Epstein: Series ‘far from over’

CHICAGO — Theo Epstein doesn’t have David Ortiz on this Cubs roster.

And sure, Manny Ramirez has some kind of undefined role with the Cubs, but he won’t be coming to the plate on a team filled with beards.

But if anyone knows it’s possible to overcome a seemingly insurmountable deficit in the postseason, it’s Epstein, whose Red Sox team stormed back from three games down against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS and now has seen the Cubs drop the first two games of the NLCS to the Mets heading into Tuesday’s Game 3 at Wrigley Field.

Not surprisingly, he and his manager remain undaunted.

“I think the series is far from over,” the Cubs president of baseball operations said Monday before the team worked out at Wrigley. “I’d be shocked if this is how we’re going out. It’s not representative of the talent and character we have in this clubhouse. I think we’ll show a lot better baseball over the course of this series. They’re still really confident, as am I.”

Epstein helped steer the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years that season and if the Cubs want to break their drought that dates back to 1908, they’ll have to rally against the Mets.

“There’s a reason they make these important series long,” Epstein said. “We’ve always responded, all year long, we’ve had a winning streak after a stretch of poor play.”