Theo Epstein has left the Boston Red Sox and officialy become the Chicago Cubs new President after weeks of speculation on the move. Rumor has it that Jed Hoyer, the San Diego Padres GM, will be joining Epstein in Chicago. Hoyer and Epstein will form the Cubs Front Office “1-2 punch.”

Epstein is best known for bringing two World Series championships to the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. He  made multiple moves that led to the Red Sox victories in 2004 and 2007 World Series that ended a drought starting in 1918 (The Cubs current drought stands at 103 years; starting in 1908). His 2004 moves include the following (according to CBSSport.com):

• Epstein traded for Curt Schilling after the 2003 season. There is no way Boston wins it all in ’04 without Schilling anchoring the rotation.

• Epstein picked up David Ortiz and Kevin Millar off the scrap heap. Things seemed to work out well after both of those signings.

• Epstein had the stones to deal All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 — coincidentally to the Cubs — replacing him with Orlando Cabrera and shoring up the defense with Doug Mientkiewicz at first base. The Red Sox would go on to win the World Series that season.

• Prior to 2004, the Red Sox were going with a closer-by-committee approach. Epstein scrapped that and signed Keith Foulke, who recorded 32 saves, a 2.13 ERA and the final out of the World Series in 2004.

• In nine seasons in Boston, Epstein’s Red Sox went to the playoffs six times — coming from the best division in the majors — and won the World Series twice. Boston had won the World Series zero times since 1918 before he took the job.

The move to get Epstein has shown Cubs’ fans that their new owner, Tom Ricketts, is willing to do everything he can to win a World Series. Epstein may not bring a World Series to the Cubs next year or even the year after, but his ability to build a farm system along with Ricketts’ enthusiasm to build from inside the organization should provide excitement for Cubs’ fans everywhere. Teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, and San Fransisco Giants have made playoff and World Series runs in recent years mainly on home-grown talent.

Epstein has a five-year contract with the Cubs and will be hard at work to end the longest championship drought in professional sports. If he is able to bring a World Series to the Cubs, however, he will go down as one of the most famous front office men in Major League Baseball history. Ending the 1918 Boston Red Sox’ curse and then moving to Chicago and ending the 1908 Cubs’ curse would make him a baseball immortal.

Good news for the Cubs is that, although Epstein will face insane expectations in Chicago, he has already held up in one of the most demanding sports cities in the United States and did fine under the pressure there. One thing is for certain though, Epstein can’t do this alone. It will take a large group of guys doing everything they can to build the best team possible to win a World Series. It also takes a good amount of luck and some balls bouncing your way. If, however, Epstein does achieve this goal in Chicago he will be up for baseball Sainthood performing two miracles.