Jump to content

I hate you Larry Lucchino (Epstein leaves Red Sox)


sppunk

Recommended Posts

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein resigned Monday, surprising Boston and the baseball world just one year after helping the franchise win its first World Series championship since 1918.

 

"In my time as general manager, I gave my entire heart and soul to the organization,'' Epstein said in a statement. "During the process leading up to today's decision, I came to the conclusion that I can no longer do so. In the end, my choice is the right one not only for me but for the Red Sox.''

 

Epstein will continue working for a few days to assist in the transition and prepare for the offseason. The Boston Herald, which first reported the news on its Web site, said the Yale graduate has told associates that he might leave baseball, or at least take a year off.

 

The Dodgers, Phillies and Devil Rays have GM openings, but none has a $120 million payroll to match the one Epstein was given in Boston.

 

The 31-year-old Epstein was reportedly offered about $4.5 million for a three-year extension — quadruple his previous salary. But it was still short of the $2.5 million a year the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before making Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history.

 

Although Epstein and team president Larry Lucchino haggled over money, the Herald said Epstein also went through "agonizing soul-searching'' over office politics and his relationship with his mentor. The Herald said published reports that contained inside information about their relationship, "slanted too much in Lucchino's favor,'' helped convince Epstein there had been a breach of trust.

 

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling told The Associated Press he was disappointed but had seen indications the move might be coming.

 

"You don't get better losing a guy like Theo,'' said Schilling, who joined the Red Sox after Epstein ate Thanksgiving dinner with him and convinced him to accept a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

"It's obviously going to be an incredibly unpopular decision with the players. But we'll show up in spring training and get ready for the season and try to win another World Series. It's not like we're going to have a sit-down.''

 

Epstein grew up only blocks from Fenway Park and worked for Lucchino with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Epstein was brought to Boston to be the assistant GM and promoted to his dream job in 2002, about five weeks before his 29th birthday.

 

"Growing up in the shadow of Fenway Park, I never dreamed of having the chance to work for my hometown team during such an historic period,'' Epstein said, thanking owners John Henry and Tom Werner — and Lucchino — for the opportunity.

 

"My affection for the Red Sox did not begin four years ago when I started working here, and it does not end today,'' he said. "My passion for and dedication to the game of baseball remain strong. Although I have no immediate plans, I will embrace this change in my life and look forward with excitement to the future.''

 

A devotee of statistical analysis who values his scouts as well, Epstein's tenure has been marked by bold adventures that often conflicted with baseball orthodoxy:

 

—He signed first baseman Kevin Millar, despite an unspoken agreement not to poach from Japanese clubs.

 

—He went without a traditional closer in his first year, with horrendous results.

 

—He tried to trade for 2003 AL MVP Alex Rodriguez — a deal that would have meant shipping out Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra — and then, without remorse, pulled the plug when the deal became too expensive.

 

—He ate Thanksgiving dinner with Schilling in a college football-style recruiting trip that lured the right-handed ace to Boston.

 

—He traded Garciaparra, the face of the franchise, for the parts he needed to complete the World Series puzzle.

 

But the efforts paid off.

 

The Red Sox reached the AL championship series in 2003 before the lack of a closer doomed Grady Little in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium. The next year, with a new manager and the closer it had been missing, the ballclub won its first World Series in 86 years.

 

Boston reached the postseason for a third consecutive year this season before getting swept by the Chicago White Sox in the first round.

 

A huge blow to the Red Sox.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can rant now.

 

Epstein didn't leave because of money - they offered him triple what he asked for. He left because he didn't like the pressure put on him. You can't really understand Boston's passion for the Red Sox unless you've been there.

 

Several thoughts:

 

1) I can't believe there are people here who think Theo looks bad here because he threw some sort of hissy fit and quit. He knows from the inside the way the Luchinno character assassination machine works, saw himself squarely in its sights, and decided to quit on his own terms. Bravo. If Joe Torre had told Steinbrenner "I'm sick of your #####" and quit, we'd have all congratulated him. That's exactly what Theo has done here. The stuff in the Gammons piece about leaking the Manny story is just more fuel for this fire. Why would Theo want to continue to work for somebody who is undermining him at every turn? He's already achieved the pinnacle of success in his dream job. Should money make him turn a blind eye to being poop upon by his boss? Congratulations, Theo, for having the courage and integrity to tell these people where to go.

 

2) It is absolutely disgraceful that the Red Sox as an organization would allow their president to use a troll like the CHB to torpedo a vital negotiation with a valuable and successful senior member of their team. If Lucchino couldn't work with Theo, he should have had the guts to make the decision and stick with it - not force Theo's hand through the media and then rev up the spin engine. Henry should be ashamed that his enterprise would treat Theo in this manner. I simply cannot imagine my employer doing the same thing to me, and I haven't achieved 10% of what Theo has in his career. Why would anybody else choose to work for an organization that treats its top performers this way?

 

3) So why JHW would stick by Larry the Knife instead of Theo? The answer is of course the dollar sign. I know for a fact that tax-driven considerations were a major factor in Henry's original deal to purchase the team and Lucchino is probably a significant cog in making all that stuff work for Henry and the other investors. Theo, on the other hand, has nothing to do with it. It is the money that matters to Hedge Fund Guru John Henry - winning is a nice bonus, but that's never been what owning the Marlins and then the Red Sox is fundamentally about. If it comes to a choice between the guy who makes you money (through corporate deals, tax breaks, media rights, etc...) and the guy who helps the team win, well, I guess we know where JHW priorities lie.

 

4) I should start a separate conspiracy theory thread about ownership's long-term intentions, but I'll bet that one of Theo's major worries about working with Lucchino and Henry over the next several years is the likelihood that the team is sold soon after many of the tax breaks expire. Henry did some very clever things in trading the Marlins for the Sox which enabled him to create a great tax situation for himself. Perhaps he sells the Sox and buys another franchise, thereby doing it again. I would also wager that Comcast buys NESN within the next 18 months. Anyway, I wonder what Theo thought he might be forced to do to facilitate a sale of the team or at least bolster profitability for an ownership group more concerned with cash flow than wins. Trading Manny would seem like an obvious near-term flashpoint along these lines. You can be certain that will be job one for the next GM.

 

5) While I agree that Theo is not irreplacable and that life will go on, it is SOOOOO disappointing that the soap opera around this team never ends. Yawkey, Sullivan, La Roux, Harrington, Duquette, Kerrigan, Grady, free agent departures too numerous to mention, Epstein, Lucchino, Manny, Pedro, Crazy Carl, it just goes on and on and on. And worst of all, winning a championship makes no difference whatsoever.

 

We are going into the FA season without a GM and without a plan. I don't even know what to say.

 

Theo is not irreplaceable--he hit .000 last year, by my math. But losing him over an organization pole-measuring contest is needlessly inept and arrogant. The schedule for assembling the new team will be pushed back while the GM search goes on, and some of the goodwill created by the '04 win will be frittered away.

 

There was no need for it to come to this.

 

I feel like a Jet fan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...