Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

[soxboy7]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

he did trade away a certain team captain though....

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

I had a very, very bad feeling about this starting around 2 weeks ago when it became clear there were major issues between Theo and Larry Lucchino. It simply does not make sense for Theo to reject and prolong a deal when he is a Red Sox fan at heart, he was offered so much money, and this is his dream job. There had to have been major, massive, and irreparable problems between himself and Lucchino.

For the record, Lucchino comes out in all of this as a prick of the highest order. There is no other possible way to look at it. This bastard's ego and strangehold of power is so massive that he essentially kicked away the leading brainchild behind the organization's first World Series victory in 86 years to the curb.
While we're discussing Lucchino, let there be no doubt that Lucchino and possibly Henry are master spin doctors who truely have no discernable conscience in the way they handle departing personnel. The way they have dealt with the departures of Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, and Doug Mientkiewicz (just to name a few) has been utterly sickening to watch unfold. Picture the biggest gossip queens when you were in high school making up rumors that destroyed your character. Now picture these gossip queens telling these fabricated rumors and half-truths to newspapers, television outlets, and radio stations for millions to hear, all to make themselves and their decisions look better.
I have no doubt in my mind the spin machine is roaring right now with bull**** about Theo Epstein. Keep in mind, none of it is likely true, but most of it will deflect the criticism away from themselves.

I pray people can wade through the garbage and muck and point the finger at these bastards like they deserve to be.

Right now, I honestly feel like I've been kicked in the balls (similar to how I felt after Game 7 2003). On one hand, I am astonished that the Red Sox are now GM'less, their organizational structure has publically been proven as severely demented, and the future looks quite bleak.
On the other hand, I am happy for Theo that he will not have to deal with the horse**** of working for the Red Sox in this town anymore. I am happy that he can now do what he pleases as opposed to accepting a job that will likely make him miserable, turn his hairs gray, and force him to work with the monster Lucchino.

We Red Sox fans will always look back fondly at the seasons of 2003-2005 as the Golden Era, where the front office was guided by somebody with a vision, a plan, and the guts to succeed.

Looking toward the future, I am unsure if I can cheer on a franchise that purposely repels top tier talent in the front office. Clearly, there is something massively wrong with the people in charge of this organization, and IMO, this is likely only the first domino to fall. I am afraid this team is heading in reverse, and NOT towards a championship calibre team. As such, I am forced to seriously question my desire to watch such an abortion take place.
Is it a crime to cheer on Theo Epstein if he accepts a General Manager job with the Phillies? I sure hope not, because I might be doing that soon.

[Misfit]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

I made a post about this in the Red Sox thread, but I'll just re-iterate that this is the last straw for me with Lucchino. I hate that that snake is associated with the Boston Red Sox and I hope the fans of Boston are smart enough to recognize this and boo him unmercilessly at any public appearance he makes.

[Kashanova]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

Hahahahahahahaha looks like the curse just took a year break

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

Hahahahahahahaha looks like the curse just took a year break

Could somebody please ban this maroon? Why should troll posts such as this be tolerated? Is anybody even paying attention??

[Stu]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

Ok, I think it's time to step back from the ledge a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I like Theo Epstein but he's not the only man qualified to do the job. Obviously I despise Luchino's tactics and would prefer Theo remained GM, if for the continuity alone, but it's not the end of the world. The Red Sox still have plenty of competent people in their front office and I'm sure will find a solid GM to replace Theo.

We don't know what happened behind the scenes in this case and probably never will. Personally I find it strange that Theo all of a sudden can't work with Luchino anymore after 15 years of working for him. I find it hard to believe Luchino is the only one at fault and I find it very hard to believe that a man as smart and driven to succeed as Luchino would jeopardize the future of this franchise to satisfy his ego.

I'm not saying Luchino isn't at fault, but I do think Theo probably deserves some of the blame as well. Either way, the smear campaigns by Red Sox ownership when people are heading out the door need to stop. Their propoganda is completely transparent and its insulting to Red Sox fans.

[Misfit]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

For me, this isn't really about Theo Epstein no longer being the GM of the Boston Red Sox but rather "straw that broke the cammel's back" with me as far as Larry Lucchino is concerned. The guys plays himself off like he's a nice guy but one always gets the impression he's just full of BS. The smear campaigns and stupid promotions embarass me as a Red Sox fan. I try to ignore the obvious when it comes to them but they're just making too damn hard. I'm surprised they haven't tried to blame Manny or Damon for the early playoff exit as a justifiable reason to trade them or not re-sign them (in the case of Damon). I think they're ruining the image of the Boston Red Sox with their leaks and smear campaigns and no one is going to want to play for this team in the future so long as Lucchino is around meddling in all of the baseball affairs. Plain and simple, they're making this team a difficult one to root for.

[Thrasha]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

yes, but of the 2, I'd prefer Theo. And DePodesta really didn't do anything wrong in his time there. the team was decimated by injuries, and he didn't throw billions of dollars at Beltre which was their best move of the offseason.

I agree

And the reports I've read, where if the Sox had not been limited by Ramirez and his steep contract, the Red Sox would have possibly signed both Beltre and Drew.

The only way I get a glimmer of hope out this ordeal, is if we get Depodesta, who IMO, got a horribly raw deal in LA, and would be able to build a very good team here in Boston.

I don't see it happening now, especially with the RS FO having to save face, Depo wouldn't be the best move in the average fans eye.

[ZM Punk]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

I do think there's a good chance Riccardi might be the new Red Sox GM. He's from Boston, his family lives there, and that's his dream job.

But so far JP has been a mediocre GM, although he's had major payroll limitations until this off-season.

And just because you subscribe to sabremetrics, it doesn't mean you just look at a computer screen and ignore scouting. Whenever I hear or read something like that, it drives me crazy. The same goes for people that say the meaning of Moneyball is a high OBP.

Have you not read the book Moneyball?

Depodesta knew absolutely nothing about the game of baseball. He was basically just Billy Beanes computer guy. He had no prior experience in baseball before he came to Oakland. He was basically just an Ivy League grad who Billy hired to help him out. The Dodgers made false assumptions about him just because he was Billy Beane right hand man and gave him the job thinking he could do the same thing Beane did with the A's.

I know quite a bit about sabermetrics and think it's a pretty good idea for low budget ball clubs. I was not knocking sabermetrics as a whole but Paul Depodesta as a GM.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

Have you not read the book Moneyball?

Depodesta knew absolutely nothing about the game of baseball. He was basically just Billy Beanes computer guy. He had no prior experience in baseball before he came to Oakland. He was basically just an Ivy League grad who Billy hired to help him out. The Dodgers made false assumptions about him just because he was Billy Beane right hand man and gave him the job thinking he could do the same thing Beane did with the A's.

I know quite a bit about sabermetrics and think it's a pretty good idea for low budget ball clubs. I was not knocking sabermetrics as a whole but Paul Depodesta as a GM.

Yes I have read Moneyball. To say Depodesta knew nothing about baseball is unfair.

You are wrong when you say Depodesta had no prior experience in baseball before he came to Oakland. He interened with the Indians in player development. Soon after he was named the Advance Scout of the Tribe.

[ZM Punk]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

Yes I have read Moneyball. To say Depodesta knew nothing about baseball is unfair.

You are wrong when you say Depodesta had no prior experience in baseball before he came to Oakland. He interened with the Indians in player development. Soon after he was named the Advance Scout of the Tribe.

So you are saying that Depodesta was a good GM? Are we talking about the same guy who vastly over paid for injury prone J.D. Drew and Derek Lowe. I can't think of one move other than scouting and improving the farm system in L.A. that Depodesta did right in L.A. further proving my point that he had no business running a major league baseball team.

On the other hand I think J.P. Riccardi could do a very good job in Boston. But if you Boston fans want Depodesta because he worked with Billy Beane you guys are making a huge mistake.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

So you are saying that Depodesta was a good GM? Are we talking about the same guy who vastly over paid for injury prone J.D. Drew and Derek Lowe. I can't think of one move other than scouting and improving the farm system in L.A. that Depodesta did right in L.A. further proving my point that he had no business running a major league baseball team.

On the other hand I think J.P. Riccardi could do a very good job in Boston. But if you Boston fans want Depodesta because he worked with Billy Beane you guys are making a huge mistake.

I'm certainly not going to say DePodesta was a good GM but I wouldn't say he was a bad GM either. He did take over a team and helped guide them to the division the title in his first season. He made some radical changes along the way. Saying he "vastly" overpaid for Drew and Lowe is probably a stretch. There were a lot of other big dollar contracts given out last summer.

If you want an example of one good move he did, I could give you one. He signed Jeff Kent to a 2 year deal. Only Robers and Utley had a higher VORP among 2B.

As I stated in another post, the main reason the Dodgers stumbled this past season was because of injuries. Tracy and DePo took the fall.

[Beantown]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

So you are saying that Depodesta was a good GM? Are we talking about the same guy who vastly over paid for injury prone J.D. Drew and Derek Lowe. I can't think of one move other than scouting and improving the farm system in L.A. that Depodesta did right in L.A. further proving my point that he had no business running a major league baseball team.

On the other hand I think J.P. Riccardi could do a very good job in Boston. But if you Boston fans want Depodesta because he worked with Billy Beane you guys are making a huge mistake.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not call Asianflow a Red Sox fan...really the dude sports a new avatar every week. He doesn't speak for any of us.

I'd take Ricardi over Depodesta, personally as a Red Sox fan, but I'd still rather have theo.

[ZM Punk]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

I'm certainly not going to say DePodesta was a good GM but I wouldn't say he was a bad GM either. He did take over a team and helped guide them to the division the title in his first season. He made some radical changes along the way. Saying he "vastly" overpaid for Drew and Lowe is probably a stretch. There were a lot of other big dollar contracts given out last summer.

If you want an example of one good move he did, I could give you one. He signed Jeff Kent to a 2 year deal. Only Robers and Utley had a higher VORP among 2B.

As I stated in another post, the main reason the Dodgers stumbled this past season was because of injuries. Tracy and DePo took the fall.

Drew had not played an entire season in his major league career yet he signed a 10 million dollar a year contractl. That to me is vastly overpaying a player and don't even get me started on Derek Lowe. Also what about that deadline deal he pulled off where he let go of his heart and soul Paul Loduca not a very good move.

IMO I think it was more than just injuries that killed the dodgers this year. Anytime you have Jon Valentin, Jason Repko, and Hee-Sop Choi in your lineup your not going to win many games injuries or not. For the most part I think Tracy took the fall for what Depodesta did.

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Theo Epstein Resigns as Red Sox GM

Hey, how's about moving DePo talk to the DePo thread?


Staying on topic:

I have to laugh at those who think losing Epstein is not a crippling blow while looking at the future of the Red Sox. Honestly, does anybody think Henry, Lucchino, Werner, et al were prepared for Theo to ditch them? Especially on the last day? I highly doubt this. They are entering the prime time for free agency with literally no clue who their GM is going to be, not even a plan for finding one, because this happened so out of right field.

In regards to the farm system, who from outside the organization is going to know our system at all? They aren't going to have a clue, and could absolutely misjudge the plans left in place by Theo. This hurts even more because the current General Manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks knows our on field talent better than ANYBODY who is going to step into the job.

Another thing: I can definitely see members of Theo's "young and elite" front office team leaping for the next plane to Arizona and Josh Byrnes's staff. This would essentially leave us with an empty player personnel staff who deals with the grunt work of the minor leagues. The PR machine and CEO do not know how to deal with this type of entity.

The Red Sox will essentially be overhauling the entire front office on the fly, while making critical decisions that could impact the organization for years to come. I don't know about you guys, but I don't see any way that this is the formula for developing a WS winner. It's possible everything will work out with sunshine in the end, and a different approach from a different guy in charge, but I just don't get that feeling here. I'm getting a "we are royally ****ed" feeling.

I can't see how anybody can be positive here with their "Theo is overrated, a GM is easy to find" nonsense.