Cubs fire manager after last-place finish

Theo Epstein is proud of the talent in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system. The president of baseball operations thinks Dale Sveum is going to be a successful manager one day.

He just doesn’t think Sveum is the right guy to help all those prospects become successful major leaguers. The Cubs fired Sveum on Monday after finishing last in the NL Central for the first time in seven years, ending a two-year run that produced more losses than any other stretch in the team’s cursed history.

Sveum was among Epstein’s first hires after the executive came over from the Boston Red Sox in 2011. He had little experience as a manager when he agreed to take the job, and he knew the Cubs were at the very beginning of a top-to-bottom overhaul that they hoped would transform them into perennial contenders.

Sveum, who had one year left on his contract, said he thought he was fine before Epstein said during Chicago’s trip to Milwaukee in mid-September that the manager was being evaluated. While praising Sveum’s time in Chicago and his growth with the Cubs, Epstein disputed the notion that the manager was blindsided by the move. He said Sveum had been aware of some concern in the front office for some time. AP