The Architect Leaves Infidel Nation
Only because I love posting wire stories on my blog....
I don't care what anyone else says about this story...This was a total power play by Epstein that failed miserably. And what did you expect? Theo is a smart guy, but he's going against the most inside of insiders. He makes Dick Cheney look like the kid who's got his face plastered against the bakery window. On the outside looking in.
Lucchino is baseball's version of Leo McGarry. He was Bill Bradley's roommate at Princeton. Dated Dianne Sawyer. Was a congressional lawyer during the Watergate hearings along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. And helped broker the deal that enabled John Henry's group to buy the Boston Red Sox. When Billy Beane turned down the GM job, he smoothed the way for his apprentice, 28 year old Theo Epstein, to become the youngest GM in the history of the game.
Get the picture? Love him or hate him (I despise him), Lord Larry is a master of the game. The power game. Epstein knows baseball. He's a very good GM. But he's out of his league. Luchinno is involved in every aspect of the franchise. When the Red Sox are having press conferences about Fenway rennovation or buying hotels in the area. You don't see Theo leading the way. You see Larry. When Theo makes a major baseball decision, Larry is the one who signs off on it.
I don't doubt that Epstein was probably pissed off that Lucchino leaked information in Boston Globe column that skewered things to his favor. That he broke a confidence. That might have been the final straw in Theo's eyes. But that's the game that Larry blames. The hardest kind of hardball. Nothing personal, just business. When you mess around with people's power or money, the gloves come off. They're going to hit you. Hard. And when they hit you, just pray that they let you get up.
As good a GM as Epstein is, you can't tell me that with the Red Sox organization and resources behind them, that there aren't 10 GMs out there who could have done what he did. The Red Sox aren't the Twins or the A's. There's only one team out there that makes more money than Boston. And we know who they are. The car attendant could have brokered the Schilling deal. Everyone knows that you had to make that happen if you wanted to beat the Yankees. He had all the resources that a big market team brings to bear and didn't have to deal with half the BS that Cashman deals with.
That's why Brian was the perfect man for the Yankees job. He knows who the writes the checks and knows that he'll have to deal with George's wrath from time to time. But he knows how to manuever through the madness and now wields a significant amount of power and influence as a result. I don't think Theo ever learned how to deal with that. Something to think about for anyone who thinks that he would be the man to replace Cashman.
And don't think that Schilling or anyone else from the clubhouse mumbling about what happened will make any whit of difference to the Lucchino, Henry and company. This isn't Philly, Curt. Clubhouse politicians need not apply. The bosses put up with that idiot garbage because they were winning games and they're smart enough not to tip the apple cart. But they made it very clear that that wasn't image they wanted for their club. With their very short appearance in the postseason, I'd imagine that there'll be changes in the offing in Infidel Nation this winter.
The point of this post is that power only concedes to power. Larry had it, Theo didn't. Epstein made a play and got smacked down like the kid he is. Instead of just taking it like a man, he cried like a baby and took his toys home. He walked away from the best job he'll ever have because he didn't get his way. He could make more money and have more power at another gig. And it still won't ever be what he had in Boston. The Red Sox will hire another GM. One who will tend to the team and not threaten the power structure and continue to prosper.
A wise man once told me "Sometimes you have to eat shit and ask for seconds." Theo's going to wish he had a second helping.
Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein resigned Monday, surprising Boston and the baseball world just one year after he helped build the franchise's first World Series championship team since 1918.
The team said in a statement that Epstein will continue working for several days to assist in the transition and prepare for the offseason.
The Boston Herald, which first reported the news on its web site, said the Yale graduate has told associates that he may leave baseball, or at least take a year off.
The Dodgers, Phillies and Devil Rays have GM openings, but none has a $120 million payroll to match the one Epstein was given in Boston.
The 31-year-old Epstein was reportedly offered about $4.5 million for a three-year extension quadruple his previous salary. But it was still short of the $2.5 million a year the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before making Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history.
Although Epstein and team president Larry Lucchino haggled over the usual issues of salary and authority, the Herald said Epstein went through ``agonizing soul-searching'' about his relationship with his mentor. The Herald said a Sunday newspaper column contained inside information about their relationship, ``slanted too much in Lucchino's favor,'' and convinced Epstein there had been a breach of trust.
I don't care what anyone else says about this story...This was a total power play by Epstein that failed miserably. And what did you expect? Theo is a smart guy, but he's going against the most inside of insiders. He makes Dick Cheney look like the kid who's got his face plastered against the bakery window. On the outside looking in.
Lucchino is baseball's version of Leo McGarry. He was Bill Bradley's roommate at Princeton. Dated Dianne Sawyer. Was a congressional lawyer during the Watergate hearings along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. And helped broker the deal that enabled John Henry's group to buy the Boston Red Sox. When Billy Beane turned down the GM job, he smoothed the way for his apprentice, 28 year old Theo Epstein, to become the youngest GM in the history of the game.
Get the picture? Love him or hate him (I despise him), Lord Larry is a master of the game. The power game. Epstein knows baseball. He's a very good GM. But he's out of his league. Luchinno is involved in every aspect of the franchise. When the Red Sox are having press conferences about Fenway rennovation or buying hotels in the area. You don't see Theo leading the way. You see Larry. When Theo makes a major baseball decision, Larry is the one who signs off on it.
I don't doubt that Epstein was probably pissed off that Lucchino leaked information in Boston Globe column that skewered things to his favor. That he broke a confidence. That might have been the final straw in Theo's eyes. But that's the game that Larry blames. The hardest kind of hardball. Nothing personal, just business. When you mess around with people's power or money, the gloves come off. They're going to hit you. Hard. And when they hit you, just pray that they let you get up.
As good a GM as Epstein is, you can't tell me that with the Red Sox organization and resources behind them, that there aren't 10 GMs out there who could have done what he did. The Red Sox aren't the Twins or the A's. There's only one team out there that makes more money than Boston. And we know who they are. The car attendant could have brokered the Schilling deal. Everyone knows that you had to make that happen if you wanted to beat the Yankees. He had all the resources that a big market team brings to bear and didn't have to deal with half the BS that Cashman deals with.
That's why Brian was the perfect man for the Yankees job. He knows who the writes the checks and knows that he'll have to deal with George's wrath from time to time. But he knows how to manuever through the madness and now wields a significant amount of power and influence as a result. I don't think Theo ever learned how to deal with that. Something to think about for anyone who thinks that he would be the man to replace Cashman.
And don't think that Schilling or anyone else from the clubhouse mumbling about what happened will make any whit of difference to the Lucchino, Henry and company. This isn't Philly, Curt. Clubhouse politicians need not apply. The bosses put up with that idiot garbage because they were winning games and they're smart enough not to tip the apple cart. But they made it very clear that that wasn't image they wanted for their club. With their very short appearance in the postseason, I'd imagine that there'll be changes in the offing in Infidel Nation this winter.
The point of this post is that power only concedes to power. Larry had it, Theo didn't. Epstein made a play and got smacked down like the kid he is. Instead of just taking it like a man, he cried like a baby and took his toys home. He walked away from the best job he'll ever have because he didn't get his way. He could make more money and have more power at another gig. And it still won't ever be what he had in Boston. The Red Sox will hire another GM. One who will tend to the team and not threaten the power structure and continue to prosper.
A wise man once told me "Sometimes you have to eat shit and ask for seconds." Theo's going to wish he had a second helping.
posted by Darth Marc at 11:25 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home