a700hitter

You are reading tonight's posts the way that I intended them. Unfortunately, you read my posts about accountability the wrong way. I had always wished that Theo had succeeded. I loved all of the off season moves, and I thought this would be the year. I was wrong. Theo was wrong, and there were other problems in his organization that weren't obvious to the fans until it was over. Iortiz weren't demanding his head. We were trying to inform you all that in a big business setting he would bear the responsibility and that businesses that have a disaster usually change the captain. We were right. The owners made the sound business decision here. No one else, the press nor the fans dictated this decision. It was just business. Like you said earlier, personally they like Theo, but business is business. I was right. I take no joy from it, and I wished things had worked out better in the end for Theo in Boston.

It's a blockbuster. Theo has become something of a cult hero....or... uh don't ... you see that?

Do you really think this ownership would let a blood thirsty media dictate such an important business decision? I have more respect and confidence in them than that.

Truth is often times stranger than fiction. Don't forget the 2005 Hissy Fit and the Gorilla Suit.

She wasn't going to fire Clemens after his Cy Young/MVP season. Edit: Johnny Mac did not sell out Clemens until much later. He had nothing to gain from it, which is why I believe him. If he had waited until Clemens lied to Congress, maybe Geddie would have backed up Johnny Mac and not Clemens. Geddie's defense of Clemens was always half-hearted and reluctant, but making an enemy of one of the greatest pitchers and a sure-fire HOFer would not have been a wise move by Geddie.

Fixed

A few questions: 1. Being that Theo is still under contract, would the Cubs give the Sox compensation for releasing Theo? 2. Could this this be a big bluff by Theo, looking to squeeze out LL? If so, the owners have called his bluff and Theo has left himself with no good options. 3. If Theo turns down the Cubs, do the Sox owners fire him anyway, or do they have a meeting where the owners recommend that he take the Cubs job?

Who knows what is going on behind closed doors. Maybe the owners are looking to squeeze out Luchinno. I think that LL would never be outmaneuvered by Theo. He's too damn smart for that, but maybe the owners think LL is too old for the job.

Best of luck to him.

Often times when a manager gets fired, they say that it is easier to fire 1 than 25. A GM is responsible for more than 25. He's responsible for the scouting and development people. Our farm system is not the envy of baseball as some would like to believe. He's also responsible for the strength and conditioning program. That didn't do to well either. Plus, he's responsible for the manager and the players. A lot of things went wrong with the Sox organization this season-- big things. They happened on his watch. It's easier for the owners to fire Theo and let the new guy make all the other changes.

You were in plenty of denial that the failure was Theo's responsibility. Many posts were exchanged with you, me and IOrtiz on that topic. The owners agreed with me and IOrtiz, and so did Theo. He never made excuses, probably one of his most admirable qualities. I do have faith in and a very high regard for this ownership. They are doing what is right for the franchise. It does seem like you have transitioned into anger at this most recent news. Gosh, you're the social worker. Do you really need me to tell you that you are going though the grieving process?

Everything went wrong for the Sox -- Lester, Beckett, Papelbon and Bard all failed, and they still missed the post season by 1 stinking game. It wouldn't have taken much to turn the disaster into the playoffs. Theo didn't get it done. It's the small details that bite you in the ass sometime, but they are usually indicative of deeper issues. There were deeper issues, but Theo probably would have survived if the team had made the playoffs and definitely if they got to the ALCS.

Well, I see that you have moved beyond denial to anger. That's good, and this housecleaning is healthy and it will be good for the organization.

In a big organization, the moves at the top are often for show. Nothing sends a message to the rest of the organization like firing one of the top guys. It sends shock waves through an organization. Everyone will have resumes circulating if they haven't already done it.

You can look at it the other way-- that a team with so much talent only needed a little tweak to get it into the post season. He didn't do what little was necessary. His final week pursuit of Capuano and Chen was damning evidence that he had blown it at the trading deadline.

Hey, I don't need the enzyte. And I don't need to be celebrating anything to chase skanks, so you can't draw an inferences from that.

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.

Lackey is a difficult decision, because he is owed so much money. Varitek and Wake are no-brainers. It's time to move on.

Unless Verlander can pull out a victory in game 4, the sweep prediction is looking pretty good. I think the NL team will win the WS. It would be nice to see the Brewers win for a change. If the Brewers go to the Series, look for Fielder to have a monster series catapulting his salary demands into the stratosphere. The same goes for Pujols if the Cards make it.

It came at the expense of the post season. A milestone like that would normally be associated with good memories, but not this one. Mention of Wakefield's 200 wins will always conjure up memories of an over the hill player's futile effort to win his 200th and racking up loss after loss as the Red Sox spiraled out of control on the way to the worst collapse in team history.

The owners have made all the difference. They gave the fans what they wanted and they were able to turn the franchise into a gold mine. The prior owners were small minded. They had no vision. That being said. It's time for ownership to bring in new blood to the FO. The current FO has lost it's edge. They've gone soft. JH knows this and changes will be made.

High OBP guy- MoneyBall type. You would have liked him. LoL!