Lucchino, Epstein headed for breakup in Boston? One big part of the Red Sox championship teams has already moved from Boston to the Dodgers. Could another be on the way?
People in high places in baseball are starting to speculate about whether this could be the last season together for the highly successful yet increasingly uncomfortable front-office tandem of GM Theo Epstein and president/CEO Larry Lucchino, and one logical ending would have Lucchino joining Manny Ramirez in Los Angeles. It's all speculation now, but it's not all that farfetched.
Despite the well-documented difficulties and differences of Epstein and Lucchino -- Lucchino is said by people familiar with the just-departed Ramirez soap opera to have been much more committed to keeping Ramirez, no matter how badly the man-child superstar behaved and how much he risked undermining the clubhouse -- the two innovative Yalies have engineered this Red Sox renaissance and combined to bring two World Series titles to the previously star-crossed and storied organization. Yet there is burgeoning talk among baseball's elite that the end of their baseball relationship could be at hand.
Epstein's rise in stature from boy wonder to one of baseball's best GMs has brought him considerable cache and clout. So it's no surprise that baseball people believe he's more likely to be in position to win any potential power play if he desires, especially with his three-year contract expiring after this year. When Epstein's previous contract ran out after the 2005 season he was very nearly gone for good -- and he did actually leave for a few weeks, exiting Fenway Park disguised in a monkey suit to avoid reporters the day he announced his resignation -- but club owner John Henry lured him back for three more years with a seven-figure salary and the promise of greater autonomy.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/08/11/heyman.lucchino/
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