On the same day as Larry Lucchino took over as Red Sox president and CEO, he shocked the baseball world by naming young Theo Epstein as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox. Despite coming off a season in which both Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe won 20 games apiece, and with Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez bolstering the middle of the lineup, the Red Sox finished second in the AL East to the Yankees and failed to win the wild card, courtesy of the soon-to-be-champion Anaheim Angels.
The Red Sox did still win 93 games that season, despite not qualifying for October, but there was something missing. The team just lacked a killer instinct. It's worth mentioning that beyond Pedro and D-Lowe, the Sox rotation featured Frank Castillo, John Burkett, and Casey Fossum (with the occasional Tim Wakefield sighting).
It is in the winter of 2002-2003 that Theo Epstein went to work, with one goal, and one goal only in mind: to snap the then 84 year "Curse of the Bambino", and bring the World Series trophy back to Boston. Rather than focus on making any major acquisitions, Theo focused on finding bargain bin guys. The core of the team was strong enough, but it was a lack of organizational depth that crept well down into the minor leagues that had haunted the Red Sox. Epstein took a chance on guys like David Ortiz, Jeremy Giambi, Kevin Millar, and Bill Mueller to add to the offense. In the moribund bullpen, he rolled the dice on Mike Timlin, Chad Fox, Rudy Seanez, and Ramiro Mendoza. During the regular season, he brought in Jeff Suppan, Byung-Hyun Kim, and Scott Williamson. Some of these moves would pan out, no question. Others would blow up under the microscope of Boston.
As you know by now, Epstein went 4 for 8 on the scrap-heap guys (if you can't figure out the foursome, you aren't a Red Sox fan), while none of the three mid-season acquisitions had a very positive impact (Kim later flipped off the Fenway Faithful, Williamson got called out for his manhood, but Suppan did help the Red Sox in 2004. More on that later).
We all know how 2003 came to a crashing and sudden halt. Yet the stunning turn of events in Game 7 of the ALCS may have precipitated two of Epstein's finest moments in Boston: the acquisition of Curt Schilling from Arizona, and the free agent signing of Keith Foulke. The Red Sox got Schilling for Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa, and a minor leaguer. From a sheer value standpoint, the absolute finest moment of Epstein's Red Sox career. He spent his Thanksgiving with the Schilling's to make it happen! Foulke gave the bullpen an actual closer after the disastrous "bullpen-by-committee" approach in 2003, and a damn good closer at that. Another one of Epstein's finest moves, if not his ballsiest, came at the trade deadline in 2004, when the Red Sox traded franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs (foreshadowing much?) for Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkeiwicz in a four-team blockbuster. The Red Sox went on to complete a comeback from 0-3 down against the Yankees and defeat the Cardinals in the World Series for their first championship in 86 years. Suppan's contribution came as a member of St. Louis, a base running blunder in Game 3. Hey, who says he never helped the Red Sox out?
There is no way to put into words what the 2004 World Series meant to the greater Boston area, so I won't even attempt to. Theo Epstein added a few pieces to the puzzle that finally made all the pieces fit together. For that, and for the 2007 Championship even, he gets a free meal in Boston for life and dammit, if he ever comes into Pro Sports, the John Lackey T-shirt is on me.
But notice where I say Theo "added" pieces to the puzzle, not built the entire contraption. Let's face it. Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, and Tim Wakefield were all "old-regime" signings, all big-name acquisitions or prospects developed by the Red Sox (Wakefield aside, obviously, and Lowe and Tek had been originally drafted by the Mariners but spent their formative years in the Boston system).
And I'll give Epstein a tremendous amount of credit for hitting on Ortiz, Millar, Mueller, and Timlin. Ortiz became one of the most feared power hitters of the generation, Mueller delivered a batting title, and Millar developed into one of the most charismatic players to ever pass through Boston. And I won't play the game "well, what if they didn't pan out?" Because they did. Plain and simple. Of course....
It's been since the 2004 World Series that Epstein has lost the Midas Touch. Everything he touched hardly turned to gold. In fact most of it's turned to dust. Epstein's notable big-ticket moves heading into 2005 and beyond:
- Edgar Renteria, 4 years, $40 million
- Matt Clement, 3 years, $25 million
- Julio Lugo, 4 years, $36 million
- J.D. Drew, 5 years, $70 million
- John Lackey, 5 years, $82.5 million
- Carl Crawford, 7 years, $142 million
That's $395.5 million. For the hitters, they produced an average season of .262, 10 HR, 58 RBI, and a .726 OPS. I'll leave Clement out of this because he was never the same after he got drilled in the head in July 2005 vs. Tampa, but Lacky more than compensates for Clement's absence.
And this doesn't even touch on the "scrap-heap" guys that Theo's tried to catch lightning in a bottle from again, such as John Smoltz, Brad Penny, Rudy Seanez (again), J.T. Snow, Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler, etc. His trading record post-'04 is decent, with his most notable acquisitions being Coco Crisp, Jason Bay, Victor Martinez, and of course, Adrian Gonzalez last winter. Crisp contributed to the '07 title team, but all-in-all was a disappointment. Bay had a very good season and a half before Theo correctly let him walk, while Victor also produced a solid 1.5 years before leaving for Detroit, although the jury is out on that one.
As for Gonzalez: he had an amazing first half, hitting .354 with 17 HR and 77 RBI, leading the majors in two out of three categories (off a bit in HR). But he cooled considerably in the second half, still hitting a respectable .317/10/40, but his slugging percentage dropped over .100 points (.591 to .489) and played the "God" card after the season ended the way it did. I've got news for you Gonzo: I'm by no means religious, but God couldn't give a flying fuck about what happens in a Red Sox/Orioles game when there's shit going down on Wall Street and the Middle East the way it is. I hate politics too so I won't go there. But it's true. The bottom line: does Gonzalez have the mental toughness to handle Boston? Let's not forget his San Diego Padres also blew a sizable September lead last year to the Giants.
How much Epstein has to do with the minor league system is a question that I don't have an answer for, as I have no idea just how involved he is with the scouting. But it warrants mentioning that Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Clay Buchholz, and Daniel Bard have all been drafted under the Epstein regime.
Add it all together? I'll give Theo a B+ grade for his reign at General Manager here in Boston. The nucleus of the 2004 team was already very much in place, and much of that same nucleus remained for 2007. But instead of his high-price free agent acquisition paying dividends in 2007, it was more the Red Sox prospects who replaced the Pedro's, Lowe's, and Damon's of the world. I said it earlier, and I'll say it again: Epstein should never have to pay for a meal in Boston again. And I'll up my Pro Sports offer even further by giving him a free Julio Lugo T-shirt too. But he never completely mastered the art of free agency here. And if I'm not mistaken, there's a lengthy World Series drought over on the north side of Chicago at the moment. Good luck, Theo. It was a helluva run.
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