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Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein has a lot on his table these days, but he did have time to talk about how pleased he has been with his new manager and coaching staff.

Although the Cubs have been slow out of the gate, manager Dale Sveum and his group of coaches have been getting rave reviews from players and executives alike.

"With Dale and the coaches the amount of preparation, hard work and attention to detail is as good as it gets," Epstein said. “They deserve a lot of credit for how smoothly things have gone and hopefully results follow."

There is a feeling that the Cubs have assembled a solid braintrust to guide the team into the future. The Cubs are still under .500 at 13-18, but they've just won back-to-back series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.

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Carlos Marmol's turnaround eighth inning in Monday night's Chicago Cubs win was something president of baseball operations Theo Epstein watched with special interest. Marmol regained his form and his aura, turning catcalls by the fans into cheers.

“The way to work through it in this (ballpark) is to take the feedback you get sometimes and turn it into a positive,” Epstein said. “Last night he said the booing motivated him because he knew he had to get it right and that is a mature approach. So you might as well turn it into a positive.”

Before Tuesday night’s game, Cubs manager Dale Sveum said that although Marmol has been demoted from the closer’s role for now, he would like to see him regain his former position. Epstein concurred.

“I think everyone has to recognize he wants to succeed as much as anyone else,” Epstein said. “No one wants to go out there and fail, especially in a role when you let your teammates down. But he is paid a lot of money to do a job and his has a lot of support around him. It’s up to him to go out and fix himself, but I have not seen any signs of him backing down.”

Marmol lost his job after imploding in a save opportunity against the Reds last week. The Cubs reliever is in the second year of a three-year, $21 million deal he signed before the 2011 season.

Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has enjoyed the progress his major league team has made on the field, however his major concentration is on the amateur draft that comes up on June 4.

“It’s probably the most important thing we are doing right now, to be honest,” Epstein said. “So that is what takes up the vast majority of our time. Draft day is the most important day of the year for every organization. It is a year-long process, and right now we are right in the sweet spot -- finishing evaluations, going back and getting final looks. We then will get together and dissect all the information.”


Epstein, like the rest of the front offices in baseball, has to approach this year’s draft differently due to the new collective bargaining rules, which apply a tax system that can be as high as 100 percent on a dollar if you exceed the salary cap.

“Every team is setting aside some time to think through how the draft may play differently now,” Epstein said. “It affects how we approach signability and how we allocate our resources into who we will scout and how often. But it is the same for all 30 clubs. It is a level playing field. We will go and do our best.”

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MIAMI – Without giving away too much information, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said his presence in South Florida on Thursday coincided with a personal scouting visit he took this week.

Epstein typically scouts top amateur prospects himself after getting the word from the club's local scout in the area. He will see over a dozen players in person leading up to the June draft when the Cubs have the sixth overall selection.

Where Epstein was scouting will remain his own little secret in order to not let other teams in on who interests the Cubs. He also makes it a point to take in whatever game he is scouting in disguise so that he isn't noticed by scouts of other clubs or by the players he is scouting.

“I go out every year and see at least 15 to 20 guys a year and stay current and on top of it," Epstein said. “And also this year we're getting to know our scouts a little bit too, so I got to spend time with most of the guys."

So doesn't he think he will be noticed when attending a sometimes small gathering at a high school baseball game?

“Not when I have a hat on and sit in the back," he said.

MIAMI -- Nobody said the Chicago Cubs' restoration project was going to have success overnight which still doesn’t make the team’s slow start any easier to watch.

President of baseball operations Theo Epstein understands fan impatience with a club that started Thursday with a 3-9 record and a spot in last place in the National League Central. But his long-term vision means that perspective and not panic is his motivator right now.

“You have to view every situation, every move, through the same lenses we discussed this winter,” Epstein said from the Cubs dugout in Marlins Park on Thursday. “What’s going to help us maximize our competitiveness in 2012, and then bigger picture is how to we build a championship caliber organization? That’s going to be a longer term issue. When those two interests but up against each other we will defer for the long term.”

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CHICAGO -- Spend a little time around Matt Garza and it’s clear that his schedule doesn’t operate the same as most.

Four days a week he is the talkative, demonstrative vocal leader of the Chicago Cubs. Then it’s his day to pitch.

Garza will take the mound for the first time Saturday against the Washington Nationals. And while he was every bit the noisy, talkative Garza on Opening Day, he will go to a different place once the sun rises Saturday morning.

“He embraces the competitive aspects of the game and doesn’t try to pretend it’s just another day,” said president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, who was in the same boat this spring as Cubs fans were last year when they were learning the nuances of the big right-hander.

“He needs his music and his time to himself, and he brings a lot to the table. He walks sort of a fine line between in control and out of control, but that works for him emotionally.”

Perhaps the biggest thing Epstein learned about the club’s talented pitcher during 6½ weeks in the desert is that there is more than meets the eye with Garza.

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MESA, Ariz. -- Theo Epstein did not sugar coat it when it came to describing the talent in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system.

“We need more talent; we lack impact talent,” Epstein said. “We have a number of interesting guys, especially at the lower levels, but every organization has a number of interesting guys at the lower level.”

It was obvious that the Cubs were extremely interested in the players from Cuba who were recently available. They missed on outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who signed with the Oakland Athletics, but landed left-handed pitcher Gerardo Concepcion.

They also are reported to be extremely interested in Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler, who has yet to be granted free agency. Some reports have even said the Cubs have already come to contract terms with Soler, but general manager Jed Hoyer sternly denied that.

Looking at what is on hand, outfielder Brett Jackson would fit into that dynamic prospect mold that Epstein talked about, and so would first baseman Anthony Rizzo, whom Epstein and Hoyer acquired from the San Diego Padres this winter.

Although there are arms at Triple-A Iowa with major-league experience such as Randy Wells and Travis Wood, a hard-throwing, late-inning bullpen prospect -- or three -- is on the wish list.

“We need some more impact talent, and we need some guys who have ability and can break through,” Epstein said. “It would be really nice to get a breakthrough player this year and have somebody move from that interesting prospect category to that potentially impact category. So we’ll see. There’s a lot of work to do.”

MESA, Ariz. -- So far so good on the Dale Sveum era, as everybody from upper management to the players have lauded the spring training camp put together by the new Cubs manager.

It’s only spring training of course, but if first impressions are important, and if sticking to your word matters, then Sveum has started his Cubs tenure on the right track.

It was in the middle of camp when general manager Jed Hoyer admitted that part of what sold everybody on Sveum was that spring training set the tone, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Players worked longer this spring, they were required to pay attention to detail instead of just going through the motions and everything was done on precision timing that left little downtime.

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MESA, Ariz. -- Scream and yell, rant and rave all you want Chicago Cubs fans, the team’s new front office will hear you, it just might not be listening all that closely.

President Theo Epstein knows how these expectation things work. He worked for the Boston Red Sox … before they won a pair of World Series titles.

So while Epstein encourages fans -- and even the media to some extent -- to voice their opinions about the team, even if it is negative, he seemed to suggest recently that the sky-is-falling rants are just the price of doing business in a town that is passionate about its baseball team.

“I think it’s important to just focus on what we’re doing internally and understand that everything outside, no offense, is just noise whether it comes from [the media] or even comes from some fans who are deservedly upset at a given point,” Epstein said. “It’s really just noise, and if we let it affect our decision making, shame on us.”

Epstein then went on to quote Bill Parcells.

“If you listen to the fans in the stands, pretty soon you’ll be one of them,” Epstein said with a slight chuckle.

Sometimes Epstein sounds like the guy with two World Series titles in his back pocket so he doesn’t need anybody telling him what needs to be done. But he also sounds like somebody who knows what happens to those who react too quickly in an effort to quell the uprising.

“I was lucky that growing up in Boston, I knew the nature of it, and I think what was part of the Red Sox’s problem for many, many decades was focusing too much on the next day’s sports section on what people thought and focusing too much on the Yankees and other factors and not focusing on just building something and keeping a real consistent focus on just progress and building,” Epstein said.

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The compensation discussions between the Red Sox and Cubs -- stemming from Theo Epstein taking the president of baseball operations position in Chicago while he was still under contract in Boston – have
been a farce from the outset.

First and foremost, Larry Lucchino, Boston’s president and CEO, could not wait to fire manager Terry Francona and see Epstein move on after the epic melt down that cost Boston a playoff berth on the final day of the 2011 season. Francona quit, after a no-confidence message was delivered to him by ownership. Epstein, who had locked horns with Lucchino for years, still had one year remaining on his contract as the Red Sox’s GM.

As much as Epstein leaving Boston for Chicago was a home run for the North Siders, the Cubs made one vital error; they did not understand Boston wanted a lot more for their former executive than a prospect and a few dollars.

We now have advanced five months down the road with the two teams still fighting each other on the issue. The latest problem centers on an injury to pitching prospect Chris Carpenter. The centerpiece of the compensation package sent to Boston, Carpenter had surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow on Thursday.

When asked if he believed the Cubs knew of Carpenter’s arm issues, Luccino told reporters, "I'm not going to comment on it. We assume everyone acted in good faith."

That’s not to say Luccino is finally putting the issue to rest. He also told reporters in Red Sox camp that GM Ben Cherington is “exploring” Boston’s options and called the situation “on-going.”

Nothing about Carpenter should have been a mystery to the Red Sox.

The organization scouted all of his outings in the Arizona Fall League. The Red Sox looked at all the medicals on the pitcher going back to November. They also looked at his talent, having seen him average 100 mph when he did pitch.

It is true that Carpenter’s history of arm issues predates his move to Boston. He had a forearm strain that landed him on the DL last summer. It is also true that elbow issues are almost always connected to forearm strains. That being the case, it is even more obvious that the Red Sox knew what they were getting.

It is time, once and for all, for Bud Selig to put an end to this nonsense. Selig should have the Cubs write a small check and be done with it forever. Compensation of a player for a front-office person never has made sense.

MESA, Ariz. -- The Theo Epstein compensation saga between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox finally came to a close Thursday, albeit a slightly controversial one.

The Cubs received 19-year-old first baseman Jair Bogaerts from the Red Sox to finish all aspects of the deal, but the conversation over the entire episode might not be complete.

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Upon assuming the role of president of baseball operations for the, Theo Epstein made little secret of the fact that he would be taking the long view in the way he shapes the team's roster and minor league system.

Epstein has no illusions, however. Shifting priorities and adjusting scouting budgets will help. But sustained success on the North Side will not come without tireless effort throughout the organization.

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Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein won't have to worry about instituting a ban on alcohol in the clubhouse, because that policy already exists, and a source familiar with the situation said Monday that the ban will remain intact.

Alcohol in the clubhouse became a hot-button topic with the Boston Red Sox after last season when stories emerged that pitchers were drinking in the clubhouse when they weren't pitching. A lack of focus was perceived as one of the reasons the Red Sox collapsed at the end of the season and missed the playoffs.

Manager Terry Francona was fired and Epstein, then the general manager, left Boston for the Cubs.

The Red Sox recently instituted a ban on alcohol in the home clubhouse and on the last leg of road trips.

The Cubs also ban alcohol in the home clubhouse and on return flights from road trips.

ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine contributed to this report.

MESA, Ariz. -- Tom Ricketts finally has the management team he wants for the Chicago Cubs in place for the next decade. Beginning his third season as the club’s chairman, the Nebraska native appears to be on top of his game as a business man and baseball executive.

Ricketts handled media questions in an easy and in controlled manner on Friday, answering questions when he felt it was what he wanted to do. In the past, it seemed that Ricketts would hesitate and force an answer as if he had an obligation to reply. That is no longer the case. Three times he was asked about Starlin Castro's ongoing off-the-field problems and three times he adroitly deferred to Castro’s agent and representatives, showing the awareness of a long-time owner.

Ricketts loves the team’s new “Cub Way” direction Theo Epstein has started for the franchise. “You do like to hear the ‘Cub Way,’” Ricketts said. “What we are doing is putting everything down on paper and everyone is signing off on it, everyone is working together.”

Certainly, that wasn’t the case over the last couple of seasons on the north side.

It’s refreshing for Cub fans to know that the team’s owners are responsive to the point of returning emails and phone calls on a regular basis. In fact, Ricketts walks the ballpark before home games, shaking hands and signing baseballs.

“Everyone buys in. Everyone is accountable,” Ricketts said. “I think that’s a big part of the ‘Cub Way.’”

Cub fans have three baseball executives in place, as Ricketts now will sit in with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer on both business and baseball decisions, something he avoided for some reason during the Jim Hendry regime.

“I think we have made some changes that will pay off in the short run and in the long run with a team that is going to be competitive every single year,” Ricketts said. “I feel great about it.”

So will the fan base when it starts to see results.

The fact that it took almost four months to agree on compensation for Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein shows a general disconnect between the Boston Red Sox and Cubs.

Larry Lucchino, the very bright and overbearing Red Sox president and CEO, wanted a big-time player in return for an executive he no longer wanted. On Tuesday, the clubs agreed on 26-year-old relief pitcher Chris Carpenter along with players to be named from each team by April 15.

The Red Sox could have had this deal done in late November when the teams were discussing compensation at that point. Only the stubbornness of Lucchino prevented Carpenter from going to Boston then, according to major league sources.

The Cubs messed up by not getting Lucchino’s approval on compensation before they named Epstein the new president on Oct. 21. The Lucchino-Epstein power struggle has been going on for years with Lucchino never wanting to give his protege any credit for the team's world championships in 2004 and 2007. That attitude led to Epstein leaving the Red Sox for three months in 2008 before signing long-term deal through 2012.

Giving up a young pitcher such as Carpenter was too much in this case. A lower-level player and cash would have been proper compensation. There is no doubt that Epstein is a great talent, but as he said, he has never played one inning of organized baseball. Why should any team give up a player for a suit?

In the future, money would be the best way to compensate a team for a team president.