Theo Speaks to the Nation

Rafe Anderson scored a great interview with Theo Epstein for Sawxheads.com today. The interview gave some insight into how he approaches his job:

On progress made towards trades or acquisitions at Winter Meetings:

Theo Epstein: There has been a lot of lot of talks out here and we’ve made some progress on some fronts and we were shut down on other fronts, but we didn’t get anything done out here. So we’ll fly back today, keep working on things and see what we can accomplish.

On the economy affecting salaries in MLB:

TE: It’s our responsibility to assess how the economy affects our club. It’s important not to take a snapshot in time. If you go year-to-year [in evaluating the financial situation of the club] you wind up getting caught. You have to look at big chunks of time, look five years ahead. And looking ahead over the next five years, I don’t know how anyone could deny that there’s financial uncertainty out there. Thus, proceeding cautiously or at least with that uncertainty in mind seems like the prudent thing to do.

On whether Sox met with C.C. Sabathia during the Winter Meetings:

TE: We met with [Sabathia]. But we meet with a lot of players, it was a pretty standard meeting. He’s a great pitcher and I have a great deal of respect for what he did down the stretch last year, putting his team before himself. He really deserves everything he got.

On whether the Yankees overspent for Sabathia:

TE: Not very many elite pitchers get to free agency. When a pitcher accomplishes what Sabathia has accomplished and manages to stay healthy to free agency and can talk to all 30 teams, you’re going to see a large contract. Maybe the Yankees spent much more than the next best offer but that’s not what you’re going to be talking about next April when he’s on the mound.

On whether the way the organization’s handling of the Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay trade impacted Pedroia’s decision to stay in Boston:

TE: We put a lot of thought into the organization and what we stand for. We want to win but want to win the right way. But talking about isn’t nearly as meaningful as if you conduct your business accordingly. At the trading deadline last year, it was a demonstration of our values and what was important to us.

You can listen to the entire interview here.