Theo Is Gone - Boston Herald

[doctorron]

Theo on his way to Chicago reports the Herald!

[MannybeinManny]

http://bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1372633&position=0

[Reck]

Dont let the door hit you on the way out Theo.

[doctorron]

God I wish that Lacky-ass would go with him to close the deal.

[redsoxrules]

Take Crawford and Lackey with you plz

[italstallianion]

I actually wanted Theo to stay, I'm not sure of who we'd be able to get to replace him. Tito I wasn't as worried about replacing.

[Reck]

I'm not sure of who we'd be able to get to replace him.

 

Ben Cherington would be the front runner for the job.

[example1]

Bummer...

 

Thanks for Dave Roberts

Thanks for Ellsbury and Pedroia and a number of other really, really successful choices he made during his tenure.

 

Others will undoubtedly be happy to see him go, I think he will be hard to replace and will end up in Cooperstown. We will see.

[Emmz]

I could see a Chicago vs. Boston WS that just might be epic. Anyways, sad to see Theo go, I think it would be better if he'd stayed, I'm sure there's a bunch of people like a700 and iortiz who'll drink to this.

 

I just hope they get a good replacement. They should seriously try and get Terry Ryan out of retirement, he built a powerhouse with a 50 million dollar payroll, imagine what he could build with about a hundred more million.... Just dreaming.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Bummer...

 

Thanks for Dave Roberts

Thanks for Ellsbury and Pedroia and a number of other really, really successful choices he made during his tenure.

 

Others will undoubtedly be happy to see him go, I think he will be hard to replace and will end up in Cooperstown. We will see.

 

Agree, Agree, Agree.

 

Theo is an elite GM, and will be very much missed, if you ask me.

[soxfan74]

Hate to see him go. Smart choice on his behalf if he does. A bad season and he would have gotten the boot anyway.

 

There saying it should be official in the next 24 to 48 hours on comcast. There also saying the Sox have told Chicago they want something real in return. Matt Garza maybe?

[3rdManOut]

Thank you Theo for the 2 WS and the good choices you made for our "Olde Towne Team".

I wish you luck building up the Cubs. (It would actually be nice to see them win).

 

I just hope we get someone who fits into our organization nicely.

[example1]

I could see a Chicago vs. Boston WS that just might be epic. Anyways, sad to see Theo go, I think it would be better if he'd stayed, I'm sure there's a bunch of people like a700 and iortiz who'll drink to this.

 

I just hope they get a good replacement. They should seriously try and get Terry Ryan out of retirement, he built a powerhouse with a 50 million dollar payroll, imagine what he could build with about a hundred more million.... Just dreaming.

 

I think sometimes people make too much of payroll. To some degree (not entirely) it can be a curse.

 

Remember when the Sox were only spending 120m and the same people who are cheering at Theo's departure were screaming about the Sox just saving their money, hoarding it, and demanded that they spend it on someone?

 

Theo was at his best dealing prospects for established stars, letting those stars go, and using the draft picks. Few GMs can say they are great at getting high-priced FAs... almost by definition. FAs tend to demand the very peak of their potential value; very few live up to that.

 

Any GM who comes in with a plan to build their team with the same strategy as the D-Rays or Royals will run into exactly what Theo ran into:

 

"What!?!? You're going to build with homegrown guys?!?! They haven't proven anything!?!! How dare you? You charge the most money in baseball for seats and you go with an unproven 2B as a starter?!? Alfonso Soriano was available!"

 

That won't change. That's why Boston is a pressure cooker. Only Boston and NY and, maybe, PHI have that type of environment.

[Mr Tibbs]

WOW, the FO is really cleaning house!! I'll be looking for players to start dropping like flies when the new GM is announced.

[3rdManOut]

WOW, the FO is really cleaning house!! I'll be looking for players to start dropping like flies when the new GM is announced.[/quote

 

Start from the top down. Yep that will be the next step. After this season its the right way to go and I think the FO realizes that the fans (us) demands it.

[jung]

"What!?!? You're going to build with homegrown guys?!?! They haven't proven anything!?!! How dare you? You charge the most money in baseball for seats and you go with an unproven 2B as a starter?!? Alfonso Soriano was available!"

 

Well I think the issue is a little bit one of chicken and egg. The Sox have in my view had a grand strategy with regard to their brand and that includes the number of seats available for sale, the cost of those seats, the amount of expenditure on FA signings and the nature of those FA signings. In my view Theo does bear some responsibility but I would be willing to bet he followed his marching orders to a tee and now provides a convenient scapegoat for ownership. Ownership will likely tweak its perspective so that they can look like they are being responsive to their customers and as a means of making sure that as much responsibility for recent setbacks leaves town with Tito and Theo and the players that will be leaving behind them. It seems to me that more than ever ownership is running around with its pants around its ankles and will likely try to do something indicative of a change in perspective and market strategy.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Holy s***. Now we have to worry about 2 managers.

 

a700hitter isn't online now. He probably went to the nearest bar and celebrated as soon as he heard the news.

[redsoxrules]

The problem being a GM with this ownership is that they dont have full control of the moves .

 

I bet that's part of the reason Theo is gone

[3rdManOut]

The problem being a GM with this ownership is that they dont have full control of the moves .

 

I bet that's part of the reason Theo is gone

 

I would agree on that. If it is true then the Cubs must look like a gold mine to him. Considering the more control he would have.

[example1]

Well I think the issue is a little bit one of chicken and egg. The Sox have in my view had a grand strategy with regard to their brand and that includes the number of seats available for sale' date=' the cost of those seats, the amount of expenditure on FA signings and the nature of those FA signings. In my view Theo does bear some responsibility but I would be willing to bet he followed his marching orders to a tee and now provides a convenient scapegoat for ownership. Ownership will likely tweak its perspective so that they can look like they are being responsive to their customers and as a means of making sure that as much responsibility for recent setbacks leaves town with Tito and Theo and the players that will be leaving behind them. It seems to me that more than ever ownership is running around with its pants around its ankles and will likely try to do something indicative of a change in perspective and market strategy.[/quote']

 

I suspect this is more about Theo getting a better offer than ownership wanting him gone. We will see what deal he gets from the Cubs, but the opportunity to be a hero in a big market like Chicago, with more deep pockets to play with, and potentially making signficantly more money (WEEI was talking maybe 5m a year for Theo), it's a no brainer, whether the ownership wants him gone or not.

[italstallianion]

Holy s***. Now we have to worry about 2 managers.

 

a700hitter isn't online now. He probably went to the nearest bar and celebrated as soon as he heard the news.

 

 

I figured that he lit up a cigar and went to the pharmacy to pick up some Enzyte before chugging some vodka and chasing after a few loose bar skanks.

[example1]

http://twitter.com/#!/TBrownYahoo/status/123916902232899586

 

"Hearing Red Sox owners are making play to keep Theo in town, but won't ask him to continue in job he doesn't want."

[jung]

Remember though ownership had to give the Cubs authorization to talk to Theo at all. If they wanted him here they simply would have denied the Cubs the authority to talk to him.

 

Whether Theo had outlived his usefulness to ownership this year or not, there is no way this ownership was going to be willing to give Theo something like a four year extension to his one remaining year. The only possible out for ownership that kept Theo here longer was probably something like an additional year extension so that he would not be a lame duck. I don't even think that was considered optimal from ownership's perspective. In my view this does work out the way ownership wanted it to work out given the situation they find themselves in and Theo gets a get the hell outta' dodge with a new big contract in tow. The only thing that is a bit of a wrench in the gears is that Boston will have to come up with a new GM fast enough to then come up with a new Manager making the promote from within scenario some are proposing even more likely in my view. By the way, if we don't think Theo's current owners thought he was doing a good job for them based on their parameters (not ours) then it would be harder for Chicago to want him. I believe Theo kept his owners happy here in Boston and they have no reason to think otherwise in Chicago. In fact, giving Theo more elbow room probably makes even more sense to his new Chicago bosses.

[Emmz]

I figured that he lit up a cigar and went to the pharmacy to pick up some Enzyte before chugging some vodka and chasing after a few loose bar skanks.

 

I'm sure he's got them at home.

[italstallianion]

I'm sure he's got them at home.

 

 

A700 is viewing this thread, so you might be right.

[MNSoxChief102]

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/10/epstein_not_out.html

 

Major league sources said tonight that no deal is in place for Theo Epstein to join the Chicago Cubs in an upper management capacity. But a resolution is expected in the coming days.

 

Epstein is weighing the decision and is not necessarily a lock to leave the Red Sox after nine seasons. But his interest in the Cubs has progressed to a point where the expectation is that he will leave.

 

Beyond compensation from the Cubs, the various sides would have to negotiate what Red Sox staff members Epstein could bring with him to Chicago.

 

If Epstein leaves, the Red Sox have given every indication that senior vice president and assistant general manager Ben Cherington would replace him. A 36-year-old New Hampshire native and Amherst graduate, Cherington has been with the Red Sox since 1999.

 

The Red Sox have put their search for a new manager on hold while waiting Epstein to make his decision. Owner John Henry seems willing to let Epstein stay on as GM but also is not standing in his way as he pursues the Cubs position.

 

The Herald reported tonight that Epstein is on the cusp of leaving the Cubs. But along with the Globe, ESPN and Comast Sports New England are reporting that is not quite the case yet.

[jung]

"Hearing Red Sox owners are making play to keep Theo in town, but won't ask him to continue in job he doesn't want."

 

Gotta' hand it to the Sox FO, they are spin doctors supreme and very high order marketing geniuses.

[a700hitter]

Holy s***. Now we have to worry about 2 managers.

 

a700hitter isn't online now. He probably went to the nearest bar and celebrated as soon as he heard the news.

I'm not at all happy about this. I wish he had done better. I thought we had a good team to start the season. I still think if he made one or two moves at the trading deadline that the Sox are in the playoffs. Fister would have put us in the ALCS, but Theo thought that he didn't need to pay the price and that we had the post season locked up. He miscalculated terribly. Add this year's flop to last year's flop, a sweep in 2009, and his horrendous record with FA's and he was doomed. It was his responsibility. He did a lousy job and he paid the price with his job, but hey he is going to a make a ton of money from his failure, so there's no reason to shed tears for him. Speaking for myself, I always liked Theo. When he made mistakes, he stood up and took the hits, even though so many were willing to let him slide. Criticism of an organization is healthy and this FO under Theo lost some of its edge. It was time for new blood. I'm not happy about being right in this instance. He had to go. Big changes are needed.

 

When the Mets had their collapse in 2007, Mets fans thought Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya would be fired. Instead, Randolph stayed on and Minaya got an extension. The following season, 2008 was practically a carbon copy of 2007. They missed the playoffs on the final day of the season. Their franchise is still reeling. Cleaning house was the right business move, and these owners know how to run a business.

[example1]

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty confident that a job like GM of a team is not something you want for someone who is disgruntled and no longer interested in having.

 

I know that my current employer really likes having me around. However, if I were offered a better job at a competetor and they denied my opportunity there, I would be pissed off and they would expect my performance to get worse. If my job was to create the culture and tenor of the office itself, it would be in my employers best interest to let me go.

 

It really isn't that complicated. Theo isn't a player under contract, he's a leader of the organization and if he doesn't want to be there any more his role is too important to just let him stew about it.

[Reck]

 

Beyond compensation from the Cubs, the various sides would have to negotiate what Red Sox staff members Epstein could bring with him to Chicago.

 

LOL if the Cubs are expecting anything less then Theo himself they must be on that crack joint.