Monday, December 19, 2005
The Inside Pitch...
When Theo Epstein last left Fenway Park as the Red Sox general manager, he snuck out in a gorilla costume. On Dec. 12, although he was absent from the press conference announcing that Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington would serve as Boston's co-GMs, Epstein remained as the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
The appointment of Hoyer and Cherington ensured that the Red Sox baseball operations department will continue to operate much as it did under Epstein's watch. Both Hoyer, the former assistant to the general manager, and Cherington, the director of player development, were close confidants of the former general manager, so their organizational philosophies won't diverge from their former boss.
Indeed, the promotion of two current Sox executives was no doubt motivated, in part, by the club's hopes of bringing Epstein back. Team officials now candidly state that they hope the departed GM returns, whether as an adviser to the co-GMs or in a newly created role of president of baseball operations.
"There have been discussions since the day Theo declined our offer about him coming back and playing some kind of role going forward," CEO Larry Lucchino said. "There's a light in the window and the door is ajar."
Such a prospect was clearly welcomed by both Cherington, 31, and Hoyer, 32. Indeed, the fact that the duration of their contracts was not specified by the team at the press conference suggests that the two men are willingly keeping warm the seat atop the baseball operations hierarchy.
"If, at some point in the future, ownership felt that it was in the best interests of the franchise to ask me to do something a little bit different, I would listen to that," Cherington said. "I would be excited at the opportunity to work with (Epstein) again."
"Theo Epstein is great at what he does," added Hoyer. "He is a perfect general manager. If he wants to come back and work with us, of course we'd welcome that. Why would we ever turn down someone that talented?"
Given the apparent likelihood of Epstein's return, the team's internal restructuring might have taken place mostly on paper. While Hoyer has been entrusted with chief responsibilities pertaining to the major league roster and Cherington has been given domain over the minors, that arrangement may prove a temporary division of convenience.
When Theo Epstein last left Fenway Park as the Red Sox general manager, he snuck out in a gorilla costume. On Dec. 12, although he was absent from the press conference announcing that Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington would serve as Boston's co-GMs, Epstein remained as the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
The appointment of Hoyer and Cherington ensured that the Red Sox baseball operations department will continue to operate much as it did under Epstein's watch. Both Hoyer, the former assistant to the general manager, and Cherington, the director of player development, were close confidants of the former general manager, so their organizational philosophies won't diverge from their former boss.
Indeed, the promotion of two current Sox executives was no doubt motivated, in part, by the club's hopes of bringing Epstein back. Team officials now candidly state that they hope the departed GM returns, whether as an adviser to the co-GMs or in a newly created role of president of baseball operations.
"There have been discussions since the day Theo declined our offer about him coming back and playing some kind of role going forward," CEO Larry Lucchino said. "There's a light in the window and the door is ajar."
Such a prospect was clearly welcomed by both Cherington, 31, and Hoyer, 32. Indeed, the fact that the duration of their contracts was not specified by the team at the press conference suggests that the two men are willingly keeping warm the seat atop the baseball operations hierarchy.
"If, at some point in the future, ownership felt that it was in the best interests of the franchise to ask me to do something a little bit different, I would listen to that," Cherington said. "I would be excited at the opportunity to work with (Epstein) again."
"Theo Epstein is great at what he does," added Hoyer. "He is a perfect general manager. If he wants to come back and work with us, of course we'd welcome that. Why would we ever turn down someone that talented?"
Given the apparent likelihood of Epstein's return, the team's internal restructuring might have taken place mostly on paper. While Hoyer has been entrusted with chief responsibilities pertaining to the major league roster and Cherington has been given domain over the minors, that arrangement may prove a temporary division of convenience.
// posted by jesse @ 3:06 PM 
