Theo Epstein on the mess he inherited:

If there was one thing that I was surprised by in a negative way it was how pervasive the lack of plate discipline was in the whole organization, at the major-league level, upper minors, lower minors, draft decision making and protocol. It's just something that has not been a factor for a long time, and we're paying the price for that.

It's embedded. It's institutionalized.

As Bruce Miles affirms -- Bruce Miles is the best beat reporter in the world, by the way -- this is the first time Epstein has spoken so forthrightly about the shortcomings of the Hendry regime. In public, anyway.

Miles:

For the last several years, observers have wondered about the development of such hitters at Tyler Colvin, Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson when it comes to their approaches in the minor leagues. It seems obvious that the drafting of those types of hitters, whether they turn out to be good or bad in the end, won't happen under Epstein and Co.

This isn't really fair, but here's a partial list of players chosen in the 2007 amateur draft, after the Cubs tabbed Josh Vitters (minor league walk percentage: 4.8%) with their number 3 pick:

Matt Wieters
Jason Heyward
Giancarlo Stanton
Madison Bumgarner
Jarrod Parker