Theo Epstein Ready For 'Month-Long Bender' After Cubs Win World Series
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brookline native Theo Epstein stamped his ticket to Cooperstown on Wednesday night, as the Chicago Cubs president of baseball ops. just vanquished the team's 108-year curse by constructing a championship roster that led baseball from wire-to-wire and finished the job by winning the 2016 World Series in seven games.
Of course, it's the second time in his career that Epstein has played a primary role in ending an agonizingly long championship drought. If he wasn't the principal architect of the Red Sox's curse-breaking 2004 team, he certainly reinforced the foundation with some pivotal finishing touches (David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, the Nomar Garciaparra trade). His 2007 roster was an absolute wagon, and several of those key pieces were still around for the magical 2013 season.
The Cubs, flush with young talent and locked in with one of baseball's best rosters for the next several years, appear to be ready to contend for more World Series titles for the foreseeable future. But first, Epstein needs some time to celebrate.
"I'm relinquishing my presidential duties," Epstein joked in a post-game interview with CBS 2 in Chicago. "Jed [Hoyer] is in charge. I'm going on a month-long bender."
Hoyer was Epstein's assistant GM with the Red Sox and one of many former Red Sox employees who worked for both teams in the World Series. Knowing how hard Epstein works, the "bender" probably won't be that long - but it clearly had already started when he dropped a gleefully flippant F-bomb during a live interview (warning: strong language ahead).
The bender was in full force in the Cubs clubhouse as the champagne flew, particularly for longtime Cubs fan Bill Murray, whom Epstein pepper-sprayed with champagne straight into his eyes during an "interview" with the comedy legend.
It won't be too long before the best executive in baseball (history?) gets back to work, but Epstein sure deserves this one. He became a Boston legend with his work in transforming the Red Sox into a winner, and now, Cubs fans can say the same.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
