Less than 24 hours after it was reported he had agreed to a three-year extension, Theo Epstein shocked the baseball world today by resigning as general manager of the Boston Red Sox. As always, it's Shaughnessy's fault:
Epstein had come close to agreeing to a deal Saturday evening but had not officially conveyed acceptance of it. On Sunday, he began having serious misgivings about staying on. A leading contributing factor, according to sources close to the situation, was a column in Sunday’s Boston Globe in which too much inside information about the relationship between Epstein and his mentor, team president and CEO Larry Lucchino, was revealed -- in a manner slanted too much in Lucchino’s favor. Epstein, according to these sources, had several reasons to believe Lucchino was a primary source behind the column and came to the realization that if this information were leaked hours before Epstein was going to agree to a new long-term deal, it signaled excessive bad faith between him and Lucchino.So not only did the Globe report incorrectly that Epstein had agreed to the extension, but their star columnist is at fault for the resignation in the first place. Throw in the ethical nightmare that has the Globe owning a piece of the Sox, and things look even worse for the paper and its parent, the already embattled New York Times.
Theo will likely be mentioned for every GM position this year, and next year as well. But the Dodgers just fired a stathead-inclined Ivy Leaguer and probably don't want another; the Phillies are supposedly about to hire Pat Gillick, and Epstein wouldn't want to jump into the mire that is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Good thing he's got that Yale education and law degree to fall back on.
As for the Sox job, I could see Kevin Towers (another Lucchino protege) as the frontrunner, along with whoever doesn't get the Philly job (probably Gerry Hunsicker). I also wouldn't count out Phils assistant GM Mike Arbuckle, a candidate last time as well. They'll have their work cut out for them, attempting to save a team that figures to be barely recognizable from the 2004 title-winning version.
Theo Epstein's legacy? If he never works in baseball again, he'll always be the guy who ended the curse, and delivered Boston its first title in 86 years.
Can't wait to hear Simmons' take, but he's off 'til Wednesday, with five stories of major interest to him (the Epstein resignation, the Bruschi return, the Pats-Colts game, the NBA preview, and "I Love the 80s: 3D") just waiting to be analyzed. Which will he tackle first?
Posted by Stephen Silver at November 1, 2005 02:06 AM