What is something the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals share in common? Outside of a down season here or there, they’ve proven themselves to be two of the most stable and successful MLB franchises over the past few decades.
That’s something the Chicago Cubs want and according to Patrick Mooney, they’re doing what they can to copy the blueprints which brought bout the Cardinals and Red Sox success.
The Cubs said forget it and kept rolling with Jason Motte, a breakout closer when St. Louis won the 2011 World Series, and David Ross, Lester’s personal catcher and a veteran leader for Boston’s worst-to-first team in 2013.
In his Sunday notes column, Boston Globe national writer Nick Cafardo listed 19 (!) ex-Red Sox in Cubs camp working as players, coaches and staffers.
Nobody knows the Red Sox’s success more than current Cubs general manger Theo Epstein and it certainly appears he’s invoking a similar franchise building strategy with the Cubs.
Of course, deep pockets certainly help as does a strong minor league system (Kris Bryant, Mike Olt, Starlin Castro, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler) – you know, two things that have helped both the Red Sox (and to a lesser extend, the Cardinals) be two of baseball’s best.
Now hopefully for those in the Windy City, the Chicago Cubs will have their long awaited reign at the top.
