he suggested a little immaturity might have made him focus

MESA, Ariz. -- No matter what the record says, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein insists he sees progress as he begins his third season in charge. It hasnt shown at the major league level. "The people that we have in place in this organization -- the coaches, scouts -- I believe are impact, and I believe in the processes that we have in place," Epstein said Thursday. "It takes time to turn our organization around. It takes time to build impact talent and to build requisite depth. But its happening. People in those meetings, the people in this organization, really believe that were on the verge of something special. And we understand that were perceived otherwise, and thats our fault because weve been a last-place club the last couple years. Were not protesting. We need to earn our way into a position where were championship contenders on an annual basis, and we feel like that is certainly moving in the right direction." It hasnt been an easy process, and while success might be on the horizon, it doesnt appear to be at hand. Pitchers and catchers reported on Thursday, and for the Cubs, it doesnt look like much will be different this season. They were relatively quiet in the off-season, although they did hire manager Rick Renteria to replace the fired Dale Sveum and made a run at star Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, but mostly it looks like they are in for more rough times at the major league level as they wait for their top prospects to develop in the minors. Their most recent winning season was when they went 83-78 under Lou Piniella in 2009. With four straight sub-.500 seasons, theyve matched their longest streak since 1984 to 1988. And another losing season would put them on their longest run since they finished below .500 six years in a row from 1978 to 1983. For now, the Cubs continue to sell hope, a promise that better days are coming. They tout their minor league system, and while renovations to Wrigley Field remain on hold, they can point to new facilities in the Dominican Republic along with a spring training home that just opened. As for the Cubs record, it cant get much worse. Theyve dropped 91 or more games each of the past three years and are coming off a two-year run under Sveum that produced a 127-197 record. Theyre hoping Renteria will provide the right atmosphere for young major league players such as shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo as well as top prospects Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant. They believe they have three solid starters in Travis Wood, Jeff Samardzija and Edwin Jackson, although Jackson struggled last season and Samardzija is a potential trade chip after he was unable to reach a long-term agreement and took a one-year deal. Jake Arrieta, a candidate to start, might not be ready for the beginning of the season because of tightness in his right shoulder. General manager Jed Hoyer revealed Thursday that Arrieta, acquired from Baltimore last July, experienced some tightness this winter and is being brought along slowly. Hoyer announced Arrietas injury after confirming the Cubs agreed to one-year contracts with starting pitchers Jason Hammel and James McDonald. Both could be candidates to be traded before the deadline if they succeed, considering thats exactly what the Cubs did with Paul Maholm and Scott Feldman the past two seasons. "We know we have some numbers now," Hoyer said. They also have hope that better days are coming. "Theres a real dichotomy between how the organization is perceived from the outside and how we look at it internally and the morale that we have internally," Epstein said. NOTES: Renteria tabbed newcomer Jose Veras as the closer. ... Hoyer basically dismissed the idea of moving Castro to another position even though he and the White Soxs Alexei Ramirez led major league shortstops with 22 errors last season and Baez is in the pipeline. "Castros our shortstop," Hoyer said. "We have all the confidence in the world that hell remain our shortstop and hell keep working hard and keep improving. And he knows theres (room) to improve there." ... Hoyer said reliever Kyuji Fujikawa will soon start throwing off the mound. Hes coming off Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow. ... Epstein said the Cubs will look to draft pitchers going forward, although not necessarily with their first pick. Tim McCarver Jersey . George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. 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Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series.WINNIPEG -- Receiver Nick Moore is getting ready to return to the Lions den but this time in a Winnipeg Blue Bomber uniform. "I want to beat them just as bad as I want to beat everybody else," said Moore, who spent three seasons with the B.C. Lions until he was scooped as a free agent by the Bombers after the end of 2013. "I want to win every game. Theyre just another team." Moore said his time with the Lions included highs and lows as he moved back and forth from the active roster to the practice roster, although he went out with a bang, finishing third in the CFL with 1,105 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2013. He says the Lions wanted him to stay but "it was the best choice for me to come here and, as you can see, it worked out well for me." At the same time, he suggested a little immaturity might have made him focus on the wrong things when he was wearing Lions colours. "It was a little bit up and down but I cant complain, it made me what I am today." He has already established himself as No. 1 on the Bombers receiving list this season with 221 yards after four games and is a favourite target of Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy, who he has known since their years trying to crack the NFL. "Being with a new team, thats one of the games that you look forward to," he said of his return to Vancouver. "That being said, its just another game. Its an important game because its a divisional game but its just another game." The Bombers have moved back to the CFL West after spending almost a decade in the East following the departure of Ottawa, which has now returned to the league with the Redblacks. The Bombers will be wiithout a promising young receiver, Aaron Kelly, when they walk into B.ddddddddddddC. Place. He continues to be bothered by a knee problem, although he did practice some this week. Promising Canadian receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino will be playing, although he didnt practice Wednesday. The Bombers will also be missing veteran defensive back Johnny Sears. They had already accepted that defensive end Jason Vega, No. 2 on Winnipegs sack list, wouldnt be playing. Coach Mike OShea confirmed Wednesday that Maurice Leggett will sub for Sears, now that Leggett is off the injured list. The Bomber offence has been working all week to close the gaps that let Willy get sacked five times last week, as they fell 26-3 to the Edmonton Eskimos, their first loss of the season. "Mentally weve had good practices all week, were definitely ready to go," said Willy. "I like our game plan this week and I think were going to go out and execute it. We really just need to go out there and be successful as an offence, really communicate, depending how loud it gets and all that, and just make sure were on the same page." Communication, or lack thereof, was an issue OShea highlighted after last weeks pasting. But nine-season CFL veteran offensive lineman Steve Morley says as far as the front five were concerned, that wasnt really their problem. "I think the communication was fine, we didnt really have missed assignments, it was more just guys getting beat," he said. "They knew we were passing, Edmonton has a really good front four rushing the passer. . . We have to use better technique, finish our plays, hopefully dont get down by 20 in the fourth quarter." ' ' '