Cubs baseball is about to change.

Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod joined the front office last week.  They bring with them a championship pedigree, but more importantly with a new approach to building a team and also playing the game.  The core of the philsophy on building the team is to pay for current performance instead of past performance.  This means we should look for the team to build primarily from within, plugging holes where necessary through free agency and trades.  Much more on this in the future.

On the field, the core of the new philosophy is control of the strike zone.  In his press conference and follow up interviews, Theo Epstein repeatedly referred to "grinding out at bats".  Now, the term "grind" or "grinder" is used frequently in baseball.  Recently, the White Sox built a primary advertising campaign around the phrase "grinderball".  What is generally meant by that term is when a player gives everything he's got, gives 100% effort and all the other typical platitudes.  It is always meant to be a compliment to call someone a grinder as it is meant to infer that he gets as much production as possible from his skillset.

However, when Theo talks about grinding out at bats, he is referring to something slightly different.  If anyone has watched a typical Yankees - Red Sox game lately, they'll have noted that the games often last over four hours in length.  Those two teams have crafted a strategy focused around controlling the strike zone and working counts until the pitcher makes a mistake.  This kind of grinding does not mean that the player works hard - item means the player makes the opposing team work hard.

It seems like a small point, but it makes a huge difference in the game.  First, it maximizes the hitter's chance to succeed in that particular at bat.  Second, it forces the opposing pitcher to work harder and throw more pitches.  Middle relievers, typically the worst pitchers on the team, have to come into the game earlier.  Having even a few hitters in a lineup that do this makes a big difference.  An entire lineup of players grinding out at bats makes a huge difference over the course of a season.

The change won't happen overnight.  The two players on the Cubs that were best at grinding out at bats were Fukudome and Pena.  One was traded mid-season and the other is a free agent.  The rising star on the team is certainly not known for having a patient approach at the plate.  However, if there's any player on the team that could benefit from this change the most, it could possibly be Starlin.  If he can learn to be more selective, he can improve upon his already immense ceiling as a hitter.