Theo Epstein

Be intentional about the spaces you create but not at the cost of compromising other elements.

We've made plenty of mistakes. But the ones that we've hit on, we've gotten lucky with some impact guys back, some best-case scenarios as far as how the guys have turned out.

There's nothing I hate more than someone who speaks in the draft room with absolute conviction, but they have nothing to back it up.

As I sat back and imagined what my transition from the Red Sox might be, I thought it would smell more like champagne than beer, I guess you would say.

The Red Sox hadn't won in 86 years when we took over. We didn't run from that challenge - we embraced it.

It stinks to give up a good player. But if you think that way, you'll never make any trades. You have to focus on what you're getting back.

You have years where most things go your way, and you have years where more things than usual seem like a challenge.

Players that tend to respond to adversity the right way and triumph in the end are players with strong character. If you have enough guys like that in the clubhouse, you have an edge on the other team.

Baseball is a game based on adversity. It's a game that's going to test you repeatedly. It's going to find your weaknesses and vulnerabilities and force you to adjust. That adversity, in the big picture, is a really good thing because it shows you where your weaknesses are. It gives you the opportunity to improve.

I ended up staying 10 years in Boston. It was nine as GM but 10 years there. That seemed about right: long enough to try to make a difference and try to contribute to winning teams and some championships.

The 2011 Cubs were the oldest team in the division, the most expensive team in the division, and the worst team in the division. And we really needed to start over.

Communication is different in the clubhouse than it is in a boardroom. The heartbeat that exists in the clubhouse, you don't find that same type of heartbeat in the front office.