Book review: Theology

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Theo's Press Conference on Wagner

Theo Epstein met with reporters before last night's game. In the interview he shed some light onto the teams plans for using Wagner and gave his thoughts on the season so far. Watch below:

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Dear Yankees Writers, Settle the Eff Down, You Have Not Won Anything Yet

Yes the Yankees are in first place and have taken a sizable lead in the division but that does not equal a turning of the tide in the rivalry and does not equal a World Series championship as some would have you believe. Take this joke of an article from John Harper in the NY Daily News:

the Yankees on the verge of burying the Red Sox deep in the standings with a four-game sweep, the Rivalry has taken a rather stunning turn back to more familiar Yankee dominance.

And it's at least partly because the Yankees, for a change, are winning the battle of the front offices. Going back to the winter when he swooped in to steal Mark Teixeira from the Red Sox, Cashman this year is outmaneuvering Theo.

So Cashman is outmaneuvering Theo by spending huge amounts of money to get Teixeira, Sabathia, and Burnett? Did Cashman somehow cause Dice-K, Wake, Lowrie, and Bay to get hurt? Theo's offseason moves with Penny and Smoltz may not be paying off but that does not make Cashman a better GM. For years Cashman has made bad choices with and failed to win with the highest payroll in baseball. When the bats wake up the Sox will be ready to win this year and they have a farm system that can keep them winning. The Yankees will have many players that will be past their prime next year or they will need to replace including: Damon, Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Matsui, and Pettitte. George Costanza could do a better job as the GM of the Yankees than Cashman has done.

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Interview with John Frascella, author of the Theo Epstein biography THEOLOGY

Fenway West conducted an interview with John Frascella, the author of the new book Theology: How a Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land. John talks about his research on Theo, how he came to write the book, and shares his analysis on some of Theo's best and worst moves as GM of the Red Sox. You can stream the interview below, make sure to pick up his book through the link below to complete your Red Sox collection.

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Theo on Ortiz

NECN.com has a video interview with Theo Epstein and his thoughts on the allegations of Ortiz's name being on 'The List,' as well as video interviews with his teammates. Theo says that Ortiz has the full support of the Red Sox.

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Theo's To-Do List is Pretty Short

In any other off-season fans might be happy with what Theo has done; the team that came within one game of the World Series has been preserved, the MVP second baseman has been locked up for the future, and some good additions have been added while the payroll is down.

Has the Yankee spending spree made us all feel like we are lagging behind? I never thought the team really needed Teixeira but the idea of adding a little more thump to the lineup is very appealing. It is almost like we got practical gifts for Christmas and not the really fun toy that we had wished for.

If the Red Sox bring back Varitek they will be a very solid team, perhaps the favorite to win the division. If they trade for the catcher of the future the Red Sox will be without their captain who helped them win two World Series and will also be without atleast one of their most promising prospects. The Sox can add some power to the lineup by replacing Tek but it will be a bittersweet moment for the Nation.

Theo's last to-do item is to add a 4th outfielder; not a very exciting thing for Red Sox fans. The 4th outfielder however will play a very significant role on the team this season. Drew is bound to miss 1/4 of the season with injuries and Ellsbury showed some fatigue last season.

The Teixeira money may be burning a hole in fan's pockets but I don't think John Henry and company are looking to get a big name just to match the Yanks. As frustrating as it is, look for the offseason to continue in this manner and wait for the Red Sox to compete with the Yankees where it really matters: on the field.

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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.

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Leaving Las Vegas

Theo and the Red Sox will be headed back to the Hub with two pitchers: Miguel Gonzalez and Miguel Marquez from the Rule 5 draft. Epstein explained where Boston stands with other free agents:

"We are still in the middle of the process," he said. "We're not at the end. We're in the middle of the process with a lot of guys."

He did admit that he made three offers to available free-agents. Jason Varitek was one of them. The other two were likely Teixeira and a pitcher.

Theo's statement contradicts Cafardo's earlier reporting about Tek. The Winter Meetings are now over.

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Theo Sums Up Day 3 - Video

Watch Theo Epstein react to the C.C. deal and the Red Sox progress at Winter Meetings:

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Theo Talks Catchers - Video

Theo Epstein discusses the catching market and the Winter Meetings on NESN, watch below:

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Theo's Press Conference on Tazawa - video

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein discusses what Junichi Tazawa brings to the team. Watch below:

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Theo Speaks With the Media

The big news of the day is that Lowell's surgery went well. Theo also spoke with reporters about the ALCS and offseason moves.

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Theo Is Getting an Extension

Extra Bases is reporting that the Red Sox and Theo Epstein have reached an agreement on a contract extension. Details of the deal are not yet available.

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How The Yankees Blew It

How is that the team with the highest payroll in baseball is not going to make the playoffs? The answer is simple mismanagement from the top down. In the past the Yankees became a good team by developing top talent in their farm system and adding expensive free agents to fill in the gaps. As George neared the end of his tenure he forgot about the farm system and traded most of the talent away for big name players. With an All-Star at every base they played well enough to make the playoffs but they did not have the team cohesiveness to go all the way, call it the curse of A-Rod.

When Theo adapted some of the moneyball theories to Boston, the Red Sox became the best and most emulated team in baseball. They combined a strong farm system with the seeking out of undervalued free agents like David Ortiz.

After 2 World Series Championships in Boston and none in New York, the Yankees tried to play catch up. Hank is now at the helm and is trying to take some of the lessons the Sox had learned and apply them to the Yankees. Unfortunately for Hank, he is behind the curve and has bungled his new approach to team building. The Yankees had a chance to make their team better for the season but they made some early mistakes. They gave Posada and Rivera huge contracts in their declining years; Rivera pitched well but is showing signs of fading in the most important part of the season, while Posada has spent half of the season on the DL. The biggest mistake they made was overvaluing their young pitching. They could have had Santana for what now looks like a steal but they were trying to keep Hughes and Kennedy. In the early season they had a chance to trade Matsui to the Giants but they did not make the deal and now Matsui sits on the DL like Posada. For some reason they waited until too long to make trades for players like Pudge an Nady.

So now the Yankees are going to miss the playoffs and Hank says they are going to be the team to beat next year. The 2 best pitchers on the Yankees this season were Pettitte and Mussina. Are the Yankees going to shell out big money to keep some of their oldest players? Pettitte cost the Yankees $16 million this season and Moose will want a long term deal. Yesterday Peter Gammons said the Yankees were going to go after C.C. Sabathia in the off season but it will be a year too late because the Yankees will not have enough good pitching if they let Mussina and Pettitte go. Now that Hank was burned on the Santana deal he will overreach and go back to trying to buy a team. Cashman has tried to put some stability into the long term goals of the Yankees but it will be hard for him to achieve his goals with Hank breathing down his neck.

Let the good times roll.

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Is This Lucchino's Last Year In Boston?

SI's John Heyman thinks the working relationship between Theo and Lucchino cannot last, especially after the Ramirez trade. He goes on to speculate that Lucchino may end up working in L.A. next season. If you want to get some insight into the Epstein/Lucchino relationship issues from previous seasons, I highly recommend you read Feeding The Monster by Seth Mnookin.

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Theo Thinks Big Papi Will Be O.K.

Theo Epstein told WEEI that Ortiz did not mention any problem to Tito or the organization and right now they have no cause for concern. The Sox will find out more later today but Theo did not think it was a big deal at this point.

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Something big is going to happen

I can just feel it. Can you feel it? With Aardsma going on the DL, and the rest of the middle relief guys having rollercoaster seasons, I have this feeling that Theo is going to do something big and unexpected. There are only 10 days left before the trade deadline, and let's face it, Hansen, Delcarmen, Okajima, Timlin, and Lopez are not having the seasons they had last year. They've been surprisingly sub-par for most of the season. They've had their good moments, no doubt, but as a whole, they've been disappointing.

Theo is up to something, I just know it.

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Theo Talks About Ortiz, J.D. Drew, Masterson, Buchholz and Tek

Theo gives some insight into the current state of the club. Watch below:

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Sox in Trade Talks With Padres

San Diego Padres centerfielder Jim Edmonds is going to be sidelined for a while with a strained calf. The Padres are going to try using Scott Hairston in center, but that may not be ideal. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Padres GM Kevin Towers isn't ruling out a trade for a center fielder.

Never one to miss an opportunity, Theo got in quick contact with Towers to discuss a possible trade deal.

The Sox would move Coco to the Padres. The Sox are reportedly interested in either Chase Headley or Matt Antonelli.

Towers told the San Diego Tribune, “We won't give up either of those guys.”

Keep an eye on this one folks, it could be a real opportunity for the Sox.

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Theo Talks About Coco

Theo Epstein spoke with Redsox.com and discussed the Coco Crisp situation. Much of what he said was similar to Tito's take on the situation. He tried to show Coco's value to the team by saying:

"We allowed the fewest runs in all of baseball. He was a huge part on a club that won 96 games so he's got an opportunity to keep his job and go out and make an impact for this club again as an everyday player. It's premature to speculate about the next step."

It seems like the team's plan is to start Coco in center unless he has an awful spring. If he starts out well he could be good trade value before the deadline. Pitcher Ben Sheets will be a free agent next year so he could be traded at the deadline and would be a good fit with Boston if they can get him for a few years.

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