Theo Epstein Compensation: Possibly Not Done, Yet

Or so you’d think. Red Sox management is apparently upset about the Carpenter surgery and is “weighing options”:

The club is weighing its options about what to do next, said the source. This raises the specter that the Red Sox believe the possibility exists that Carpenter was injured when he was traded to them on Feb. 21. A baseball source indicated that the teams agree that that there was no intent or prior knowledge by the Cubs that misled the Red Sox about Carpenter’s condition.So even though there was no “prior knowledge” from the Cubs regarding Carpenter, and even though:

All’s well, right? Done with these sorts of things?

And just what will this compensation consist of?

As you’ve no doubt heard because it’s the biggest story since man landed on the f’ing moon, the Boston Red Sox are getting a pitcher named Chris Carpenter as compensation for losing Theo Epstein to the Chicago Cubs.

Yeah, yeah … Not that Chris Carpenter. Got it. But the one the Cubs got is pretty interesting, if largely because he throws really really hard. From John Sickels’ report:

Tuesday, at last, a player was sent from the Cubs to the Red Sox as compensation for Epstein, since he still had a year left on his Boston contract. Here’s the scoop:

For more on the Cubs, visit Bleed Cubbie Blue, and for more on the Red Sox, visit Over The Monster.

And recently, the Red Sox and Cubs threw up their hands and asked the commissioner’s office to settle this matter. Peter Gammons, how’s that going?

Bud Selig still hasn’t received written arguments in Cubs-Red Sox compensation case. “OK, I’ve defined ‘significant compensation-Soriano...”

The teams have not been able to agree on compensation. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the teams have asked Commissioner Bud Selig to take over:

Source says #Cubs, #RedSox have asked Selig to settle Theo compensation, confirming Sun-Times storyHere’s the problem, according to Wittenmyer:

Well, Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Epstein if you meet them in person. Jed and Theo when you get to know them. But as a two-headed GM, it’s imperative that they have a combo-name like the folks who comprise Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), Ben Affleck and Jennifers Lopez and Garner (Bennifer), and CROD! (Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez). It’s 2012, our minds are mush because of the barrage of media we’re subjected to, and we have no choice.

The good folks over at Baseball Think Factory got the debate started, and we need to settle this before a baseball-nerd civil war breaks out. Here are some of the contenders:

“Mike seems like a great guy, and he has developed a great reputation over many decades in this game,” Epstein said. “I look forward to sitting down with him in person, sharing with him my vision of the organization.

Epstein said that a new search will begin immediately, and he also added a note that allowed Jon Morosi to read between the lines a bit:

If you listen to or watch virtually any national broadcast the Cubs are involved in, one of the announcers will mention this. Over and over and over, in fact. Frankly, Cubs fans are sick of hearing about it.

But it’s the truth, and since then, four ownership groups, at least 18 general managers (or men with similar responsibilities) and 49 field managers have failed to bring another world championship to the North Side of Chicago. Some have come close; the Cubs were six outs from the World Series in 1984 and five outs away in 2003. (Let’s see... carry the three... that means they ought to get there by 2079, one out closer every 19 years.)

Now comes the tough part: building a winner in Chicago.

Epstein spoke about the marriage of maintaining tradition while improving results:

Well, the headline’s true if you read between the lines a little. From Epstein’s well-written and touching op-ed in the Boston Globe:

↵Football legend Bill Walsh used to say that coaches and executives should seek change after 10 years with the same team. The theory is that both the individual and the organization benefit from a change after so much time together. The executive gets rebirth and the energy that comes with a new challenge; the organization gets a fresh perspective, and the chance for true change that comes with new leadership.

Classy move on Epstein’s part as he joins his new team, but remains a fan of his old one; it ends with the words “Go Sox”. He might want to be careful saying those words in his new city, though, where “Sox” has another meaning.

After what seemed like weeks of wrangling, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs announced a deal that will send Theo Epstein to Chicago. Though the move has long been rumored, there was reportedly a hang-up over compensation. But now, on the first off-day of the World Series, the two sides came to an agreement, resulting in Epstein being named the Cubs’ President of Baseball Operations.

The Red Sox and Cubs sent out a joint press release on Friday night announcing the move, which would go into effect immediately.

Today is a World Series off day, and conceivably an announcement could be made today — if things are settled, which they apparently aren’t. Selig doesn’t like other events distracting from the World Series, and even without a news conference introducing Epstein, all of this has certainly received a lot of attention.

It’s in everyone’s interest to get this done soon. If Selig can help that along, he ought to go for it.

There might not be the same explosions or Hollywood sheen in this production that there is in an Ocean’s flick, and the fact Brad Pitt recently played Billy Beane in a movie means we’ll need to make some mental casting leaps here, but make no mistake: Theo is getting the gang back together, and is attempting to succeed at what has been considered impossible.

A tweet from David Kaplan has more possible details:

The ESPN Chicago report was updated to indicate that no compensation would be due to the Padres for Hoyer. As always, we await further developments.

When news first broke that the Cubs were interested in Epstein, the initial assumption was that he would assume general manager duties himself. It seems, however, that he may be elevated to the role of team president, allowing him to hire a GM.

But would the Padres allow the Cubs to poach their GM? And more importantly, does Hoyer have any desire to be poached? After all, he’d be making a lateral move, albeit to a team with far greater resources. Those answers are still unknown, but as Heyman notes, the Padres have an in-house replacement should Hoyer leave:

Last weekend I re-read Seth Mnookin’s book, Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top, and while reading was struck by just how much of the recent drama surrounding Theo Epstein and his bosses is foreshadowed in Mnookin’s book.

One of the recurring themes in Feeding the Monster is the uneasy relationship between general manager Theo Epstein and CEO Larry Lucchino, which contributed to Epstein’s temporary departure from the Red Sox after the 2005 season. Mnookin, though, doesn’t see that relationship as being a prime reason for Epstein’s recent exit.

Reports from both Boston (via Sean MacAdam) and Chicago (via Gordon Wittenmyer) indicate that no announcement is likely to be made Tuesday, which is an unofficial “deadline” before the World Series begins Wednesday. Bud Selig doesn’t like major announcements of this type supposedly “distracting” from the Series, but as Craig Calcaterra points out, should that matter in the modern communication age?

There is one new piece of information, from MacAdam:

The real hangup probably wasn’t with Garza leaving, but it was with the Cubs’ refusal to include one of these doohickeys in the deal:

Garza probably would have helped the Red Sox just a bit a month ago. The Cubs are in quasi-rebuilding mode, so it didn’t hurt to ask. Still, the Cubs politely declined, most likely, and negotiations are ongoing.

But he then says the Red Sox can afford to wait because:

There is one thing that puts a bit of time pressure on both teams — the general rule that Bud Selig doesn’t want major announcements (and this would surely count as one) during the World Series. For the Cubs, they’d certainly like Epstein to hit the ground running. For the Red Sox, they surely don’t want this to drag out for 10 more days while the bad press they’ve been getting continues.

Perhaps the most remarkable of those reports was this one from David Kaplan of CSN Chicago, which says Red Sox president Larry Lucchino is “playing hardball” with the Cubs and quotes an unnamed major league baseball executive, regarding Lucchino:

“Larry Lucchino is one of the most unreasonable people I have ever dealt with and because of his frayed relationship with Theo Epstein he is looking to make a point at the expense of Theo’s happiness and his desire to go to Chicago. I didn’t believe that ownership group for one second when they said that they wouldn’t stand in Theo’s way if he wanted out of Boston. They are furious that he wants out and they are trying to make a point. Theo helped bring them two World Series titles and they have no loyalty to him and his happiness. They messed with Terry Francona and that was just an incredibly pathetic move and now they are trying to make life very tough for Theo,” he said.So it would seem that Lucchino is holding up this deal just because he can.

Kaplan also says the Cubs have “dug their heels in” and won’t “overpay” to get Epstein out of his Red Sox deal. The article also has this remarkable quote from a source regarding Lucchino:

The Red Sox have been in turmoil ever since they completed their historic collapse and missed the playoffs last month. If what this source says is true, the Red Sox could be in for rougher times ahead. Meanwhile, the parties continue to negotiate.

But aside from the timing, what sticks out to me is: who really cares what an owner thinks about a baseball player? Owners are not talent evaluators. That’s why there are front offices, made up of a bunch of talent evaluators. Evaluating talent is their business, not ownership’s business, so of course Henry deferred to Epstein and his assistants. It would be stupid and arrogant if he didn’t. Look at that quote. “We had plenty of left-handed hitting.” Like that’s what matters. Does that sound like something that would be said by someone who ought to be building a roster?

This isn’t the first time Henry has said that he opposed a move. In the past, as here, he deferred to his front office. That is the right thing to do. An owner should trust his front office and sign off on its decisions. If an owner does not trust his front office, he should put together a different front office.