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November 2, 2005: NFL Commentary, Week 8
By White Russian

Wait Til Next Year
The Texans win over Cleveland means that Houston's dream of winless perfection is over and suddenly they have the same record as Brett Favre's (pronounced "fawv-ruh") Green Bay Packers.

The Anti-Steinbrenner
Based on the extensive coverage of the recently deceased N.Y. Giants owner Wellington Mara, it is clear that he embodies many of the qualities N.Y. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is lacking. So much so that the two may be complete opposites. According to various media types from around the league, including Al Michaels and many other announcers, Mara cared about what was good for the league, as well as his own team, in that through his actions he helped make the entire league more competitive and gave smaller market teams a fighting chance.

A Nation Mourns
Rosa Parks may be dead after battling dementia for the last decade, but she is not the one that Red Sox Nation is mourning. Halloween 2005 will be remembered as a dark day by Sox fans, for it is the day Theo Epstein made the decision to step down from his position of general manager. For whatever reason he ultimately decided to leave, the bottom line is that the Sox were dealt a serious blow when they were unable to re-sign young Theo, the man who played a major role in bringing the first championship to Boston in a really really long time. According to The Diesel, the Red Sox are facing a 10 year winter.

The Epstein loss is one of those things that never should have happened. He should have been extended before the 2005 season during Spring Training. Instead, a deal was not done and when negotiations started he was offered way below market value as an insulting starting point. The move to retain Epstein after the Sox won the World Series should have been the easiest signing of all. It should have been a slam dunk.

We Are the Same Person - Football Edition
Mike Patrick, on Sunday night, made the We Are the Same Person match between Buffalo Bills head coach Mike Mularkey and actor Kevin Costner. Additionally, the BMTG has noted that Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell is the same person as Dirk Diggler. For a non-football WATSP, Denis Leary said on Conan O'Brien that he is most often seen as being the same person as Willem Dafoe.

Enough Already
Just as we grew tired of tear-jerker, long-winded stories about Brett Favre (pronounced "fawv-ruh") earlier this season, we will soon grow tired of tear-jerker, long-winded stories about Ted Bruschi.

Opportunities Missed
Monday Night Football missed two opportunities to improve their Halloween broadcast. The introductory segment featured Baltimore's Ray Lewis with cartoon characters from Chicken Little. While the segment was better than what they usually offer in the opening, Brother Nature felt that they should have had Ravens player Lewis reading Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. They also should have shown at least some of the half-time ceremony honoring former Steeler greats. There seemed to be no mention of what they were honored for, instead we got another edition of Tug McGraw’s son’s variation on “I Like It, I Love It”. The highlights during the song are very good, but after eight weeks that song has got to go.

Philadelphia at Denver
Just one week ago, against San Diego, Philadelphia stopped LaDainian Tomlinson cold, holding him to negative yardage for most of the game. This week, Philadelphia could do nothing to stop Denver from running whenever and wherever it wanted to with whoever they wanted to. Even at the end of the game when Denver only wanted to run out the clock, Philadelphia could not stop the run. There was under two minutes left and everyone in the stadium and watching on television knew that Denver was just going to run the ball up the middle until the game was over. Knowing exactly what they were going to do meant nothing as Denver ran through the middle, only to be stopped by running into the end zone for another touchdown. How do you stop the runner who is arguably the best in the sport (Tomlinson) for the entire game when there were other viable options on the field for San Diego to choose from (such as Antonio Gates) one week, and you can’t stop a team who’s only play is to run up the middle until the clock runs down to zero the next week?

Poor Conditioning?
Why is Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis unable to last for even one full drive? On Monday night against Pittsburgh, Lewis looked the same as he has in past years, when he would get pounded, gaining difficult yardage during drives, only to go stand huffing and puffing on the sidelines when Baltimore finally gets close to the goal line, at which point in comes the smaller Chester Taylor. It seems like by the time Baltimore gets to the red zone, Lewis is gassed and is either ineffective or has to come out of the game. By the time he is ready to return, Baltimore’s field goal unit is usually on the field and the opportunity for a touchdown has passed. It was asked last year, in week 9, why Lewis was not utilized more as a receiver. This would get him into the open field and limit his “tough” yardage. Other backs get a lot of yardage, only to be taken out in favor of a larger back, like Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett in Atlanta, but that is not because Dunn is too tired. In the case of Atlanta, Duckett is the bigger back and is used to pound the ball for short yardage. In the case of Baltimore, Lewis (5’11”, 245 lbs compared to Taylor at 5’11” and 213 lbs) is the bigger back and is used to pound the ball for all the yardage from one 20 yard line to the other 20 yard line. Lewis has been getting more catches this year (12 catches for 70 yards through week 8 this year versus 2 catches for 60 yards last year through week 9), putting him on pace to more than double his reception total from last year, but it appears that it may not be enough.

Back on Probation
How many second chances does Dwight Gooden need? This time he gets three years probation for running from the police during a traffic stop in which he was obviously driving under the influence. For hitting his live-in girlfriend he gets time served and an anger management class. In 2002 he got one year probation for pleading guilty to reckless driving after being charged with drunk driving. While he played baseball he got busted for cocaine more than once. It seems as though Gooden is a chronic repeat offender, getting himself in serious trouble throughout the last 11 years.

It also seems as though what he is really good at is working the system. Why does Gooden still have a driver’s license? The man clearly should not be on the road. All the judge does is say how good he looks and that we should give him credit for trying to do good. All the prosecutor does is say how respected he is by children and young teens and therefore can be a positive influence on them through community service. The prosecutor is sadly mistaken. Children and young teens do not look up to and respect Dwight Gooden. Most children and young teens do not even know who Dwight Gooden is. People who were children and young teens while he was a pitching sensation are all grown up now. Instead of looking up to him and feeling respect for him they either feel pity or disgust for him.

Return of the Meaningless Injury Report?
The injury report has long been useless, as teams do not accurately report injuries and the only people even looking at the report are people in fantasy leagues. The BMTG will attempt to examine the actual usefulness of the injury report by looking at the report released on Wednesday and comparing it to what actually happens in the games. A doubtful status means that a player has a 75% chance of sitting out, questionable is supposed to be 50%, and probable is 25%.

Here is this week's breakdown:

	Probable	Questionable	Doubtful	Out
# of Players Listed	79	97	6	30
# of Players who did not play	13	45	6	30
% of Players who did not play	16%	46%	100%	100%
% of Players expected to not play	25%	50%	75%	100%

And the total so far on this season...

	Probable	Questionable	Doubtful	Out
# of Players Listed	430	567	73	178
# of Players who did not play	53	259	64	177
% of Players who did not play	12%	46%	88%	99%
% of Players expected to not play	25%	50%	75%	100%

The Injury Report Abuser of the Week is New Orleans. All 14 players they listed on the report this week were listed as "questionable." Of those 14, three did not play, which is in line with what you would expect based on percentages. The problem is that the "questionable" status is the only one New Orleans uses every week. New Orleans has listed a total of 71 players so far this season on the Wednesday injury report. Two were listed as "out," while the rest of the 69 players were listed as "questionable." Of those 69 players, 27 (or 39%) did not play.

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Gooden sentenced to probation for fleeing traffic stop

TAMPA, Fla. -- Former baseball star Dwight Gooden was sentenced to three years of probation Thursday after pleading guilty to speeding away from police following a traffic stop in August.

The 40-year-old ex-pitcher will remain for an indefinite time at a drug treatment facility where he has spent the past month and a half.

"I'm very sorry for these actions," Gooden told Judge Nick Nazaretian. "And I thank the state for giving me the opportunity to get along with my life."

Gooden pleaded guilty to a felony count of fleeing police, misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and obstruction and to an unrelated charge of hitting his girlfriend.

"You have a lot of situations in your life going on, but you look a whole lot better than you did before," Nazaretian said. "You should be commended for trying to keep things straightened out in your life."

The 1984 Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner must complete his drug treatment, get a full-time job afterward and spend 100 hours speaking to 100 schools, Little League teams and other youth groups about how drugs affected his life.

"This is a person who children and young teens respect and has the potential to make a tremendous difference in kids' lives," prosecutor Pam Bondi said.

As part of his probation, Gooden must stay away from alcohol, drugs and bars, and submit to a minimum of three random urine screens a week, Bondi said. Probation can be terminated after two years if he has no violations.

Gooden also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a March dispute with his live-in girlfriend. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail and given credit for time already served. He also was ordered to take an anger management class.

Gooden, who is from Tampa, was pulled over for driving erratically in the early morning hours of Aug. 22, police said. Slurring his words and smelling of alcohol, he twice refused to get out of the car for a field sobriety test and bolted while the officer was still holding his driver's license, police said. He surrendered three days later and has been in custody since.

Gooden was an instant sensation after debuting with the New York Mets in 1984. He went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Gooden was arrested by Tampa police in 2002 on a drunken driving charge but later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year probation.

During his playing days, Gooden was suspended for 60 days in 1994 for testing positive for cocaine while with the Mets. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season. He recently worked for the Yankees as a special adviser but quit in April.

From the Associated Press

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Statement from Theo Epstein

“First, I want to thank John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino for the opportunity to serve as general manager for the last three seasons. Their support and friendship mean a lot to me, and I wish them all well. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the players, Terry Francona, the coaching staff, the front office, the baseball operations staff, and the fans for making my Red Sox experience so meaningful.

“Growing up in the shadow of Fenway Park, I never dreamed of having the chance to work for my hometown team during such an historic period.

“My decision not to return as general manager of the Red Sox is an extremely difficult one. I will always cherish the relationships I developed here and am proud to have worked side-by-side with so many great people, in and out of uniform, as together we brought a World Championship to Boston.

“In my time as general manager, I gave my entire heart and soul to the organization. During the process leading up to today’s decision, I came to the conclusion that I can no longer do so. In the end, my choice is the right one not only for me but for the Red Sox.
“My affection for the Red Sox did not begin four years ago when I started working here, and it does not end today. I will remain on the job for several days as we finalize preparation for next week’s general managers meetings. Thereafter, I will make myself available to the organization to ensure a smooth and stable transition.

“My passion for and dedication to the game of baseball remain strong. Although I have no immediate plans, I will embrace this change in my life and look forward with excitement to the future.”

Sox wondering where they went wrong with Epstein
By Sean McAdam

A little more than a year ago, Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein were drenched in champagne, celebrating the Red Sox's first world championship in 86 years.

On Monday, they were parting ways, unable to come to terms on a contract extension for Epstein, leaving behind a decimated front office just as a busy offseason looms.

What happened? How did it fall apart so fast for the Red Sox?

It wasn't as if Lucchino and Epstein were unfamiliar with one another. To the contrary, their relationship goes back more than a dozen years, when Lucchino hired Epstein as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles.

They teamed together in San Diego, too, when Lucchino was the Padres' CEO. And when Lucchino was paired with the John Henry-Tom Werner ownership group in Boston, Epstein soon followed.

Under Lucchino, Epstein became the youngest GM in the history of the game, and when the Red Sox ended their championship drought in 2004, Epstein cemented his place among the game's best young executives.

But talks regarding a new contract extension never gained much traction. When Epstein broached the subject in spring training, he was told to wait. And when the Red Sox made their first overtures, the offer represented only a modest raise over his 2005 salary of $550,000.

From the Red Sox's perspective, the initial proposals to Epstein were in line with what other general managers with similar levels of experience were earning. But for Epstein, Boston ownership's offer to Billy Beane in 2002 -- weeks before Epstein was hired -- was the benchmark.

Beane was offered $12.5 million over five years, and for a period of 24 hours, accepted. That was easily the most money ever given to a major-league GM.

Epstein wondered why -- after three straight trips to the postseason, a world championship and a rebuilt minor-league system brimming with prospects -- he couldn't earn half of the amount given to Beane.

In part, it may have been because it was difficult for Lucchino to view Epstein as anything other than his protege. But when Epstein dug in his heels and Henry entered the picture last week, the team's hard-line negotiating stance softened some.

A week ago, Epstein laid out his demands: A three-year deal worth $1.5 million annually. With logical successor Josh Byrnes having left to accept the general manager's vacancy in Arizona, it was the Red Sox who had lost some leverage.

By the end of the week, they met Epstein's terms, and when everyone left the office, the thought was a deal could be finalized Monday, the same day on which Epstein's original three-year deal was to expire at midnight.

But over the course of the negotiations, a rift had developed between Lucchino and Epstein. Both sides wondered if it could be repaired.

Toward that end, they met several times at the end of the week, attempting to repair the relationship. Despite persistent -- and inaccurate -- media reports that suggested Epstein wanted to bypass Lucchino and report directly to Henry in the Red Sox hierarchy, chain of command issues were never central to the disagreements.

Rather, Lucchino and Epstein had a number of philosophical differences. And over the weekend, those were made worse.

A column in the Boston Globe Sunday, which Epstein deduced had been leaked by Lucchino or others on the CEO's staff, intimated that the general manager had been at fault when a proposed multi-player deal with the Colorado Rockies fell through at the trade deadline this season.

(In truth, ownership made Epstein cancel the agreed-upon deal, though Lucchino reportedly later blamed the mess on Byrnes in talks with Rockies ownership.)

The column further stated that Lucchino had accepted public blame for the fallout to spare his general manager further embarrassment.

This incensed Epstein, and along with other anecdotal evidence, caused him to reconsider working under Lucchino for another three seasons. By late morning Monday, he had made up his mind: His tenure with the Red Sox was over.

Every baseball offseason in Boston is filled with change, and this one was going to be no different. Manny Ramirez has restated his desire to be traded, and the club must re-sign free agent Johnny Damon. Further, there are obvious holes at first base and in the bullpen.

Now, however, those take a backseat to finding a new GM. But as the Red Sox sift through candidates with experience (Kevin Towers? Jim Duquette?) or younger applicants, they can't help but ask themselves: Where did it all go wrong?

Getting in the last words - Epstein speaks, gives no answers
By Bob Ryan

It wasn't the money.

It wasn't burnout.

It wasn't a feeling of fulfillment over winning the World Series.

It wasn't the lack of personal privacy in Boston.

It wasn't Dan Shaughnessy's celebrated Sunday column.

Which means that, no, he insists, it wasn't Larry Lucchino.

So why was Theo Epstein officially saying goodbye yesterday?

He could no longer put his ''heart and soul" into the job, 24/7/365, the way he has for the past three years. That's what he said. He couldn't be ''all in" any longer.

But why, Theo? Why not? Why, at age 31, with an historic World Series championship on your resume, a potentially dazzling group of young players making their way toward Fenway, and $4.5 million John Henry dollars awaiting deposit in your bank account, can you no longer put heart and soul into the job and declare yourself all in? Why? Why? Why?

''I would hope my answers help you get there," he said.

That's the problem. They didn't.

''Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to happen," sighed Henry, who pulled himself away from his computer long enough to further confuse the issue. ''I had this romantic notion that Theo was going to be the GM for the rest of my life."

The principal owner said it was a ''great, great loss." He lauded Epstein for working ''incessantly, selflessly, and tirelessly to help make this organization successful." He said he didn't 100 percent ''agree" with Theo's decision to leave, and he said that as principal owner he ''held himself wholly responsible" for what happened, adding, in response to a direct question that, ''Yes, I blew it."

And are you ready for this?

''Maybe I'm not fit to be the owner of the Boston Red Sox." (Psst. Somebody hide the sharp objects.)

The saddened owner simply could not explain why Theo Epstein is leaving his employ. ''He told you," Henry said. ''There wasn't one single issue. There were multitude of issues." But what, exactly? ''Ultimately," Henry said, ''you'll have to ask Theo."

We tried that. But Theo was as evasive as Michael Vick on a rollout.

Phenomenally conspicuous by his absence at this media extravaganza (which featured six TV trucks parked on Brookline Avenue and a voyeuristic contingent of New York media moonlighting from the Larry Brown watch), but very much the invisible 800-pound gorilla in the room was team president and CEO Larry Lucchino. (The invisible 400-pound gorilla, meanwhile, was the normally ubiquitous PR guru/event planner/self-styled ''Minister of Fun" and full-time Lucchino defender, Dr. Charles Steinberg.)

Lucchino wasn't there because Henry didn't want him to be. Henry did not want his embattled CEO to be subjected to a withering sideshow inquisition and thus turn Theo's press conference into something it wasn't supposed to be. ''[He's not here] because I felt it was important to speak the truth and to speak up for him," Henry said. ''I didn't feel he should have to defend himself. Things written the past few weeks have been off base."

Epstein likewise defended Lucchino, saying, among other things, that as far as his immediate boss was concerned, ''there was no meddling or a power struggle" involved in his decision to leave. ''That," he declared, ''was not the case." He also stated that when he looks back on his career 30 years down the road he will regard Larry Lucchino as ''a positive in my life."

So much for the Lucchino as Lucifer theory. Then again . . .

There might have been one slip in Theo's elaborate defense. That came when he was asked a direct question that included the phrase ''breach of confidentiality" in reference to information that was revealed in various media accounts of the negotiation process, the aforementioned Shaughnessy column only being one of several such items. After explaining how hard the principals always try to keep everything in-house, Theo did end up by saying that ''there was some breach in the end, and that was unfortunate."

Doesn't that suggest there might very well have been a trust issue in Theo's mind? The breach he was alluding to wasn't his. The breach was, well, Guess Who's? Isn't that the inference?

Looks like we're never going to know.

What we do know is that Henry is 100 percent correct in declaring Epstein's exit to be a ''great, great loss" to the franchise and the fans. In a business of egos and ruthlessly ambitious people, Theo was a refreshing exception to the rule. Henry related how, as an assistant GM to interim boss Mike Port, Epstein had actually lobbied for Henry to hire Billy Beane and J.P. Ricciardi. ''I said to him, 'You want both these guys to be ahead of you?' " Henry marveled. ''That was an early indication to me as to just how unselfish he was and how he was all about the Boston Red Sox."

Early testimonials from key players such as Curt Schilling and Jason Varitek demonstrate that Epstein was held in high regard in the locker room. Sooner or later the youth angle would have exhausted its shelf life as an issue, but how can anyone deny that having an easy-to-get-along-with social contemporary as GM wasn't a big plus for the Red Sox, and could continue to be for several more years? Sure, Henry can find another Bill James pup with a brain and a computer, but Theo brought far more to the table. He clearly possessed unteachable people skills to augment his empirical knowledge. He is an intriguing combination of Old School and New School, and as such he is pretty much sui generis. The Red Sox were extremely fortunate to have him.

Now he will enter the brave, cruel world as an ex-something for the first time in his young life. He has already heard from one team, and he will eventually hear from more. He's not afraid of the future and has no reason to be. ''I believe in myself," he said. ''I'm willing to take the steps and go off to relative uncertainty. I think I'm going to be stronger."

Someday, perhaps, he'll write The Book, the one he's already turned down lots of money to produce. Someday, perhaps, we'll get the great first person tell-all of those fascinating three years as the boy general manager who had the thrill of sipping victory champagne on Oct. 27, 2004. Someday, perhaps, we'll get the lowdown, the skinny, the straight-and-simple truth about why he walked away from the job 369 days later.

Yesterday, Theo told us he couldn't put his heart and soul into the job any longer. We still don't know why.

World of opportunity awaits upon his exit
By Gordon Edes

Funny, all this time some thought Larry Lucchino, whose power base originated in Washington, might be the one drawn back to the nation's capital. How ironic would it be if his protege, Theo Epstein, wound up being the front man for the Washington Nationals once a new ownership group is selected, which could happen as soon as the major league owners' meeting in Milwaukee mid-month. Imagine what a coup that would be for the new ownership group, to introduce Epstein, the brightest star in the galaxy of general managers, as its front man. Dinner for two in the White House, anyone?

But that's getting ahead of the story, although it was pretty apparent from yesterday's press conference at Fenway Park that a six-month mission to Burundi probably does not top Epstein's to-do list. ''I have a tremendous passion for the game," Epstein said. ''I believe I will find myself in a position of leadership with an organization again in the future, but I have no immediate plans."
Check back with him in about three weeks, when the Nationals may have new people in charge. The Dodgers already contacted Epstein through a third party, but given the chaos of the Dodgers' situation, where owner Frank McCourt has fired three of his first four hires -- general manager Paul DePodesta, a marketing head, and his communications director -- Epstein probably will steer wide of Chavez Ravine.

But while John Henry bemoaned Epstein's departure as a ''great, great loss," he could not have been more outspoken in his defense of Lucchino, who was conspicuously absent. Also missing was Lucchino's longtime aide, Charles Steinberg, the executive vice president of public affairs, who under normal circumstances is the maestro of major media gatherings.

''I felt it was important for someone to speak the truth and stand up for Larry," a grim-faced Henry said. ''I didn't feel it was appropriate for him to come here and defend himself over this issue. There have been things I have read over the last couple of weeks that are off base and I felt I should come."

Lucchino has been cast as a heavy from the time the new ownership arrived, Henry said, ''blamed for everything under the sun. I don't know how anyone can legitimately think that the principal owner is not ultimately responsible . . . how can you give the principal owner of any baseball team a free pass?"

He's right, of course. While this was not, as Henry contended, ''Larry Lucchino pushing Theo out," it was Henry who decided that Lucchino should conduct negotiations with Epstein. Henry made it clear during the Alex Rodriguez affair, when he described his discomfort at coming to A-Rod's door with an offer, that he is not a negotiator. But negotiations with a general manager should never be this hard.

''First of all," one veteran GM said this week, ''you feel good about your general manager and want him back, you never let him go into the last year of his contract, because you know people try to do things behind the scenes, and you also don't want to risk losing continuity in your organization.

''And these things usually don't take long to get done. There's no agent involved, so you usually just sit down and settle it."

On the night the Red Sox won the World Series, Epstein, in the flush of that glorious moment, turned to a member of his baseball operations team and said, according to his companion, ''You know, they should have made me an offer right now and I'd have signed it, no matter what it was."
But the Sox brass didn't. Did they want Epstein back? Of course. But when Lucchino tried to sign him for a hometown discount, that may have been the moment the disillusionment first surfaced for Epstein, who felt slighted that his bosses valued him at 20 percent of what they'd offered Billy Beane.

The money issue eventually was settled, which is why ownership and some members of Epstein's team were convinced that he would stay. But in the course of negotiations, Epstein apparently grew agitated by a series of media leaks he perceived to be coming from the ownership side. In several instances he was badly mistaken, but there was an erosion of trust that evidently peaked last weekend and culminated with Epstein informing the club he was leaving Monday afternoon. The trust issue alone did not trigger Epstein's departure; but in combination with the other sources of his disaffection -- and he acknowledged philosophical differences and an up-and-down relationship with his boss -- it may have cinched the deal.

Was Henry oblivious to the possibility this could happen? ''No," he said, ''I wasn't blindsided."

But he wasn't pinning it on Lucchino.

''I didn't hear Theo blaming Larry Lucchino," Henry added, ''and it's unfair."

Epstein didn't have to blame Lucchino. There are enough people doing that for him, so he can safely lay claim to the high road.

There were a ''multitude of reasons" Epstein left, Henry contended, but he refused to enumerate them, saying that was for Epstein to do.

But he insisted, repeatedly, that Lucchino wasn't one of them.

''Larry Lucchino is not the root of the problem," Henry said, citing many of Lucchino's achievements as CEO, including but certainly not limited to, hiring Epstein in the first place.

Is it possible that Epstein was looking for reasons to leave? Only he knows, and he wasn't saying, though one of his biggest supporters wondered if he was ''nitpicking" in the end. Henry, who expressed enormous affection for Epstein even as he stood up for his CEO, said this was hardly the way he imagined it would end.

''Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think this was going to happen," Henry said. ''I had this romantic notion Theo was going to be our general manager for the rest of my life."

Now Theo's gone, with a world of possibilities at his feet. Next stop, Washington? Don't bet against it.

Sox must be answerable for this
By Jackie MacMullan

I really have only one question:

Why did they wait so long to try to sign Theo in the first place?

As the free fall of the Red Sox front office rolls into today, the most obvious lament is that it never should have come to this.

Think back to spring training in Fort Myers, when the sun (in addition to the Favorite Son general manager) was hot, and all things were possible. The first thing pitchers and catchers should have been advised about upon reporting was that Theo Epstein had signed a long-term extension that ensured he would be a critical part of the team's future.

Theo earned that privilege. He showed courage in rolling the dice on personnel (see: the Nomar Garciaparra trade), shored up the farm system, revamped a team on the run, and exhibited the kind of poise and maturity that eliminated any reason to dwell on his tender age.

His team also won the World Series.

If Larry Lucchino and John Henry ever emerge from their bunkers, I'd ask them why they let days turn into weeks, then months, without locking up one of their most coveted assets. Let's not confuse Epstein with any of his free agent ballplayers. He's not represented by Scott Boras, wasn't asking for a fourth or fifth year to pitch on a frayed shoulder, and didn't embarrass his team with any late-night antics.

He was grossly underpaid by the time Year 3 of his dream job rolled around, but he never spoke of that. He just assumed he would get his. The GM who helped eradicate 86 years of baseball misery should have been strolling through the park with a smile permanently affixed to his young face, but the truth is Theo never looked particularly happy this past season. He was far less visible in 2005, and little hints that he and Lucchino had strayed from the same page were dropped like bread crumbs along the basepaths.

There were subtle reminders that Epstein did not create the championship Red Sox by himself. This is true. Lucchino is an intelligent, innovative man who has brought great energy to this team. He is a marketing whiz, a champion in the world of philanthropy, and a baseball enthusiast who devised a master plan. He put the right people in the right jobs -- including taking a huge gamble by entrusting his team to an untested Theo -- and fulfilled the dreams of generations of Red Sox fans.

Epstein delivered, too. He felt his success should have earned him more money, more independence, more respect. Somewhere along the line, Lucchino began wondering whether the kid really appreciated all the opportunities Lucchino had afforded him.

It gets complicated when you mold someone into something greater than yourself. When a guy starts out fetching your coffee and paper for you, maybe it's impossible to ever view him as your equal, or, even more horrifying, someone who has surpassed you in stature and reputation. Human nature being what it is, maybe this split was inevitable.

And yet, it's still shocking that these two men who have known each other for 14 years couldn't find a way to coexist. The abrupt ending of their partnership is disconcerting, and it is yet another messy chapter in our local annals.

There appears to be no such thing as a graceful exit in Boston sports. We're not happy unless we're pointing fingers and assessing blame.

Look no further than Bill Parcells and Robert Kraft, who started out together as one of the most dynamic combinations in the NFL. Under their leadership, the Patriots went to Super Bowl XXXI, but they imploded on game day as news of the unraveling relationship between the coach and owner undermined their efforts. Parcells was the leak in this scenario, and it has dogged him to this day.
In the wake of that debacle, you had to declare whether you were a Parcells guy or a Kraft guy. No waffling allowed.

I never understood that. What's wrong with recognizing the considerable attributes (and stubborn blind spots) of both sides? Each played a part in the team's success -- and in the ultimate demise of their relationship.

It was similar, to a far lesser degree, in the dwindling days of the Celtics dynasty, when Larry Bird and Kevin McHale struggled to deal with their own physical mortality after injuries robbed them of their elite skills. Two unidentified teammates criticized Bird for being unwilling to accept a reduced role. McHale later admitted he was one of them. In their final days together, The Big Two were barely speaking. Celtics players and personnel were pressed to declare their allegiance: Kevin or Larry.

Ask Jim Paxson (and the ''yellow stripe" that Bird implied went down his back) how that worked out.

Now it's Theo Epstein or Larry Lucchino. The line has been drawn on the Fenway lawn, and Lucchino's side could use a little muscle. His name is mud, in part because of perceived leaks that revealed private accounts of his working relationship with Epstein.

It was unseemly to read about such petty details as whose fault it was for a botched trade with Colorado and who played more Pony League ball just as Theo was on the brink of signing an extension. Dan Shaughnessy's Sunday column has been unfairly targeted as the deal-breaker (don't shoot the messenger, people), but the timing of it did little to convince Epstein he could trust Lucchino when it mattered.

We can only imagine what it feels like for Lucchino and his people to watch all the goodwill they have stockpiled over the past 3 1/2 years become obliterated in a matter of hours. The unceremonious departure of Boston's Boy Wonder has left their fan base feeling angry and betrayed.

Theo will speak today at a news conference and no doubt will take the high road, as he always has, and wish the Red Sox luck as he moves on.

Come out, come out, wherever you are, Larry. You, too, John Henry. You have some questions to answer -- on the record, if you please. These negotiations were a disaster, and it's on your heads.
When Lucchino does finally step up to the microphone, I'm guessing he'll tell us he wanted Theo to stay all along.

If he really wanted us to believe that, he should have signed him last April.

Intentional walk - Relationship reached its breaking point
By Dan Shaughnessy

Not a good day. Not a good day at all. One of the brightest minds ever to grace the Red Sox front office is gone. Theo Epstein was instrumental in delivering Boston's first baseball championship in 86 years and now, at the age of 31, after only three years on the job, he is gone because he no longer feels he can work with CEO Larry Lucchino.

Blame me if it makes you feel any better, though it seems pretty ridiculous that Theo would break away from a man he worked with for 14 years because of a few lines he read in a column in the Sunday Globe.

The column contained a lot of history between the two executives, including one item that possibly reopened an old wound.

Here's how it played out:

Late last week, it was pretty clear that Epstein's contract negotiation was coming to full boil. It seemed that the parties were getting close, and after much haggling about money and power, they were ready to announce a deal. I left messages with both parties Friday and that night they made a joint call to my home, insisting (on the record) that they were in radio silence and would have an announcement probably early this week.

Off the record, there was quite a bit of conversation, and it seemed genuine and convivial. Epstein and Lucchino talked about mutual respect and working out differences and both indicated there probably would be a positive resolution Monday. Theo even made a joke about cleaning out his desk and Larry made a joke about Theo thinking he was Henny Youngman.

I believe that the deal was effectively done. If you could hear the tape, you'd say the same thing.

So what happened?

Possibly it goes back to their differing versions regarding a midsummer deal involving the Sox and Colorado that was squashed by Sox ownership -- Lucchino. The Orioles and Rockies had worked out a preliminary trade in which Eric Byrnes went to Baltimore and Larry Bigbie to Colorado. The Rockies made that deal because they thought they had a deal with Boston to send Bigbie and Ryan Shealy to the Sox in exchange for Adam Stern, Abe Alvarez, Kelly Shoppach, and another minor leaguer.

Then, according to the version put forth by Epstein's camp, Lucchino killed the deal unilaterally, damaging Epstein's reputation with the Rockies and other clubs. Lucchino was routinely trashed by (among others) national baseball scribes Peter Gammons and Tracy Ringolsby.

In Sunday's column, I offered the version held by Lucchino's camp (three sources): that the deal had been made by Theo's assistant, Josh Byrnes (who took over as GM of Arizona Friday), but Theo preferred to make a different trade with Arizona and asked Lucchino to invoke the ownership clause, squash the deal, and take the hit -- a role Lucchino is accustomed to.

It's certainly possible that Theo saw that version in the Sunday Globe and had second thoughts about a future of working with Lucchino. This was the popular version put forth last night on WEEI and in a Herald blog. Again, I choose to believe that Epstein is smarter and more mature than that. Much smarter. And much more mature.

There's been a lot of talk about cartels, smear campaigns, and taking sides, but the fact is that only two men know the truth about the proposed Rockies trade: Lucchino and Epstein. And both know that one of them is spinning a story in an effort to make himself look good and the other look bad. The Epstein camp had its version out there all summer. Lucchino's camp responded Sunday. Still, no one has disputed the version put forth by the Lucchino camp, and one could view that scenario in a positive fashion -- an example of two men who can make things work without worrying about who gets credit or blame. Couldn't we say the story illustrates harmony rather than acrimony?

Most Sox fans no doubt will come down on the side of Theo, and why wouldn't they? He's one of our own and he's brilliant and he got the job done and we were all looking forward to more years of Theo as GM. Theo walks on water in this town and probably always will. But John Henry is the one whose opinion counts in this matter and he appears to have sided with Lucchino.

What a waste. In the end, it had nothing to do with money. It was all about power. And it appears Theo decided he no longer could work with Larry. Maybe he'd be happier getting total control of Frank McCourt's Dodgers. Coincidentally, that job opened up Saturday afternoon when Paul DePodesta was fired.

I'm still hoping that it can be fixed. Theo knows everyone in Sox Nation wants him back. Lucchino wants him back. They're both smart people. They've been through a ton of life experiences in Baltimore, San Diego, and Boston. Maybe Henry can broker a truce. If Sox fans had their way, they'd watch Henry fire Lucchino and bring back Theo.

Theo has been the John F. Kennedy of Boston baseball, a shining prince. He was born and raised to be GM of the Red Sox and should have stayed in the job forever. Halloween '05 goes down as a sad day in Boston sports history. Pumpkins smashed and hopes dashed all over Yawkey Way. The worst trick of all.

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