Theo Epstein, president of the Chicago Cubs’ baseball operations, comes from a writing family. His grandfather and his grandfather’s twin brother, Philip and Julius Epstein, collaborated on writing the Academy Award-winning screenplay for the great 1942 film “Casablanca” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Theo’s father, Leslie, is a novelist, has written numerous magazine articles, until last June was director of Boston University’s creative writing program and still teaches fiction there. Theo’s sister Anya is a television screenwriter.

Little wonder, then, that Epstein can write. In his case, though, he’s not writing screenplays or novels, though one might suspect he incorporates fiction into what he writes.

Epstein writes statements. Every time he fires a manager he writes a statement. With each one he demonstrates an improvement in linguistic dexterity.

When Epstein fired Dale Sveum, his first Cubs manager, in 2013 after two seasons, he wrote this statement:

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Commissioner Rob Manfred disclosed last week that Pete Rose had formally requested reinstatement from baseball’s permanently ineligible list. Manfred told reporters he was prepared to deal with the request “on the merits.”

Manfred’s replacement of Bud Selig in the office of commissioner has resurrected talk of the possibility of Rose’s reinstatement after a quarter of a century. Rose last applied for reinstatement in 1997, but Selig never acted on the request, saying neither yes nor no.

Rose’s ever hopeful fans apparently think Manfred’s mere mention that he is prepared to act on the request suggests that he will act favorably and reinstate Rose. If that’s what they think, they are getting way ahead of Manfred.

All he is saying is he will …

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Al Rosen first came to my attention when I spent a week with my family visiting relatives in Cleveland. Rosen was the star third baseman of the Indians, and I saw him play when my cousin Mort took me to a game.

I was a little older when I encountered Rosen in his post-playing baseball profession. He was president and general manager of the New York Yankees, the team I was covering for The New York Times.

Much to Rosen’s regret, he held those positions during what was probably the most tumultuous time any team has ever endured, the days of George and Billy and Reggie. But it was also during that time that Rosen demonstrated what was one of the great class acts of all time by a baseball executive.

In the face of a George Steinbrenner tirade, Rosen, the 1953 American League most valuable player, who died last Friday at the age of 91, stood up for a lower-level employee and …

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