Baseball Musings: Who Wants the Job?

November 16, 2005

Who Wants the Job?

The Red Sox are finding it very difficult to field a replacement for Theo Epstein. Tony Massarotti continues his excellent coverage of the GM debacle in the Herald:

The writing is on the wall now, in big bold letters for the entire baseball world to see. Not a day seems to pass without someone else withdrawing his name from consideration as the next general manager of the Red Sox. It cannot help but make you wonder if anyone really wants the job. Welcome to the club, Dayton Moore. A long and distinguished group of predecessors has embraced you. Two weeks after Theo Epstein proudly walked away, the Red Sox have been turned down by more potential prom dates than a desperate high school senior. Kevin Towers and Doug Melvin withdrew their names from contention. J.P. Ricciardi, Brian Sabean and Terry Ryan didn’t want the job. Even young hopefuls like Chris Antonetti and Tony Lacava have said no to the headless body that is the Red Sox baseball operations department.

This is the Boston Red Sox. This is a job people should covet. A storied team, an historic ballpark, plenty of resources and intelligent people on staff. What more could you ask for?

For Dayton Moore, it wasn't enough.

So really, what do you think the Red Sox had in store for Dayton Moore? All signs pointed to Moore being the leading candidate as Epstein’s replacement, until Moore woke up and decided he wanted to stay in Atlanta. Or maybe he just didn’t want to come to Boston. Moore told the Herald’s Michael Silverman that Braves GM John Schuerholz helped talk him out of the second interview with the Sox, yet another shrewd decision that explains why Schuerholz is the best GM in the game.

As Massoratti points out, the only people who want the job are two guys the Red Sox could have hired already if they were the front runners; Bowden and Beattie. As I've said before, let Larry Lucchino be the GM, let the four assistants do all the work and Larry can say yes or no at the end. Then there will be no confusion about who is in power.

Posted by David Pinto at 09:09 AM | Management | TrackBack (0)

Comments

If Larry was (is) GM, it would be very likely that the four assistants would fly off to new jobs with Josh or where ever Theo ends up. It will be a very intresting winter for a sox fan.

btw, I have to agree with you that Tony Massarotti has been amazing threw this whole process, with his great writing.

Posted by: Eoin at November 16, 2005 09:43 AM

If they're really that desperate for a GM candidate, I'll do it for whatever they're willing to pay me! And I'll even leave my team allegiances at the door. Seriously. It's THE RED SOX GENERAL MANAGER POSITION.

Posted by: Benjamin Kabak at November 16, 2005 10:02 AM

I don't see Luchino allowing himself to be named GM. He would not have anyone to blame if something went wrong. His entire career is one long stretch of claiming all good, whether he was involved or even opposed to the move, while casting blame elsewhere at the drop of a hat.

As a sox fan, I am terrified that he will feel obligated to hire Bowden as the designated fall guy. That would buy Luchino several years of time, by which time he can hope that Selig will move on, giving him an even bigger arena to destroy.

It all comes down to whether John Henry has the guts to can Luchino.

Posted by: Craig A. Damon at November 16, 2005 10:58 AM

Don't you think, Craig, that maybe Lucchino's been villianized a bit here? This is just a thought. It's no different than the LA media trying to get DePo ridden out of town. Here, it's the Boston media tearing into Lucchino. It seems that there's a lot more to this story than we know, and that's what Olney says in that interview.

Posted by: Benjamin Kabak at November 16, 2005 11:07 AM

I wonder if Schuerholz was willing to give Moore a raise and the long-tem contract he refused to give Mazzone.

Posted by: JC at November 16, 2005 11:18 AM

Maybe the Red Sox will get Kim Ng.

Posted by: Adam Villani at November 16, 2005 12:04 PM

I doubt Lucchino is being villianized considering that Theo would still be there if it hadn't been for that story in the Globe.

Posted by: Kartikeya Sinha at November 16, 2005 12:15 PM

Kartikeya: According to who? No one's come out and ever confirmed that. It's all just been speculation.

Posted by: Benjamin Kabak at November 16, 2005 12:22 PM

Kartikeya: According to who? No one's come out and ever confirmed that. It's all just been speculation.

By the way, I'm just playing the Devil's advocate here. I don't necessarily agree. I'm just proposing something.

Posted by: Benjamin Kabak at November 16, 2005 12:23 PM

I have second hand knowledge of his operations at a previous team. I have previously commended the Sox ownership/mgmt group to people who have first hand knowledge. The response was scorn, with a wait and I will see what Luchino is trult like. I was willing to wait and see without criticizing, but recent events have been all the confirmation I needed.

If you think Luchino is being unfairly savaged, why do you think that all the competent baseball insiders are unwilling to take the job?

Posted by: Craig A. Damon at November 16, 2005 12:53 PM

I'll speculate that Moore was "talked out of" the second interview by Schuerholz with an understanding that when Schuerholz retires Moore will be the front runner for the Braves job.

I'll also speculate that the reason no one wants to go to Boston is their front office reputation the last 10 years. From Duquette's handling of Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn, to Carl Everett's and Garciaparra's treatment and finally with Theo's/Lucchino's deceit with trading teams the last three years. (There's a lot more than the Bigbie deal that have been made public).

I'm not neccessarily saying I disagree with all the moves, but the media scrutiny is so intense in Boston that the unpopular moves are painted to be "un-classy" and that leaves Boston's front office looking with fans, and in some cases other front offices.

Posted by: Nate at November 16, 2005 08:23 PM

I am curious why you think there is a pattern of deceit by Theo/Luchino. The one case that got public attention was the issue with Colorado.

In that case, Colorado basically lied about what happened (and eventually apologized about it). They claimed that Boston had sent a signed offer sheet. When the actual offer sheet was shown, it was not signed AND said it was pending approval of upper management. From what others have said elsewhere (such as Steve Phillips column written before the fracas), such faxes are sent routinely. If they say upper management approval, they fall through more than half the time. Colorado screwed up and tried to blame to Boston. After they were shown the smoking gun, they recanted and apolgized. The national media didn't find the apology particularly news worthy and so it got little attention.

Posted by: Craig A. Damon at November 16, 2005 09:16 PM

Terry Ryan was unhappy with Boston's handling of the Mientkiewicz trade in 2004. I can't remember exacty what happened, but the gist of it, but Ryan felt that they were supposed to receive a player from Boston in that deal and it never happened. I don't know the intricacies of a deal, and I don't know why the paperwork wasn't thoroughly reviewed, but I do know Ryan felt cheated by the Red Sox in the deal.

Also, the Marlin's were upset with the Millar deal. If I remember the deal correctly, the Marlins had a deal with a Japanese team. Millar had to clear waivers and Boston claimed him nixing the deal with the Japanese team. Eventually the Marlins reached a deal to sell Millar to the Sox, but the Marlins were unhappy with the Sox impediment. Again, I don't know the intricacies of the deal, just that Florida was upset.

And with the Colorado deal, when things are claimed-the damage is done, regardless of the eventual truth. (Think of the media's handling of all sorts of these events, in life and baseball).

Posted by: Nate at November 16, 2005 09:52 PM

The fall of the Sox will begin in 2006. All that's left is for the stories to be written. Theo set the bar so high, it is assumed the next GM will be a huge failure.

I see a return to RH sluggers and 75-85 wins.

Posted by: Al at November 18, 2005 11:54 AM

Archives

By Category:
Advertising (10)
Agents (12)
All-Star Game (173)
All-Time Greats (239)
Army Strong (8)
Attendance (174)
Authors (3)
Awards (169)
Base Running (78)
Baseball (1581)
Baseball Jerks (219)
Blogs (759)
Books (129)
Broadcasts (568)
Charity (49)
Cheating (665)
Collectibles (15)
College (1)
Colleges (3)
Commissioner (40)
Conditioning (1)
Contests (10)
Crime (100)
Cuba (1)
Deaths (169)
Defense (372)
Demographics (8)
Discipline (12)
Division Races (724)
Draft (63)
Equipment (25)
Fan Rant (46)
Fan Violence (10)
Fans (58)
Fantasy Baseball (38)
Feats (3)
Films (3)
Free Agents (782)
Games (5549)
History (102)
Hit Streaks (22)
Humor (64)
Ice Cream (4)
Illnesses (135)
Independent Leagues (16)
Infrastructure (3)
Injuries (1122)
International (76)
Interviews (168)
League Championship Series (1170)
League Division Series (923)
Little League (2)
Management (1281)
Mascots (4)
Matchups (698)
Mechandising (46)
Minor Leagues (12)
Movies (9)
News Media (96)
Oddities (1)
Offense (216)
Old Timers (4)
On Base (18)
Opening Day (210)
Opening Day Impressions (19)
Other (321)
Owners (73)
Pennant Races (32)
Pitchers (2911)
Players (1524)
Podcasts (185)
Post Season (59)
Power Hitting (5)
Pranks (1)
Predictions (145)
Probabilistic Model of Range (108)
Public Relations (8)
Records (153)
Rivals (2)
Rookies (44)
Rules (25)
Salaries (12)
Scheduling (22)
Science (1)
Scoring (5)
Series (61)
Simulations (5)
Sluggers (752)
Spring Training (117)
Stadiums (279)
Standings (25)
Statistics (996)
steroids (1)
Strategy (171)
Streaks (14)
Superstitions (16)
Team Evaluation (937)
Team Movements (58)
Tickets (56)
Trades (700)
Transactions (321)
Umpires (53)
Uniforms (17)
Union (22)
Welcome! (3)
women (4)
World Cup (170)
World Series (657)

By Month:
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002

Credits

Partners

Baseball Musings Ticket Store
Advertise on the Baseball Blogosphere!
Baseball Musings Fantasy Games
Sports Books
Fan Store

Patrons

Jan in Wellesley
Jack Spellman
Peter Gammons

Links

Baseball Info Solutions The publisher of the Bill James Handbook and a great source of stats.

ESPN.com's baseball page.

STATS, Inc. You'll find great baseball books and fantasy games here.

Baseball Direct Scoreboard This is powered by STATS, Inc. Good box scores, and good situational stats.

Baseball Reference.com It's like having Total Baseball and the Big Mac online!

Baseball Trade Rumors Thoughts on wheeling and dealing.

Baseball Prospectus.com Wonderful commentary and analysis.

Baseball Primer Baseball for the Thinking Fan.

The Hardball Times Baseball. Insight. Daily.

Minor League Spilts Database Up-to-date minor league statistics, broken down by situation.

Inside The Book A blog by the authors of The Book.

Baseboogle A search engine for baseball research sites.

Win Shares From Major League Baseball Graphs.

The Transaction Guy A baseball transactions blog.

Japan Baseball Daily An English language site for Japanese baseball news and stats.

Doug's Business of Baseball Weblog A blog with a focus on the economics of the game.

Why I Like Baseball A Yankee fan writes about her favorite team.

Skilton's Baseball Links Links to numerous baseball sources.

Dan Lewis A blog about all sports.

Birds in the Belfry A site about the Orioles. Articles and research.

Only Baseball Matters A baseball blog by a John J. Perricone.

Jocksalot Lots of sports links.

Al's Ramblings A Brewer's blog.

Futility Infielder Jay Jaffe's baseball site. More than just a blog.

Mike's Baseball Rants Mike Carminati's baseball blog.

Aaron's Baseball Blog A general interest baseball blog.

Boy of Summer Travis Nelson on baseball.

Baseball Crank Dan McLaughlin's blog on baseball, the war and politics.

Bambino's Curse Edward Cossette's blog about the Red Sox.

Oakland Athletics Blog David Levens writes about the A's.

Ducksnorts Articles and Blog by Geoff.

Boston Sports Media Bruce Allen's roundup of the Boston Sports Media.

The Diamond Angle An online baseball magazine.

The Cub Reporter A Chicago Cubs blog.

Bronx Banter A baseball blog by Al Belth.

At Home Plate Articles by Jonathan Leshanski.

Dodger Thoughts Jon Weisman on the Dodgers.

The Clark & Addison Chronicle A Chicago Cubs web log.

Baseball Writing Joe Zibell's essays on baseball.

The Eddie Kranepool Society A Mets blog.

Mariners Weblog The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's weblog written by Shannon Fears

PortlandSoxFan.com A Red Sox blog from Portland, CT.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog Two Tigers fans and their take on the Motor City team.

A Rookie's Life The blog of Cleveland Indians' rookie Jody Gerut.

The Baseball Desert An Englishman living in France writes about the American game.

ChiSox Daily Mike Lubuda writes about the White Sox.

Shallow Center A blog mostly about the Phillies.

The House that Dewey Built Jeff Kuhn writes about the Red Sox.

SethSpeaks.net A blog by a Twins fan.

Frank's Field of Dreams News about Asian players in the United States.

Jay's Giants Blog William Jay blogging about the Giants.

Baseball Savant Cutting edge baseball news and analysis updated everyday from all aspects of the greatest show on dirt!

Athletics Nation Blogging about the A's.

Red Reporter JD Arney writes about the Reds.

Dominican Players Raul Tavares writes about players from his home country.

The Pearly Gates An Anaheim Angels Blog.

Red Sox Haven Randy Booth on baseball.

Tigers Weblog The Detroit News weblog on the Tigers, written by Tom Gage.

Management by Baseball Jeff Angus writes on how business can learn from baseball.

The View From the Bleachers A Chicago Cubs blog.

Cubs Now! Brian Hipp on the Cubs.

Honest Wagner A Pittsburgh Pirates weblog.

All-Baseball.com A collection of excellent baseball weblogs.

Soxaholix A comic strip blog about the Red Sox.

Most Valuable Network Blogging all 30 teams.

Baseball, Etcetera Andrew Godfrey's baseball blog.

Most Valuable Network, Astros Lisa Gray and others write about the Astros.

fenwayfanatics.com A Boston Red Sox blog.

Balls, Sticks & Stuff A sports blog with an emphasis on baseball.

Phillies Nation Brian Michael writes about the Phillies.

Batgirl Less stats, more sass.

Sabernomics Economic thinking about baseball.

Fire Brand of the American League A blog about the Red Sox.

Ivy Chat Chicago Cubs and other rants.

Baseball Evolution A group website writing about baseball.

The Cubdom.com Byron Clarke blogs about the Cubs.

Red Sox Stats Sabermetric numbers for the Red Sox system.

DRays Bay A blog devoted to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Baseball Analysts Rich Lederer and Bryan Smith combine their baseball expertise into a single site.

Over the Monster A Red Sox blog by Randy Booth.

Viva el Birdos Ghosts of the St. Louis Cardinals past, present, and future.

Black Sox Blog A look at the current and historical teams of the South Side of Chicago.

Redleg Nation A group blog about the Cincinnati Reds.

Barry's Journal Barry Bonds' web log.

Hardball Dollars Keeping track of major league salaries.

Clem's Baseball and it's "Green Cathedrals" The resource for baseball stadiums on the web.

The Baseball Zealot Looking at the game of baseball from all sides of the spectrum .

Was Watching Laconic commentary from a Yankeeland zealot.

Bleed Cubbie Blue A Chicago Cubs blog.

Beaneball A's baseball from the heart of New York City.

The Writers A collection of sports writers express their opinions.

Yard Work What the Baseball Tonight crew would write if it could.

United States of Baseball Peter Handrinos' baseball columns.

Beer Leaguer Alternative veiwpoints on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Red Sox Connection Links to everything Red Sox.

Baseball Pilgrimages Stories of visits to baseball parks.

Fangraphs Multi-year charts of player stats.

Roto Authority Unique fantasy baseball information.

Yanksfan vs. Soxfan A Yankees fan and a Red Sox fan battle it out in the blogosphere.

Sawxblog.com A Red Sox fan writes about the home town team.

Oriole Magic An MVN blog about the Orioles.

The Baltimore Chop Joseph Jackson on the Orioles.

Lookout Landing A Seattle Mariners blog.

Sons of Bart Brush A blog about the Harvard baseball team.

Base Blogging A resource for sports and baseball bloggers.

Three True Outcomes A group blog by on major league baseball.

Cardinals Diaspora A blog for Cardinals fans living away from St. Louis.

Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? A Pittsburgh fan chronicles life in the Grand Canyon.

Brew Crew Ball A blog about the Milwaukee Brewers.

Getting Paid to Watch Posts by a former trainer for the NY Mets.

The Gas House Gang An historical St. Louis Cardinals Blog.

6-4-2 An Angels/Dodgers double play blog.

El Guapo's Ghost Rambles on about the Red Sox Baseball and the Red Sox.

Baseball Etc

Tiger Tales A Detroit Tigers web log.

The Baseball Card Blog A blog about baseball cards.

Sox1Fan A Red Sox blog.

Out of Left Field Another Red Sox blog.

New York Yankees Update A Yankees blog with lots of photos.

Liberty Ball A current and historical Phillies blog.

Crawfish Boxes A Houston Astros blog.

MLB Rumors Clearinghouse News from around the majors.

Roar From 34 A group blog about the Orioles.

Blogging Baseball All-time baseball highlights and real-time commentary.

Rubber Arm A group blog about major league baseball.

Fenway Nation More news about the Red Sox.

Rays of Light A Devil Rays blog.

Fantasy Baseball Chronicle Information for fantasy players.

American Legends A sports blog.

Duffy's Cliff An interactive Red Sox site, featuring a lexicon of the Red Sox.

Oriole Post - The World of Baseball and Beyond An Orioles blog.

DRays Bay A Devil Rays blog.

Mets Heads A blog about the New York Mets.

The Soul of Baseball Joe Posnanski promotes his book on Buck O'Neil and blogs about baseball.

My Baseball Bias A blog about East Coast baseball.

Sports Business Radio Articles and talk about the business of sports.

The Game of Baseball A blog about Major League Baseball.

Baseball Hot Corner Opinionated observations for the thinking fan.

FantasyDope.com Fantasy baseball news.

Peter's Red Sox Forever A Red Sox blog.

Sox Nest Commentary on the Red Sox.

The Big Oz A Florida Marlins blog.

Baseball Reflections Where old school baseball meets sabermetrics.

The Sommer Frieze A Yankees blog.

Fenway Nation A Red Sox fan site.

In-Between Hops A Milwaukee Brewers blog.

Right Field Bleachers Another Milwaukee Brewers blog.

On Baseball and the Reds Another Cincinnati Reds blog.

Crooked Pitch A fantasy baseball blog.

Bless You Boys A Detroit Tigers blog.

Cubs f/x Pitch f/x and the Chicago Cubs.

The Hot Corner

Eephus Pitch Tossing pure junk about New York baseball since 2006.

It Is High, It Is Far, It Is Caught A tribute to John Sterling.

Baseball GB Baseball from a British perspective.

Nick and Nick's Twins Blog A couple of Nicks write on the Twins.

SkyKing162 Baseball with a hint of lime.

Center Field A Red Sox blog.

Empyreal Environs Writing about the Red Sox.

Trophy League Planet Aggregating the baseball blogosphere.

Cardinals Best News Links Aggregating St. Louis Cardinals news.

Zell's Pinstripe Blog A Yankees Blog.

HSAC Blog Official Musings of the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective.

The Baseball Fix A general baseball blog.

MLB Roundup A baseball video blog.

Fantasy Dope Fantasy Baseball News.

The Cubs Brickyard Hilarious fake news.

Spitting Seeds A blog about Major League baseball.

Infield Chatter A blog covering all aspects of baseball.

The Bronx View A blog and podcast about the Yankees.

Jorge Says No A blog about the Yankees.

Ivy League to MLB Shawn Haviland blogs about his efforts to rise through the Oakland Athletics system.

This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes Blog of a girl who somehow has found a way to balance being a baseball purist with being a New York Yankees fan.

Baseball from Wrigley A Chicago Cubs blog.

Sliding into Home A Yankees blog.

Boras Blog Blogging about Scott Boras.

Injury Tool Fantasy Pitch F/X offers complete information on injuries.

Instapundit Politics and the law. This site inspired me to start blogging.

Rookie Cards Baseball Card grading.

Wild Treasure Treasure hunts through the blogosphere.

San Diego Ticket Finder San Diego Ticket Information.

Prize Sports.net Baseball Collectibles.

Fantasy Sports R Us The #1 Fantasy Baseball Leagues site on the web.

RotoRank - Fantasy Baseball Draft Guides Customized For Any Fantasy Baseball League.