Theo Epstein, CPA

During our weekly conversation, Brad and I were giddy about Theo Epstein; we talked about how his swagger has already changed the mindset of Cubs fans (see: Optimism Goggles) but one thing caught our attention. Theo was talking assets on the Waddle and Silvy show and said:

We’re looking for assets. We’re going to scratch and claw and do everything in our power- in the draft, internationally, small trades, waiver claims... We need to build assets because we don’t have enough of them. We’re not going to look past one that might be sitting right there in our organization.

Amaze.

Assets. They are a very good thing. They can increase the value of a firm, provide benefit to firm operations, and/or generate cash flow. And I believe Theo is talking more about fixed assets than current assets:

• Fixed assets are expected to provide benefit for more than one year (think: strong player development, Dominican presence, and entering untapped markets (India, anyone? It's only a country of a billion people... I'm sure there's some baseball players, somewhere))
• Whereas current assets are consumed within one year (think: one-year deals via waiver claims or free agency)

Everything that I've read about Theo and the Cubs points to allocating capital that will be beneficial for stakeholders (fans)... finally. When you invest and build assets internally, it alleviates risk of building/overpaying players via free agency. Internal growth of assets allow you to rely more on your internal valuations, process, and operations. Developing a system based on fundamentals, valuation, and analytical/traditional scouting seems to be Theo's priority.

For Epstein, CPA doesn't mean Certified Public Accountant. But rather, Cubs Promoter of Assets.