CHICAGO -- Theo Epstein is proud of the talent in the Chicago Cubs minor league system. Fake Vans From China . The president of baseball operations thinks Dale Sveum is going to be a successful manager one day. He just doesnt think Sveum is the right guy to help all those prospects become successful major leaguers. The Cubs fired Sveum on Monday after finishing last in the NL Central for the first time in seven years, ending a two-year run that produced more losses than any other stretch in the teams cursed history. "Its absolutely imperative that we create the best environment possible for young players to come up here, continue to learn, continue to develop and thrive at the big league level and win, ultimately," Epstein said during an afternoon news conference. "And thats not an easy thing to do. "A big part of the reason why were here today is because we took a good hard look at that and we decided that we needed to try to get it right before they come up." Sveum was among Epsteins first hires after the executive came over from the Boston Red Sox in 2011. He had little experience as a manager when he agreed to take the job, and he knew the Cubs were at the very beginning of a top-to-bottom overhaul that they hoped would transform them into perennial contenders. He just thought he would get more time to make it work. "You come in and you get a job like this and you want to see it through and so youre very disappointed you didnt get to really get anything started," Sveum said in a parking lot outside Wrigley Field. Sveum, who had one year left on his contract, said he thought he was fine before Epstein said during Chicagos trip to Milwaukee in mid-September that the manager was being evaluated. "That was about when things got started," Sveum said. While praising Sveums time in Chicago and his growth with the Cubs, Epstein disputed the notion that the manager was blindsided by the move. He said Sveum had been aware of some concern in the front office for some time. "We met shortly after the All-Star break, a long meeting, a long, difficult, brutally honest meeting where we explained the areas where we felt like we needed to see improvement," Epstein said. "We told him, We are meeting with you because for the first time there are some concerns about whether youre the long-term guy and you deserve to hear that feedback from us and you deserve the second half of the season to work on those areas." Epstein said he also talked to Sveum before he made his comments in Milwaukee and let him know there were still discussions going on in the front office about whether he would be retained for next season. In the end, they decided to make a change. Chicago went 61-101 in Sveums first season, and then stumbled down the stretch in 2013 while some of its best players were traded away for prospects. The Cubs dropped 41 of their final 59 games, including six of their final seven, finishing with a 66-96 record. But it looks as if wins and losses were not a major factor in Sveums dismissal. Shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, two key young players who have long-term contracts, each took a step back this year. Pitcher Jeff Samardzija also had an uneven season. Talented prospects such as Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant are on the way, and Epstein made it clear that providing the right atmosphere for those players was a key issue when it came to Sveums dismissal. "Not in all cases, there were some good results this year, some young players emerged, but there were other young players who didnt continue to develop this year," Epstein said. "Thats a collective issue, but its my responsibility to get it right." Sveum, who played a role in the development of sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun when he was a coach in Milwaukee, said he was looking forward to managing those prospects when they got to the majors. "Being here when all these players got here, thats the biggest disappointment, if anything," said Sveum, who isnt sure what hes going to do next season. "You didnt get a chance to see it through." Epstein said previous managing experience will be a point of emphasis in their search, and he plans to complete the process before the general manager meetings in early November. Sveums dismissal likely will ramp up speculation surrounding the status of Yankees manager Joe Girardi, a Peoria, Ill., native who played college ball at nearby Northwestern. The former Cubs catcher just completed the final season of his contract with New York, but he downplayed his connection to Chicago over the weekend. "Theres not as much there as there used to be," Girardi said. With the Cubs focusing on the future and dealing anyone with trade value in an effort to build the farm system, losses have been piling up at a staggering rate even for a franchise that last won a championship in 1908. The Cubs have dropped at least 91 games in three straight seasons for the first time, and they appear to be at least a year or two from making any jump in the win column. Despite those problems and Sveums short stint in charge, Epstein doesnt think he will have to sell the manager opening to any potential candidate. "We know exactly what were looking for and I think were going to find it," he said. Fake Vans SK8 . About seven hours before facing Washington in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference second round series, team officials said the oft-injured Bynum would miss the rest of the playoffs and would not even be with the team for the rest of the post-season. Fake Vans Old Skool .Bekker was added Wednesday in exchange for allocation money after two seasons with Toronto. The native of Canada had 29 MLS appearances, including 16 starts. Hes also played in 13 games for the Canadian national team. http://www.fakevans.com/fake-vans-slip-on/ . Notes on P.K. Subban, Dale Weise, Erik Haula, Mikael Granlund, Ilya Bryzgalov and more.DAYTON, Ohio -- So much for first-time jitters. Chris Eversley scored 19 points to help Cal Poly avoid its 20th loss of the season and win its first NCAA tournament game, 81-69 victory over Texas Southern on Wednesday night in the First Four. The Mustangs (14-19) were 0-3 and 4-9 early before losing nine of 11 heading into the Big West Conference tournament -- which they won to earn the programs first NCAA bid. The team with the worst record in the tournament now moves on to face the one with the best -- top-seeded Wichita State (34-0) -- in the second round in St. Louis on Friday. There have been 23 teams with losing records in the NCAA tournament since 1955. Only three teams had won in the first/opening round. Aaric Murray closed out his career with 38 points for Texas Southern (19-15), champs of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament. David Nwaba added 17 points and Brian Bennett -- who was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field -- had 10 for the Mustangs. Cal Poly had participated in seven Division II tournaments, finishing third in 1981. The 81 points were the Mustangs second-highest total all season. They shot 57 per cent from the field (29 of 51). Coach Mike Davis, in his second year with Texas Southern after earlier leading Indiana and UAB to the big tournament, was clearly not happy during two timeouts to try to get his team to play better on defence. Murray was the top player on the court, but that wasnt enough for the Tigers. Originally a blue-chip recruit for La Salle, he left there for West Virginia where he was dismissed from the team. In his final year of eligibility for Texas Southern, he had 28 points against Stanford, 30 against Tulsa and 48 against Teemple in his return home to Philadelphia. Fake Vans Store. Cal Poly dominated most of the first half to build a 12-point lead at the break and never let it go. Down by as many as 16 points early in the second half, the Tigers fought back with a 9-4 run to get the lead down to single figures. It stayed there until the Mustangs awakened. Murray had a jam and two foul shots to narrow it to 70-62 with 4:42 left before the teams traded points. Cal Poly took time off the clock until Kyle Odister missed a long 3, but Nwaba was fouled on the rebound and hit the second shot with 1:42 remaining. Texas Southern then turned it over when Rodriguez bowled over Jamal Johnson on a drive. Eversley was quickly fouled and swished both and the lead was back to 76-66 with just over a minute left as the small contingent of Mustangs fans cheered across from their teams bench. The Mustangs salted the game away at the line in the final 60 seconds. Ganging up on the Tigers Murray at every opportunity, the Mustangs pulled away midway through the opening half. Trailing 17-16 after a Murray 3 which gave him 11 points, Cal Poly took the lead for good on Bennetts slashing move to the hoop. After a Texas Southern miss, Bennett scored again on a 14-foot jumper. Those two baskets keyed a 16-7 burst for a 32-24 lead. Murray ended up 14 of 23 from the field, 3 of 5 behind the arc and a perfect 7 for 7 at the line. The Mustangs led the Big West in scoring defence, allowing 63.4 points a game while finishing last in scoring (63.2). Conversely, the Tigers led the SWAC in scoring (76.2 points) but was near the bottom in defence (73.7). Texas Southern was making its fifth NCAA trip, and fell to 0-5. ' ' '