You know the saying. Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. In Red Sox Nation, diehard fans such as myself wanted longtime General Manager Theo Epstein to move on from his hometown franchise. Unexpectedly however, it was manager Terry Francona who left, upsetting many who thought he was the fall guy for a team that underperformed for him and that was curated by the now ex-Sox GM. However, Francona's exit a few weeks ago apparently expedited Epstein's own eventual exit a year ahead of schedule, as he talked of possibly moving on once his contract expired at the end of 2012 and having his assistant Ben Cherington succeed him.
This afternoon, Cherington will indeed be officially introduced as Red Sox GM, while Epstein, who officially resigned from the Red Sox last Friday (October 21), will be officially introduced as President of Baseball Operations of the Chicago Cubs (a reported $18.5 million job), the same position his one-time mentor Larry Lucchino is in with the Red Sox.
Epstein's time with the Red Sox lasted 10 years, the last nine as GM. Under him (2003-2011), the BoSox won two World Series, made four trips to the ALCS, and made the playoffs in six of the nine seasons in an extremely competitive AL East division. He was also named one of the top executives of the 2000s by Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News.
That's the great part of his resume. The bad part? Free agency, especially in recent years. Names like Edgar Renteria, Julio Lugo, Wade Miller, David Wells, Brad Penny, Matt Clement, J.D. Drew, Bobby Jenks, John Lackey, Mike Cameron and plenty of others all come to mind as veteran acquisitions that made little to no positive impact on the Red Sox during Epstein's tenure (to be kind). At least Lugo, Drew and (the expensive) Daisuke Matsuzaka had some memorable moments during the 2007 championship run. But the rest? Forget 'em.
But this is the same GM who signed key members of the '04 World Series title, including Curt Schilling, Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, Mark Bellhorn, Bronson Arroyo, Dave Roberts, and of course, David Ortiz. And let's not forgot the Nomar trade that brought Orlando Cabrera to town for some shining moments and stability at shortstop during the '04 title run. He also drafted Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, and other key Sox players in his tenure.
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