Theo Esptein Talks Red Sox

Welcome back to Boston, Boy Wonder.

Former Red Sox GM and current Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein joined WEEI's resident assclowns Dennis and Callahan yesterday morning, talking about both the Cubs and the Red Sox. Here's what Pearl Jam had to say about the Sox...

• Theo said that he and current Red Sox GM Ben Cherington had discussed Epstein's possible departure from the organization for years.
• Epstein on last season's off-field issues: "There were periods that were just as unproductive and contentious in 2004".
• On the subject of Jonathan Papelbon's departure to the Phillies, Theo said, "You can get in trouble sometimes giving huge four-year deals to closers". Epstein said that Papelbon will be missed in Boston, but the additions of Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon should help the bullpen recover from the loss.
• Theo also said that Carl Crawford didn't let his athleticism translate into success last season, but he expects Crawford to have better results in 2012 and beyond.
• Epstein said that Red Sox owner John Henry "wasn't a proponent" of the Crawford deal, but Theo wanted to sign him.
• Epstein also said that the Red Sox should obtain compensation for his departure, but referred to Andy MacPhail's move to the Cubs in 1994 and said that they shouldn't get much from Chicago.

Everything else he talked about had to do with the Cubs, and I don't know about you guys, but I really don't care about the Cubs. Not one bit. So, I won't post anything he said about the Cubs. If you want to see what else he had to say, check out the story on MLB Trade Rumors.

The Red Sox Are Going to Hell

So the Red Sox had one guy in mind to manage the team next year. It was Dale Sveum. And guess what former Red Sox GM and now Cubs President of Baseball Operations did today! He hired that exact same guy, Dale Sveum, to manage the Cubs next year.

Hey Theo, GFY.

This Red Sox team is going to hell now. They had a shitty list of candidates to begin with, but ever since he was hired, GM Ben Cherington and Red Sox ownership have been contradicting each other at every turn. First, he tells Felger and Mazz on the radio that the next Red Sox manager doesn't have to have previous managerial experience. Then, ownership comes out and says that the next manager does indeed have to have previous managerial experience. Then Cherington says that the Red Sox don't have any current plans to expand the managerial search. And of course, ownership comes out and says that they are going to expand the search and that they've reached out to Bobby Valentine.

Wait, what? Bobby Valentine? Are you shitting me? Larry Lucchino's best idea for manager is Bobby F'ing Valentine? What the hell is he on? I'm guessing some combination of rufies, ecstasy, and a couple of those Euro drugs that the Feds are keeping an eye on. The only good thing that could come out of hiring Bobby Valentine is that if he found out about beer and fried chicken in the clubhouse he'd throw friggin' haymakers.

But seriously, the guy managed for 15 years in the MLB and made the playoffs twice. Then he went over and managed in Japan and got fired twice from the exact same team that he managed out there. Sounds like a pretty shitty resume to me.

Hopefully ownership stops trying to use Cherington as their god damn puppet and lets him and the rest of his Baseball Operations staff do their jobs. Like it's ridiculous, ownership wants a manager who will follow every order given to him and will listen to exactly what "Carmine" says. What they SHOULD be looking for is a manager who will hear "Carmine says that (insert player's name here) will have good stats playing (insert position here) here." and responds with "I don't give a shit what your frigging computer says I want to know what the scouts have to say and you will listen to what I have to say."

I seriously would just love to get into this team and have my voice, the voice of reason and legitimacy and exactly what should be done, heard. They should be interviewing guys who would actually make good managers. So, without further ado, here's my list of candidates:

• Ryne Sandberg
• Dave Martinez
• Tim Wallach
• Don Wakamatsu
• Pete Mackanin
• John Farrell

Yeah yeah, I know that the Jays don't want to the Sox to talk to Farrell at all, but personally I'd tell Anthopolous to stick it and talk to him anyways. And Mackanin is out of the running already, but I have a feeling that was an ownership call, not a Cherington one, seeing as he was the first one they wanted to talk to.

Also, it sounds like the Sox are trying to hire former Mets GM Omar Minaya to some sort of special assistant role. Really? Omar Minaya? Jesus, just when you thought their personnel choices couldn't get any worse, you hear the name Omar Minaya. Good friggin' God.

Cubs Offer Dale Sveum Manager Position. Wait What?

Theo Must be really, really bitter about not taking everyone in the Boston Front Office with him to Chicago.

Reports are coming out today saying that Theo Epstein and the Cubs have offered Dale Sveum the manager position in Chicago, right after Sveum finishes his second interview with the Red Sox.

What the fuck.

If Sveum takes the Cubs position over the Red Sox, maybe the Sox will try and get Mike Maddux again. Oh wait that's right, he withdrew because he wanted to be closer to his family. Yet, Chicago is about the same distance from Texas as Boston is, and he was more than happy to interview there.

Here's a message for you Theo. Let Cherington do his job, stop trying to jack all his ideas you prick.

Seriously, you would think he would try and leave on good terms. I had all the respect in the world for Theo when he left. Now he's just an asswipe.

So, if Sveum does take the Chicago job, who do the Red Sox hire? Mackanin isn't a candidate anymore. They better damn well not hire Gene Lamont to be manager. Alomar Jr may be good, but I really don't know much about him other than the fact that he's a bench coach. Lovullo is practically unknown and doesn't have managerial experience. Who the hell are they going to go after?

Dale Sveum Appears to be Frontrunner for Manager

Dale Sveum gives his trademark windmill during a Red Sox game. The former Sox third base coach appears to be the frontrunner to replace Terry Francona as manager.

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington confirmed at the GM Meeting in Milwaukee the other day that he will be interviewing Dale Sveum a second time, and it's possible that one other candidate will get a second interview as well. According to most reports and speculation, Sveum appears to be the frontrunner to replace Terry Francona as the Red Sox manager.

Honestly, I'm kinda surprised at this. I fully expected a much more established list of candidates to be interviewed, and the only one that I had in mind that they actually talked to was Philadelphia bench coach Pete Mackanin. I was expecting a list of guys like Mackanin, Dave Martinez (Tampa Bay bench coach), Ryne Sandberg (Philadelphia's AAA manager), and others that I can't really remember at this moment. The list Cherington put together surprised me, and to be honest I was and still am skeptical about guys such as Alomar, Sveum, Lovullo, and Lamont. Although, if Sveum does indeed get the job, don't be surprised to see Gene Lamont hired to be his right hand man, seeing as Sveum has only managed something along the lines of 14 games in his coaching career.

The issue with this is that Theo Epstein has a very similar list of managerial candidates. He's interviewed Sveum, Mike Maddux (who was on the Red Sox list but opted to withdraw from the search), Sandy Alomar Jr., and Mackanin. It makes me wonder, what the hell kind of a game is Theo playing here? First he interviews Francona for the job, then he goes and basicallly jacks Cherington's list of candidates and starts interviewing them. Like really, what's his deal?

On another note, it seems Theo may a bit bitter about not being able to take his entire staff with him from Boston to Chicago, so he decided to have GM Jed Hoyer interview Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale about the manager position in Chicago. It's just annoying at this point that Theo's trying to jack all of Cherington's plans. So much for leaving on good terms asshole.

Selig Sets Deadline for Sox, Cubs Compensation Talks

According to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, Bud Selig told reporters at the World Series that he has told the Red Sox and the Cubs that they have until November 1st to work out a compensation package for Theo before he intervenes and acts as mediator. It's also been reported that the Sox and Cubs have agreed to discontinue compensation talks until after tomorrow's press conference, when the Cubs introduce their new Baseball Operations Regime of Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and Jason McLeod, and the Red Sox introduce Ben Cherington as General Manager. It's also expected that, after everything is done and over with, the Red Sox will promote current Director of Player Development Mike Hazen to Assistant GM.

Also, MLB's VP of Baseball Operations Joe Torre has said that he will investigate the reports of Red Sox players drinking in the clubhouse and will take appropriate action based on his findings. Hopefully he punishes Lackey by allowing the Red ox to release the fat shit without having to pay the rest of his salary. That'll never happen, but a guy can dream can't he?

Theo Resigns and Takes Over Position With Cubs

Now Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein resigned from his position with the Red Sox last night and was named the Cubs' new President of Baseball Operations.

The Red Sox and Cubs officially announced last night in a joint press release by the two teams. The move is effective immediately. Both organizations declined to comment any further until they make announcements and introductions on Tuesday. It's also being reported that the Cubs will hire former Red Sox Assistant GM and soon to be former Padres GM Jed Hoyer to assume the same title under Epstein's Baseball Ops regime, along with former Red Sox Director of Amature Scouting and soon to be former Padres Assistant GM Jason McLeod to assume the same title he had in San Diego under Epstein and Hoyer.

First off, the Theo announcement is not a surprise. This just makes it easier for the clubs to work out compensation (Theo and Cherington will do the talking). I am surprised to see Hoyer and McLeod leave San Diego so soon, especially just to assume the same titles they had with the Padres. Probably 'cause Hoyer is Theo's boyfriend and McLeod is that little geeky kid who follows people wherever they go (I can't those people). Second, I really hope this doesn't drag out any longer, because it was beyond ridiculous for it to take 10 days for an official announcement (or in this case press release). It's also been reported by Peter Gammons on NESN.com that the two sides had agreed to deals multiple times but John Henry nixed every single one of them. I'm hoping that's because he didn't consider it good enough, 'cause if he's just getting involved to get involved he's an asshole. Also, if the two sides can't reach a deal soon then MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is expected to step in and act as arbitrator of negotiations.

Anyways, it's expected that on Tuesday the Cubs will introduce Theo as President of Baseball Operations, Jed Hoyer as General Manager, and Jason McLeod as Assistant General Manager, and the Red Sox are expected to introduce Ben Cherington as General Manager. Now us Sox fans can finally move on and think about who they're going to trade (please trade Lackey, please trade Youkilis, please trade Beckett) and who they're going to hire as the new Manager and who will be the new Assistant GM.

Red Sox Focusing on Trey McNutt as Compensation

Pitcher Trey McNutt is apparently the focus of Epstein compensation talks

According to Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago, the Red Sox have begun to focus on right hander Trey McNutt as compensation from the Cubs. It's still unclear whether the Sox are asking for more or not, but according to Mooney, outfielder Brett Jackson has been deemed untouchable while players such as Josh Vitters (didn't want him anyways) and Matt Sczur (damn it) are considered unlikely. Also, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, the Sox have been asking for "ridiculous combinations", which is a good thing considering the fact that Chicago just wants to fork over some cash. Depending on how many people Theo takes with him though, the Sox could get more than expected, and I personally think if Theo takes a bunch of his guys with him, they deserve to get Brett Jackson included in the talks, even if he's considered unlikely.

On another note, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com, the Sox originally asked for right hander Matt Garza as compensation. Obviously the Cubs said no, 'cause he's their best pitcher, but I credit the Sox front office for having the balls to ask for him. They didn't have any chance of getting him in return, but asking for him shows the Cubs that you mean business and aren't just going to sit back and settle for less.

What Will be the Compensation for Epstein?

Ok, so here's what I know. Theo has agreed to a 5 year contract worth $18.5M and he and the Red Sox Front Office have told him he can't take any staff with him to Chicago. The only issue right now is compensation and that is supposedly being handled directly by John Henry and Tom Ricketts, Owner of the Cubs. I'm guessing the conversations go something like:

John Henry: "Alright Tom, here's a list of your top 10 prospects. If you're taking Theo I want at least 2 of them."
Tom Ricketts: "Come on John, can't I just give you a couple million bucks and call it a deal? ..Hello? ...John?"

Seriously, the Sox have all the leverage, despite what people think. If Henry and Ricketts can't agree on compensation and the deal falls through, the Sox can just take him back. Cherington hasn't been officially promoted and Theo is still the GM of the Red Sox. Epstein was #1 on the Cubs' wish list of GM's and they have an agreement with him in place. Cubbies fans won't be too happy if they don't end up with Theo, despite what they say.

My guess on compensation is that it will be pretty steep. Hopefully one top guy from the High A-Level and one from the Rookie Leagues with high upside. Just to give you an example, the Salem Red Sox are a High-A team and the Gulf Coast Red Sox and the DSL (Dominican Summer League) Red Sox are rookie league teams. So, my hope is for Matt Sczur and Jeimer Candelario. The Sox don't need guys that will step in and help the big club right away, they need to re-stock the farm. Matt Sczur can go into Salem and be their everyday catcher and Jeimer Candelario could step into either the Gulf Coast Red Sox or the Spinners and make his way through the system.

I see the Sox continuing to play hardball with the Cubs because, again, the Sox have all the leverage, and the Cubs will eventually cave and give the Sox what they want.

Epstein Agrees to Deal With Cubs



Now Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs

 It's official. Theo Epstein has left the Red Sox organization and is now the President of Baseball Operations and General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. News came last night that the Cubs were on the cusp of a deal with Epstein and now the only thing keeping it from being official is compensation. It appears the two sides are determining whether the compensation will be Minor Leaguers or cash compensation, and according to SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) the Sox prefer cash. The likely scenario is that after the deal and the compensation are finalized, the Red Sox will promote Assistant GM Ben Cherington to take Theo's place. The proposed contract for Theo is 5 years and around $20M.