is to win the World Series, and our goal is an organization is to build an organization that competes on an annual basis in the postseason and gives ourselves a chance to win the World Series. Patience, yes, but urgency in the sense that I think there's something each of us can do every day to help make the organization better."
The Cubs last won a World Series 104 years ago.
Epstein said the various manuals being put together to illustrate the "Cubs Way" includes things done in Boston but also from the backgrounds of others, including new general manager Jed Hoyer and manager Dale Sveum, both of whom appeared with Epstein at a news conference on Saturday.
"We're going to be teaching the game the exact same way," Esptein said, "everything from what foot you hit the bag with when you're making the turn to how we run bunt plays to what our overall hitting philosophy is."
It's important, Epstein said, to have things written down.
"If you can't articulate for someone what it is you're trying to accomplish, how can you reasonably expect them to get there?" he said. "If you can't write down on paper what it is you're teaching, how can you expect your players to pick it up? How can you expect your A-ball hitting coach to teach hitting the same way as your Triple-A hitting coach and the same way as your major league hitting coach."
Sveum said that there are "a few major things" he will aim for this spring.
"One of the things we're going to harp on the most, you've heard me talk about, is base running," he said, "but we're not creating the wheel here or reinventing anything. It's just refining everything to get things done on an everyday basis. Whether it's the 'Cubs Way' or anybody's way, it's just the right way to do things."
Outfielder Reed Johnson, one of several position players who have arrived early, welcomed Sveum's hard-nosed approach.
"You see Dale and the way that he approaches things and you can tell that he means that," Johnson said. "A lot of coaches and a lot of staff members can say that sometimes, but you can tell it's not genuine and they're really not going to follow through. He doesn't care if you're making $15 million or you're making $450,000, you're going to go out there and play the game hard, and if not you're not going to play."
It's a reaction that doesn't surprise the new Cubs manager.
"I think any athlete wants to be held accountable for what they do," Sveum said. "You can do this in a number of ways. It's not about screaming or yelling, it's just about when mistakes are made, especially on the mental side, that they're taken care of."
Sveum said it appears three of the starting spots in the rotation are nailed down ? by Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Paul Maholm ? with competition for the other two as well as a few slots in the bullpen.
"We've got a lot of guys who can throw it," said outfielder Marlon Byrd, another of the early arrivals.
When asked about a long-term contract for Garza, Hoyer declined to be specific but indicated talks could go on this spring.
"We focused really hard on getting a one-year number done a few weeks ago," Hoyer said. "We didn't have any kind of long-term discussions before that. But certainly there was a dialogue about possibly having some long-term discussions at some point, maybe this spring. When we do it, we'll keep it quiet and hopefully their side will, too, because I think contracts are better negotiated that way. But we will probably sit down and talk."
Garza agreed to a $9.5 million, one-year contract just before the scheduled start of an arbitration hearing on Feb. 3. The right-hander was 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA last season after being acquired from Tampa Bay in January 2011.
Epstein said he had no new information on the status of a Chicago police probe into an accusation of sexual assault against shortstop Starlin Castro. Castro has vehemently denied the allegation and no charges have been filed.
Epstein will bring a team of experts from the Center for Sport in Society at Northeastern University to spring training to talk to players about off-field behavior.
The idea, he said, is to "give players the right tools to deal with situations off the field, not only the right decisions to make but the right values to conduct their careers."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46441404/ns/sports-baseball/
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