SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ General manager Jed Hoyer said he used to joke that the Cubs gave "the most ironic sales pitch of all time" to potential free agents.
That tactic is gone now that the Cubs won their first World Series title in 108 years last week.
"We lack that, 'Come be a part of the greatest American sports story (pitch),' " Hoyer said. "Those guys did it. Now they're part of history. Now we have to turn the page, and we're a little bit more recruiting like every team now. We have plenty to offer and sell, but we don't have the ultimate sales pitch we had for way too long."
Of course, a chance to repeat as World Series champions is pretty enticing too, and both Hoyer and Cubs President Theo Epstein offered long lists of their other sales pitches _ from a fun, young clubhouse and a first-class city to a player-first manager and the enduring allure of playing at Wrigley Field.
"We might not be able to send out a video now," Epstein said. "People are probably sick of seeing us on TV to begin with."
Hoyer and Epstein have gotten back to business this week at the general managers meetings, and Hoyer said the change of pace from non-stop fun came at the right time.
"The hard stop of coming out to Arizona and being in meetings all afternoon was probably the shock to the system we needed," he said. "If we had stayed in Chicago, it would have been easy to keep the celebration going and keep doing fun stuff. Coming out here was the right circuit breaker to get back to reality."
