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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. Max Kepler Jersey .com) - Kam Chancellor bobbed his head in celebration as he crossed the goal line on his game-clinching 90-yard interception return. Byron Buxton Jersey . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken. http://www.twinssale.com/customized/. Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were third with 210.84 points. Teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fourth. Duhamel and Radford, who were seventh at the Sochi Olympics, also won bronze at last years world championships in London, Ont. Minnesota Twins Jerseys . Granlund scored 2:04 into the first period. Max Reinhart, on his first NHL shift of the season, neatly stripped the puck from Zack Smith at the Senators blue-line. As he moved in, his attempted shot deflected into the slot where Granlund buried a shot past Craig Anderson. Tony Oliva Jersey . Five years ago, Nestor and Zimonjic beat the American twins to win the title. But the Bryans, the worlds top-ranked team, needed 74 minutes to earn the victory Saturday as both Nestor and Zimonjic lost serve in the second set. The axe came down on CFL veterans Justin Palardy, Hugh Charles, Jamel Richardson and Martell Mallett on Saturday. All four were released as CFL teams reduced their rosters to 46 players by the league deadline of 10 p.m. ET. The regular season kicks off Thursday with the Toronto Argonauts visiting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Veteran kicker Palardy was among 14 players cut by the expansion Ottawa Redblacks. While his release was surprising, the Edmonton Eskimos provided a shocker by including seven-year veteran Charles name in their final 15 cuts. A knee injury limited nine-year CFL veteran Richardson, 32, to only 18 catches for 197 yards last year, breaking a streak of five straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons with Montreal, which also let veteran linebacker Diamond Ferri go. Mallett, the 09 CFL top rookie with B.C., was released by Calgary. The running back was attempting to resurrect his career after suffering a season-ending torn Achilles tendon during training camp in 12 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Veteran defensive back Evan McCullough, who earned a Grey Cup ring with Toronto in 12, was among five players released by Hamilton. The Argos were expected to announce their final cuts Sunday. Palardy, a 26-year-old native of Truro, N.S., was looking to kick-start his CFL career with Ottawa but was released along with international kicker Paolo Henriques, leaving American rookie Brett Maher as the clubs only kicker. Howeer, late Saturday night it was reported that Maher had also been released. Maher had a field goal, three converts and single in Ottawas 26-10 exhibition win over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night, but he didnt exactly receive a ringing endorsement from Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins on Saturday. "Unfortunately nobody lived up to what we felt the acceptable level of performance would be," Desjardins told reporters. "Even in Bretts case, he knows he need to be better. "It doesnt mean hes locked into being our guy either . . . were still having guys to explore and other options to look at and were going to do that. We have time, we have bye week so we have a lot of time to figure this out." The Redblacks dont play their first game until July 3 in Winnipeg. Palardy, a former Saint Marys star, was taken in the fifth round of the 2010 CFL draft by Hamilton and played in five games as a punter before being released. Palardy joined Winnipeg in August 2010 and made 26-of-30 field goals for a club-record 86.7 per cent success ratio. He followed that up by hitting 40-of-52 field goals in 2011. The following season, Palardy was Winnipegs nominee for the CFLs top special-teams player after making 39-of-45 field goals and averaging a career-high 57.3 yards on 70 kickoffs. But after hitting 9-of-12 field goals in 13, Palardy was replaced by Canadian Sando DeAngelis and released by the Bombers on Aug. 27, 2013. He signed with Ottawa on March 6. Palardy punted 12 times against Montreal for a 39.8-yard average. Redbblacks head coach Rick Campbell said cutdown day is tough for all involved.dddddddddddd "This is not a fun day," he said. "Theres a lot of guys that have put in a lot of work to get to this point and to try and make a football team. "To give people bad news, you never want to do it but its a part of the fact of what happens in pro sports." Over his career, Palardy made 114-of-139 field goals (82 per cent) and boasted a 42.1-yard punting average Also released by the Redblacks were national receivers Aaron Hargreaves, Simon LeMarquand and Steven Adu, international defensive back Parker Orms, international linebacker Devin Arrington, national defensive lineman Stephon Miller, international defensive lineman Dimetrio Tyson,, national offensive linemen James Lee, Brendan Dunn and Aaron Wheaton, international receivers Taulib Ikharo and Travon Patterson. The B.C. Lions released seven players. They were: national running back Guillame Bourassa, international defensive back Tony Burnett, international linebacker, Korey Jones, international defensive lineman Dyrell Porcha, international offensive tackle RJ Dill, national kicker/punter Steven Shott and national linebacker Thomas Spoletini. American defensive end Scooter Berry, who was entering his third CFL season, was among 14 players released by Montreal. The six-foot-two, 275-pound Berry had spent time in the NFL with the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as Arena Football Leagues Jacksonville Sharks, before joining the Alouettes. "Lost a lot of good teammates today especially my boy (at)Sdot--Berry," Alouttes defensive lineman John Bowman tweeted. "I wish all yall the best. "This is the non fun part about the game." Montreals moves mean international receiver Chad Johnson made its final roster. Johnson, 36, was a longtime NFL star but was out of football for two years before signing with the Alouettes. In addition to Charles, Edmonton released national defensive linemen Michaell Dadzie and Gregory Alexandre, national receiver Anthony Barrett, international defensive linemen Cameron Sheffield, Daniel Ross and RaShon Harris, national cornerback Raye Hartmann, national centre Gord Hinse, international defensive backs Robert Sands and Myron Lewis, international slotback Brandon McRae, national punter-kicker Zackary Medeiros, national linebacker Kyle Norris and national fullback Smith Wright. The Grey Cup-champion Saskatchewan Roughriders released 26 players, including international linebacker Brandon Isaac, who earned a Grey Cup ring with Toronto in 12 and spent last season with Hamilton. Also let go were national receivers Jade Etienne -- selected fourth overall in the 11 draft by Winnipeg -- and Jordan Sisco, a 2010 second-round pick by the Riders, and international defensive lineman Markus White, who suffered a seizure during camp. Winnipeg made its final cuts Friday, releasing 11 players, including former starter Max Hall. ' ' '