Thoughts on Theo
I was going to do my "I hate speed bumps" rant - but decided to save it for another day. Instead, like nearly every other Sox blogger in the universe, I thought I'd weigh in on the whole "Theo" situation.
Oh, Theo. That was my initial reaction last week to the news that Theo Epstein was walking away from his "dream job" - general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Theo was our boy on the inside - everyone in Red Sox Nation could relate to him. He was a life-long RS fan, whose boyhood dream was to play for the Sox, but instead became their General Manager at age 29. He was the boy wonder, the guy who brought Curt Schilling to Boston, who signed Keith Foulke, who found David Ortiz, the guy who put together the band of "idiots" and brought a World Championship to Boston. But because he was a home town boy, we felt like he was one of us. Every one of us felt like he was our voice in the Front Office, like we could be him. Yeah, I guess that's what it came down to - he was doing the job we could only dream about doing. He could have a beer with Kevin Millar, get hugs from Big Papi, play computer games with Curt.
So I think that's what stunned me. How could he walk away from that - and from all the long overdue cash they were sending his way? And his explanation that he wanted a real life, out of the spotlight? Not buying it. I mean - hey, you want a "real" life, pal? You'd last maybe two days in my job. Want to switch??
That seemed to be how it was playing among the Faithful. And we're still trying to understand it a week later. His press conference last Wednesday didn't answer questions, it just seemed to raise more. Where was Lucchino? Where was Steinberg? Their absences - and Theo's ignoring them in his remarks - spoke volumes. And just what was the role of the Boston Globe in all this? The one great outcome is that Shaughnessy is catching so much flak. Probably one of the most despised people in Boston right now (like he was ever high on anyone's list!) Interesting how the other Globe columnists (Ryan, Snow, Edes, MacMullan) seem to be distancing themselves from him. (For a great "insider" story on some of the micromanaging by the Sox of the local media, read Sheriff Sully's blog )
I suppose that part of me understands. Hey, you're 31, you're in your dream job, you've accomplished the biggest task that has ever faced a Sox GM and succeeded in bringing the Championship trophy to Boston - at some point, you must ask "What's next?" Sure, repeating would have been great - but it was obvious from Opening Day that this team probably couldn't repeat - not with the pitching staff it had. And, if the scuttlebutt is right, add to that indecision an apparent power struggle with Lucchino. As an outsider, I can see that Larry would be a very difficult boss in the best of time - strikes me as a real micromanager. I can tell you from experience, that gets real old real fast. Maybe Theo needed to spread his wings - and that obviously wasn't going to happen under Larry.
The thing that makes me angry with Theo, though, is the timing on this whole thing. There's some twisted poetic justice to the timing, I realize - I mean, they made him wait all season to even start negotiating, so he makes them wait until the last possible minute. But to wait until after all the "decent" GM options were gone ( like Josh Byrnes to Arizona, Cashman re-signing). That's just BAD! It's one thing to screw over Lucchino, but it feels like he screwed over RSN as well. I think that's where a lot of the anger and bitterness is coming from.
So what do the Sox do? This GM-by-Committee thing will not work, not when LL seems to be running things. Today's Globe says the Sox are interested in Jim Bowden and Jim Beattie. Or maybe someone from inside. All I know is that they have GOT to settle this - before all the free agents (Damon, for one) slip away to more stable situations.
I really wonder WHO will walk out onto the field on April 3rd in Texas.
My two cents - rant ended!
Oh, Theo. That was my initial reaction last week to the news that Theo Epstein was walking away from his "dream job" - general manager of the Boston Red Sox. Theo was our boy on the inside - everyone in Red Sox Nation could relate to him. He was a life-long RS fan, whose boyhood dream was to play for the Sox, but instead became their General Manager at age 29. He was the boy wonder, the guy who brought Curt Schilling to Boston, who signed Keith Foulke, who found David Ortiz, the guy who put together the band of "idiots" and brought a World Championship to Boston. But because he was a home town boy, we felt like he was one of us. Every one of us felt like he was our voice in the Front Office, like we could be him. Yeah, I guess that's what it came down to - he was doing the job we could only dream about doing. He could have a beer with Kevin Millar, get hugs from Big Papi, play computer games with Curt.
So I think that's what stunned me. How could he walk away from that - and from all the long overdue cash they were sending his way? And his explanation that he wanted a real life, out of the spotlight? Not buying it. I mean - hey, you want a "real" life, pal? You'd last maybe two days in my job. Want to switch??
That seemed to be how it was playing among the Faithful. And we're still trying to understand it a week later. His press conference last Wednesday didn't answer questions, it just seemed to raise more. Where was Lucchino? Where was Steinberg? Their absences - and Theo's ignoring them in his remarks - spoke volumes. And just what was the role of the Boston Globe in all this? The one great outcome is that Shaughnessy is catching so much flak. Probably one of the most despised people in Boston right now (like he was ever high on anyone's list!) Interesting how the other Globe columnists (Ryan, Snow, Edes, MacMullan) seem to be distancing themselves from him. (For a great "insider" story on some of the micromanaging by the Sox of the local media, read Sheriff Sully's blog )
I suppose that part of me understands. Hey, you're 31, you're in your dream job, you've accomplished the biggest task that has ever faced a Sox GM and succeeded in bringing the Championship trophy to Boston - at some point, you must ask "What's next?" Sure, repeating would have been great - but it was obvious from Opening Day that this team probably couldn't repeat - not with the pitching staff it had. And, if the scuttlebutt is right, add to that indecision an apparent power struggle with Lucchino. As an outsider, I can see that Larry would be a very difficult boss in the best of time - strikes me as a real micromanager. I can tell you from experience, that gets real old real fast. Maybe Theo needed to spread his wings - and that obviously wasn't going to happen under Larry.
The thing that makes me angry with Theo, though, is the timing on this whole thing. There's some twisted poetic justice to the timing, I realize - I mean, they made him wait all season to even start negotiating, so he makes them wait until the last possible minute. But to wait until after all the "decent" GM options were gone ( like Josh Byrnes to Arizona, Cashman re-signing). That's just BAD! It's one thing to screw over Lucchino, but it feels like he screwed over RSN as well. I think that's where a lot of the anger and bitterness is coming from.
So what do the Sox do? This GM-by-Committee thing will not work, not when LL seems to be running things. Today's Globe says the Sox are interested in Jim Bowden and Jim Beattie. Or maybe someone from inside. All I know is that they have GOT to settle this - before all the free agents (Damon, for one) slip away to more stable situations.
I really wonder WHO will walk out onto the field on April 3rd in Texas.
My two cents - rant ended!
posted by Beth at 8:30 AM
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