Wow!

So now there is someone less desirable to work for than George Steinbrenner. I wonder what Steinbrenner's reaction will be to this.

Larry Lucchino's new book, titled "Negotiation Skills 101: Leaking Information to Local Newspaper In Attempts to Trap High-Profile Employee, Only to Have it Explode in One's Face" due to hit store shelves any day now.

DePodesta's phone may be ringing soo, and unless I miss my guess, McCourt is already on the phone to Epstein.

1) doubtful that DePodesta's a candidate in Boston because of the real or perceived shortcomings of the job he did in LA. It will be awhile before he gets another GM job, and with three years to be paid by the Dodgers, there's no hurry.

2) whatever Epstein's merits, he's a young whippersnapper who has never been a Dodger and that disqualifies him in the eyes of Tommy Lasorda, who's making the kings in LA these days.

3) also, Frank McCourt is too stupid to dial a phone.

David, you say Theo "is no Brian Cashman" like it's a good thing for him and the Red Sox. Cashman had the clout to extract a commitment from his boss that the Yankee front office would be more functional and orderly (not that it means things will work out that way, but admitting you have a problem is the first step).

Epstein clearly did not have that clout, and now the Sox lose a promising GM who, as you say, is the only who can claim to have brought them a championship. Epstein loses a high-proflie job where he had huge resources to draw upon, not to mention the eternal goodwill of the fanbase for his role in ending the 86-year drought. I'm not sure I see a win for either side there, except in the Pyrrhic sense.

The Brian Cashman line was to reflect how people think Steinbrenner is impossible to work with, but Cashman does it. It turns out that it's Lucchino that's the tough one to deal with. At least with the Boss you always know where you stand.

Owners can often plant items in the press. In this case,
one of the newspapers is part of ownership. Anyone who
has that GM job must know that anything he says, even
in confidence, can be put in the newspaper.

Here's what I wonder: will Theo be taking up a GM job anytime in the near future? Inter-organizational politics and power struggles are almost always part of the job. Theo must have at least half-a-million dollars stashed away from his three years as the Sox GM. Why work a job you have major misgivings about if you don't have to? Could he be leaving baseball alltogether? At least for a year or two?

I have to admit I got broad-sided by this one.

I'm curious what Lucchino actually brings to the table, besides an ownership interest. Everytime he gets involved in something, he seems to foul it up. Am I missing something here? What is his purpose, exactly?

THEO IS LEAVING A JOB OF A LIFETIME. ONLY THE YANKS AND METS SPEND THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO GET A TEAM. HE WILL HAVE TO WORK FOR A LIVING IN HIS NEXT JOB. CASHMAN GETS THE MONEY BECAUSE GEORGE PAYS TO ABUSE HIS EMPLOYEES.

Dave -

Someone has to point our your failed prognostication of October 15...

A mistake! Epstein turns his back to the future. He has to realize that a lot of other people in baseball and gulp, outside of baseball could build a good team with the Red Sox cash.

Let's be honest Red Sox Nation. The Sox (perhaps deservedly) finally got lucky and won. So Theo...you should have thanked the Baseball Gods, swallowed your pride, and taken the huge pay increase.

Impetuous youth.........Too Bad.

Ed: From Epstein's perspective, it's not a matter of money or pride, but rather a simple distaste for working for Lucchino for the next few years. What does he need to prove that's worth putting up with that?

Yes, the October 15th prediction was wrong. I was assuming that it was a matter of money, and I came pretty close to the final offer. I didn't realize that there was a power struggle as well.

It dovetails well with your Jermaine Dye--sometimes it's not about the money.

Wow, I can't believe he's gone. It seems to me that Theo and Cashman were in pretty much the same position with difficult bosses who won't always let them do their jobs. Cashman could be bought; Theo couldn't.

aren't yall forgetting that theo is a rich man from a rich family and doesn't even NEED to work for ANY salary?

its too bad theo is gone its not good but if they trade manny fenway will empty faster than you can spit

If I were a Boston fan I wouldnt show up to watch this bunch. Protest this outfit, buy your hot dogs elsewhere

Those kinds of protests never work. I spent the first three months of the 1996 baseball season avoiding Yankee Stadium because I was mad that Steinbrenner sacked Buck Showalter. It's like being mad at a sibling. One gets over it. There's no point denying oneself the limited pleasures that there are out there.

Theo's smart. He eeked out what he could from this overpaid, overaged team. I'm a bigtime Redsox Fan but I see the word 'rebuilding' in my apparitions. Any GM is going to fail the next few years w/ the Red Sox.

"aren't yall forgetting that theo is a rich man from a rich family and doesn't even NEED to work for ANY salary?"

Thank you, Lisa. All rich people shouldn't expect to be paid for their hard work and effort. They should work for free. Forget that it was Theo that brought Curt Schilling to Boston. Forget that it was Theo who orchestrared the departure of disgruntled party pooper Nomar Garciaparra for better resources to help win the series.

Forget that Theo lives and breathes baseball in a town that scrutinizes, and at most times villainizes, every move the Red Sox organization makes. He should work for free because his family has enough money.

Despite what some of the bloggers think, I suspect that Theo worked alot of 80-100 hour weeks in his efforts over the last few years. He will not have to "work in his next job" any harder than he has already. Ask Schilling how hard he worked on Thanksgiving in 2003 to secure the pitcher that got the Sox over the top.

I have no idea how hard Lucchino works. It may be very hard. But results are what matter. Show me any results from the desk of Lucchino, except for him bringing Theo to the job to begin with, that anyone gives a rat's rear-end about. He is a pompous, money bag and a Steinbrenner wanna-be. He is a few championships short of George.

As a Red Sox fan, I hope that I eat these words in 30 years, after they win LOTS of championships with the Theo replacement that the "genius" Lucchino comes up with. But I doubt it will happen. I'd bet my retirement money on Steinbrenner winning more than Larry "Lucky" Lucchino until one opr the other dies.

Randy, I agree. My previous post was meant to be facetious. I in no way doubt that Theo didn't work hard and should be thoroughly rewarded for his efforts. This is definitely not an issue regarding money. The issue involves trust and integrity.

I think 1.5mil per year for 3yrs is a pretty reasonable raise from 350k per, and I'm sure Theo felt the same way. 1.5mil is nothin compared to what they paid Renteria for his less than stellar performance this year. In the end, the issue wasn't about money. It was about Red Sox management and their penchant for smear tactics to get what they want. They did it with Pedro, they did it with Nomar. And they are doing it with Theo through the Boston Globe (a 17% owner of the team). Unlike Nomar and Pedro, Theo is taking the high road.

To quote the once great Nomar Garciaparra.."No wonder nobody wants to come to this (bleepin) town."

Now excuse me while I sell off my firstborn to pay for Sox tickets in section 32 next year.

It sounds like Theo took it too personally. He had some kind of weird relationship with Luchino and he felt violated when the info was clearly leaked to the paper by Luchino. Let's face it, we all have people in our professional lives that might stab us in the back sometimes. We can even inadvertently stab our peers or subordinates, ourselves.

But if Epstein had the passion that he describes for the game, he should have put these personal issues aside and taken the $M1.5 for his dream job. I think the above post is correct that Theo's immaturity was a factor here.

A more seasoned negotiator would have bitten the bullet and taken his long list of negotiating wins to the bank. He just didn't want to play the game because it left a bad taste in his mouth. We all know that like or not, sometimes everyone has to play the game to get what you want. Sorry.

"Cheers" to Theo Epstein for standing up & walking out on the Boston Red Sox' front office brASS. (Coach would be proud)

-Backwards K @Baseball Banter