Your hot takes about NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta and PEDs? Not cool,Cubspresident Theo Epstein says."I saw the clip of e sentially an accusation on the ESPN morning show ("First Take")," Epstein said Thursdayon ESPN 1000 in Chicago (via ESPN). "I found it to be completely reckle s. It's someone who has never met Jake, as far as I know, has never been in our clubhouse. I don't know if he's ever watched him pitch. (He)would make that Rollie Fingers Jersey type of accusation without talking to anyone who knows Jake and anyone who understands his work ethic and changes that he's made."MORE: We broke down just how dumb Stephen A. Smith's rantwas"This is not someone who used to throw 88 mph and all of sudden is throwing 95 mph," Epstein continued. "Jake's stuff is e sentially exactly the same as it was when he was in Baltimore and struggling. He's tweaked his delivery, added a lot of deception, added a lot of life and commands the baseball, which he couldn't do previously. And then this TV personality started to question Jake' Cory Spangenberg Jersey s endurance, which is directly tied to Jake's workout regime, which is the most aggre sive in baseball."It was Stephen A. Smith who broached the subject earlier in the week. Arrieta promptly laughed it off.Laughing is exactly what I will do. You continue to do your thing though. No one will undercut my hard work. @stephenasmith Jake Arrieta (@JArrieta34) April 27, 2016Smith then walked back the comments on Thursday morning's "First Take," hours ahead of Epstein's radio appearance: "I was just saying it's not a laughing matter when we're talking about the history of baseball. I wasn't convicting him of anything because I don't know. I barely get to see him all the time."MORE: MLB players who were suspended for PED useEpstein, meantime, spoke publicly for the first time on the i sue inThursday's interview, sayingit is his "job" to defend his star pitcher."Jake works harder than anyone in baseball," Epstein said. "That's a fact, and anyone who's around Jake understands that, so maybe he should come try to do Jake's workout for a week before he questions his integrity or questions his livelihood, e sentially. I just found it to be completely reckle s and an unfortunate reflection of certain elements of the media age we live in where it's more important to attract attention and attract ratings than it is be intellectually honest. I thought it was ridiculous. Wil Myers Jersey "Arrieta 20-1 with a 0.86 ERA and two no-hittersover his past 24 regular-season starts has adjusted his pitching motion sincebeing traded to the Cubs in 2013. His conditioning is better, too, Epstein a serted.