John Henry Is A Moron And The "Source" Of Red Sox Clubhouse Story

Before I start, read this quote...

"[Crawford was] definitely a baseball signing. In fact, anyone involved in the process, anyone in upper management with the Red Sox will tell you that I personally opposed that," said Henry. "We had plenty of left-handed hitting. I don’t have to go into why. I’ll just tell you that at the time I opposed the deal, but I don’t meddle to the point of making decisions for our baseball team. ... It wasn’t a PR move. Neither was the [Adrian] Gonzalez signing."

The Crawford signing is looking pretty stupid, but you know what? He is a member of this baseball team for the foreseeable future. Probably not a good time to throw him under the bus. Nothing makes a guy feel better then knowing your boss didn't even want you, and the guys who did are gone. Sure, that's great leading into next season.

I don't think any more proof is needed about who was the "source" in that clubhouse story was. Henry cares more about his public appearance that this baseball team. I have no doubt in my mind it was him, and he should be ashamed of himself.

This story really disgusts me. I hope John Henry gets hit by a bus tonight.

Captain's Thoughts on Theo

Reports are streaming across the internet that the Cubs have signed Theo Epstein to a 5 year deal worth $15 million. The rumor is that they'll name Epstein President. The Red Sox are likely to get prospects as compensation, as Epstein is still under contract through 2012.

Ummmmm, wow. I don't know who to be angry at right now. Is Theo jumping from a sinking ship, or does he feel like his welcome has run out in Boston? Is this him leaving on his own, or are the owners holding the door open for him?

He's certainly not secure in his job here in Boston. He has only one year remaining on his contract, and his bosses have been talking to the media about how one cannot be the Red Sox' GM forever. Which is never something one enjoys hearing their boss say.

This team is in dire straits. It needs pitching. Badly. It could use a decent outfielder too. A bench would help. And this team needs character. Theo is partly responsible for how badly this team has performed. His big-ticket acquisitions have often disappointed (Drew, Crawford, Matsuzaka, Lugo, Renteria, Crisp, Gagne, Clement). But he has helped revamp and restructure the farm system to make it productive (Pedroia, Ellsbury, Buchholz, Lester, Papelbon, Bard). He's also been good at finding undervalued talent that contributes surprisingly well (Ortiz, Mueller, Millar, Bellhorn, Loretta, Aceves, Cabrera). And not all of his big moves have been busts (Schilling, Foulke, Gonzalez).

So even though he's one of the reasons the Sox are where they are, I think he's the best guy to help the Sox improve. But now he seems to be gone.

And if he is leaving on his own accord, then I hate him. He's like the rich guy (Bruce Ismay) from Titanic who encouraged the Captain to go faster, then after the ship hit the iceberg, cowardly jumped into a lifeboat.

But I get the feeling like the owners haven't done enough to keep Epstein here. We haven't heard that they've offered an extension. They don't seem to mind that he's talking to the Cubs. And we're already seeing stories about how great Ben Cherington is.

Cherington is responsible for developing talent through the farm system, so he's obviously done well for himself. But the solutions to the current Sox mess won't come from Pawtucket. There are overpaid, overfed, overdrunk starters. The bullpen has two reliable arms, maybe three. Theo's successor will be walking into a storm of difficulties that need to be resolved ASAP. Meanwhile the owners might not be too keen on dishing out more money to fix the problems caused by high-priced free agents. Especially after spending $95 million buying players for Liverpool this summer.

Maybe this will all work out in the end. But the way I see it, the Sox have bad pitching, detestable players, and they've lost the first manager and GM to win them World Series since the end of World War I. Right now, it sucks to be a Red Sox fan.

-The Commodore

Henry/Lucchino Finally Talk About Francona/Epstein

DP alluded to this earlier, and I was kind of shocked since DP is the biggest Francona hater of all time, but even he had to admit that the owners kind of handled this Francona departure poorly. I mean why did it take this long to come out and talk about what happened, and at least give the guy some credit for all the work he had put in? I mean the guy put in 8 years, and although he may have lost the clubhouse over the last 2 years the Red Sox did enjoy their best success they have had since the early 1900's during his time here. I am a huge Francona supporter, but I had to admit to myself that after hearing everything that had happened that it was best for the Red Sox and Francona to probably move on. That being said, there is classy ways to do it, and I think they let Francona take the bullet by himself.

Anyways, there did finally come out and talk today on WEEI (a little bit anyways). Here are some main points I found interesting from the interview...

"He did a fantastic job for us over the years," Lucchino added. "He was contemplating his ninth year in this pressure cooker that is Boston. Different teams require different skill sets and different talents. I think he made a self-assessment, with which we concurred. To that extent, it was mutual and the phrase mutual does fit. It was still a sad occasion. There was no joy that day."

"We went through challenge after challenge, various reasons for the breakdown. We talked to Tito about whether he was ready for this, given all the challenges he enumerated," said Lucchino. "He made clear to us that he wasn’t. What were his words. Something like, ‘You need a new voice down there. I’m not your man for next year. I think my time here is up.’ In some ways, he took that position. That is a very determinative factor when your manager feels spent and feels like there needs to be a change.


Here are of the rest that I found interesting.

- They would not discuss the Cubs request to talk to Theo, but it was damn obvious that they had since they wouldn't deny it. They also said that anytime that anyone asks to talk to someone that they almost always grant it as long as it's a promotion.

- They are not interviewing any managers yet, but Theo is actively involved, but it was interesting from them to keep pointing out that Ben Cherington is also very involved. May be of them getting people ready for him taking over. Kept repeating that "no one person makes these big decisions" (Adrian Gonzalez, Crawford).

- "Theo will not be the GM forever".

- "Younger players have a much bigger impact now then they ever did". Could mean the Red Sox will look to their minor leagues, more then going out and trying to make a splash in free agency, but also admitted they will not back off free agent signings just because they sucked at it recently."

So, overall as much as they tried to put out the fire of Theo leaving, it certainly sounds like it is a very real possibility, and I would even go as far as to say it kind of sounded like they were trying to soften the blow a little bit. Maybe I am wrong, but that's what I took from it.

This is certainly going to be a very interesting offseason, but this Theo crap needs to end before the end of the World Series. Either way it goes, you can't hire a manager if you don't know who you're GM is going to be (in my opinion). I have come to the conclusion that I want Theo here, unless the Cubs are willing to give some worthwhile back (taking Lackey's contract, or a player that can come in and start right away), or if Theo won't sign an extension with the Red Sox then I would just rather have him leave now. I would at that point rather just start fresh across the board, then patch together one more year. Otherwise, I think the Red Sox should extend him.