The Red Sox are 29-32 and in last place in the American League East.    The Chicago Cubs are 20-40 and in last place in the National League Central.   The only team with a worse record than the Cubs are the San Diego Padres (Jed Hoyer’s former team and Theo’s sidekick) who are obviously also in last place.    So this naturally begs the question of whether Theo is the most overrated/luckiest GM in the history of baseball?    I’m sure pussy Midwestern Cubs fans are saying it’s only his first year give him time, but if I remember correctly he got credit for us winning the world series in his first year here.   So you can’t have your cake and eat it too.   If he gets credit for that he needs to get the blame for the debacle in Chicago.

Personally I think the truth lies in between.   Theo is an adequate GM.  He’s no genius.  He’s no idiot.  Instead it just illustrates a long standing belief I’ve had about baseball executives in general.  That they are the luckiest people in the world.  It’s the highest paying dream job that everybody wants that takes the least amount of natural ability to be good at.  You don’t have to be athletic.  You don’t have to have played the game.  You don’t have to be really smart.   You just have to be in the right place at the right time, get your foot in the door and get lucky.   That’s it.   I mean baseball GM’s aren’t smarter than you or I.   Brian Cashman and Theo don’t have any skills that separate  them from the average slob who plays fantasy baseball.   They spend the most money that their owner lets them on the best players available which everybody agrees are the best players.   How fucking hard is that?   It reminds me of Trading Places in a way.  You could stick anybody in that role, teach them how to do it and the results would be similar.  So even though Theo seemingly has mushed half the major leagues right now I’m sure in a few years the Cubs and Red Sox will be good again.  But it won’t be because he suddenly changed his philosophy or got a new brain.  It’s just the law of averages.  In the beginning of his career everything worked out for Theo.  Now nothing is.   Sooner or later the pendulum will swing back his way and it will really have nothing to do with him.