Dysfunction
Amid swirling rumors that Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein is headed to the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Globe today ran the following article on the inner workings of the Red Sox as a whole in 2011. It isn't pretty.
Under this ownership group, there is a pattern of nasty rumors being floated once a player (or manager) has left town, a verbal kick out the door. And if you believe all you read in today's Globe piece, well, it seems more of the same with Terry Francona. Just who is leaking this information to the author? And if Theo does leave, will we see him get slammed? Marital problems and pain killer addiction? Sounds like a soap opera.
Regardless of what really happened, Theo's potential departure really marks the end of an era. Many wins and 2 World Series Championships. It really worries me that while the Red Sox haven't had much success since 2008, that at least there was a system in place, a discipline as to how to run a team. The last thing we need is some sort of gunslinger who shoots from the hip and signs Jack Clark, Matt Young and Danny Darwin all in one off-season.
If the Red Sox pick the wrong person to be GM, we could see this team slip back to permanent mediocrity, something we haven't see since the early '90s. I'm not in the mood for that. So while Theo has made his share of mistakes, I always feel that the decision he makes are done with good reason (the Lackey and Crawford deals notwithstanding) and thought.
Think about it, the Red Sox aren't the only big-market team. The Cubs and Mets are also big spending teams who have stunk. Just because you have money to spend, doesn't guarantee success. The Red Sox are at a crossroads here and can't afford to mess this up.
Comments
Sorry Andy, but by now I'm sure you know that Theo has reportedly accepted the Cubs offers. And you're right, that article doesn't paint a very pretty picture at all. Boston Brats, indeed. This is even uglier than Torre's getting "insulted enough to leave" the Bronx.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 12, 2011 11:40 AM
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Wow, that is an ugly article all around.
I do find it very interesting that the article is in the Boston Globe which is also part of the Red Sox ownership group. I could be way off base, but between that fact and all the anonymous sources in the article, I sense an effort by ownership to focus the responsibility for the season on everyone else. I'm pretty sure that is a really bad idea.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 12, 2011 12:01 PM
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co-worker showed me the article before I found it myself earlier. Sad. The Sox have won this century DESPITE the immature ownership and management.
Andy - I do fear that short of Billy Beane, or Brad Pitt, coming in to be GM there is a downturn coming. Yep, dark clouds are forming on the horizon.
Posted by: blmeanie | October 12, 2011 03:36 PM |
Brad Pitt would be dreamy...
I think Ben Cherington will get the gig. He has been with the Red Sox for a while now and in fact, would be Red Sox GM for the 2nd time (he and Jed Hoyer were co-GMs when Theo when gorilla on us).
The other thing I've been thinking about is that things are never as good as you think and things aren't as bad as you think. And considering how badly they finished (notice the Red Sox are "they" when the lose, but "we" when they win), I see some no where to go but up.
They have deep pockets and a good group of players. But players who apparently can't police themselves, so a manager who can layeth the smackdown and a few veteran, nonsense players are in order.
As an aside, I was So, So, SOOOO very disappointed to learn that Jon Lester was one of the beer drinking fat asses. I thought he had more character than that.
Posted by: Andy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 12, 2011 11:40 PM
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I think Peter had this right about the story being an inside hatchet job by the real Evil Empire to discredit Francona. Leave it someone at Fox Sports to sling some mud at mudslingers.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/boston-red-sox-treat-terry-francona-worse-than-george-steinbrenner-ever-treated-a-manager-101311
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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October 13, 2011 10:39 AM
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