Well, I saw it here first. If the blogshpere is to be believed I am very sad.

Go Sox, even without Theo. And Go Theo, although I know you will miss the Sox.

Oh, and maybe Manny wouldn't have so little privacy is his wife didn't keep inviting reporters in.

YANKEES SUX.

Good God! This Epstein character had one decent season and all of a sudden he's a "wunderkind"??? They barely made the playoffs and when they did, they were trounced by the White Sox.

As for the Yankees, I think that Steinbrenner's buying of pennants is going to be a thing of the past.

Oswaldo Guillen and Ken Williams showed decisively this season that you can win if you can scout good talent with selfless attitudes and have a manager who coaches based upon a knowledge of the game rahter than being driven by data.

You saw it clearly in the World Series where the idiot Phil Garner took out Backe in the 7th inning for Lidge. Backe had thrown his 100 pitches--even though the White Sox couldnt hit him, he took him out for Lidge!

Oswaldo lets his pitchers pitch. He has confidence in them.

Kenny WIlliams is a much better GM than this Epstein character!

Lofnf et al,

I wonder how much you know about baseball and the impact that Theo has had on management theory of the sport.

First, Theo was GM three years and all three years the team went to the playoffs. The first year they swept the As and lost in game 7 of the ALCS to the Yankees. Second year they won the World Series, and this year they got swept by the eventual Series champs, who BTW only lost one game in the entire playoffs. How many other of the 30 MLB teams have been to the playoffs three years in a row and won the Series in one of those appearances?

Secondly and more importantly, Epstein fundamentally changed management theory in MLB. While some GMs valued sabermetrical analysis as a tool, Theo was the first GM to look beyond the marketability of players and seriously evaluated their worth to the team through objective data. In other words, while most GMs would hold on to a player for being a "clutch hitter," Theo knew that there was empirical studies that demonstrated that there is really no such thing as a "clutch hitter." It took a lot of courage to trade a franchise player like Garciaparra, especially one that was a fan favorite. But, he was right about the trade and it won a series.

Third, he had three playoff runs, a world series, and changed management philosophy by the end of his 30th birthday. He accomplished more for his team and had more of an impact on the sport than most of the long-term GMs. That is the very definition of Wunderkind.

Travis,

Yes you are correct: "this year they got swept by the eventual Series champs." They never would have made the playoffs had the best team in baseball (in what was a meaningless series) not swept the Indians the last weekend of the season.

Hey, I'll give this Epstein fellow some props for signing Matt Clement! It was a joy to see the former Cub give up 8 runs in 3 1/3 in the first game of the ACDS. Maybe the Cubs will hire the guy now that he's unemployed!

Viva Oswaldo! Viva Las Medias Blancas!

See, the thing is, most general managers are really, really stupid. Anyone here ever read Steve Phillips' work for ESPN? If you have, you already know what I'm talking about.

At any rate, Theo was the anti-Duquette/Gorman/Sullivan. In other words, he had functioning brain cell or two. Replacing him is not going to be easy. At all.

I predict the new GM will want to make a super-favorable impression on his bosses and sign a bunch of ridiculous long-term contracts- I'm lookin' at AJ Burnett for starters.

Before appointing Epstein the worlds greatest GM, what was the BoSox payroll last year?

Having a large payroll (2nd highest in the league?) makes it much, much easier to "prove" ones greatness.

First, Theo was not the first to use "objective data" to evaluate players, that is Billy Beane and Moneyball. Theo just brought his version of Moneyball to Boston.

Second, I hope Theo takes the Devil Rays job and beats both the Yanks and the Sawks.
Either that, or Jerry Riensdorf picks an owner for the Nats and Theo comes here and beats the Braves, Mets, and Phillies.

Third, Theo is nothing more than the latest fad in GMs--young, ivy league educated, stats friendly guys. Beane was the first, but there's Ricardi in Toronto, Shapiro in Cleveland, Theo's ex assistant who just got tabbed for the job in Az, DePodesta before he got axed in LA, Cashman in NY, and the list goes on. Once you get out of the Yankees-Sawks bubble, you can see that Theo was good, but not all that unique or special.

Peter- it wasn't just his program of stats evalution that impressed me about Theo- heck, Paul DePodesta graduated from the Billy Beane School of Sabermetrics, and look at how well that turned out.

What made Theo stand out was:

a.) His skills as a negotiator. He got Curt Schilling from the D-backs for practically nothing, even as Arizona was demanding that the Yanks trade them both Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson.

b.) How he rebuilt the farm system. Jonathan Papelbon is going to be an ace, and Jon Lester isn't that far behind. The minor leagues are simply loaded with talented kids.

The CURSE OF THEO EPSTEIN. oooo

Fantastic post. Maybe it's good that Theo's leaving. We're due for another eight-decade slump.

Dan Shaughnessy is an @#*hole. I hope he is tarred & feathered and run out of Boston by the faithful.

It took a lot of courage to trade a franchise player like Garciaparra, especially one that was a fan favorite. But, he was right about the trade and it won a series.

Yes, he's a genius in the hiring of shortstops! Oh, except for the next one he went out and got...

This is also a case of the caustic east coast sports writing atmosphere that exists from Baltimore to Boston. Sports writers are more than willing to mount attacks against whoever is the goat of the week, and are willing to be fed the dish from whomever. IMO, too many sports hacks in both print and air think that the only way to cover sports is the confrontational way and it sullies up a lot of the sports coverage on the east coast.
Bully to Epstein for turning down the money for the lack of respect from managment and the @$$hole writer who facilitated it. (honestly, the logic of that particular column was goofy)