Ben Cherington is Already 10 Times Better Than Theo

Ben Cherington at his introductory press conference yesterday afternoon. Cherington was promoted to Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Red Sox.

Yesterday, Ben Cherington was officially introduced as the Red Sox new Executive Vice President/General Manager. Not only does he sound exactly like Theo (thank you Toucher and Rich), but he's already ten times the GM Theo ever was. Why is that? Well, that's because he announced about 45 minutes that John Lackey will undergo Tommy John surgery this winter. GET THE DUCK BOATS READY!!!!!! I was really hoping they could trade the fat lard, but hey, not having him for an entire season is just as good. Plus, who knows, maybe he comes back half decent and they can trade him. In any case though, here's the important stuff you need to know:

• Cherington wants "a new manager with a strong voice who cares about players and can collaborate with the front office." He says the team (aka Cherington and Hazen) will start interviewing candidates soon. They have several candidates in mind for first round interviews, but they haven't asked permission to interview any of them yet. Previous managerial experience would be a plus, but it's not a necessity.
• The team's success with free agent signings has "not been good enough," according to Cherington.
• The Red Sox would like to have Fat Papi (really? They actually want him back?) and Jonathan Papelbon (Yes!!) back, according to Cherington. They've talked a little bit with both guys and expect discussions to continue. Really, the only guy that matters there is Papelbon. He's got the balls to play in Boston, so why not just keep him instead of taking a chance that say Heath Bell will crack under the pressure?
• Cherington says the team will likely pick up the $6M option on shortstop Marco Scutaro. Thank god. It's gonna be another year at least until Iglesias is ready to take over full time (fielding skills are out of this world, but his hitting blows)
• Boston's farm system is "stronger and deeper than ever" at Double-A and below, Cherington said. Shocking....

One last note, where the hell were John Henry and Tom Werner at this presser? Supposedly "travelling". I bet they're flying out to see the chick Gronkowski posed with. Which leads to to another final point. I give mad props to Gronk for getting a picture with that chick. Talk about a bombshell.

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.