I forever appreciate Theo Epstein helping the Red Sox win two World Series titles, but I'm also amazed at some of these daft decisions of the boy genius.
1. Signing J.D. Drew
Did Theo not read the papers or listen to the radio? Everyone knew J.D. was a stiff, yet Theo thought he knew better. He outbid himself into a horrible contract in too many years and way too many dollars. Plus, Wily Mo Pena was cheap and ready to go.
2. Inability to choose a shortstop
Shortstop is obviously Theo's weakness. How many shortstops have Red Sox roots? Nomar, Sanchez, Ramirez, Renteria, Alex Gonzalez, Orlando Cabrera and Eckstein. The Sox might as well start a shortstop academy.
The Sox overpaid Lugo and Renteria. Lugo in his prime as a leadoff hitter stealing bases was appealing, but signing him to a four-year, $36 million deal after he flopped with the Dodgers was stupid. At least the Brewers only signed Eric Gagne to a one-year, $10 million contract.
Renteria made errors, but he batted .300 and scored 100 runs. Alex Gonzalez was great for the Sox, but then he was dumped for Lugo. I hope Theo can make a choice and stick to it. Perhaps he overpaid Lugo so he could not change his mind again, since no one else would want him.
3. Overpaying Jason Varitek
Four years and $40 million (when there were no other bidders) is too much money for an aging catcher with an average bat. He brought two rings, but Epstein should not be held hostage by him. He could have had A.J. Pierzynski for $2.5 million, like the White Sox did.
4. Not trading unproven rookies for proven talent
Epstein did not trade Hanson and Delcarmen for Roy Oswalt. I understand not acquiring Santana due to shoulder concerns, but more because of his contract demands. Occasionally, the prospect turns out (a la Bagwell) but usually he doesn't. It's best to trade for the proven talent if it is reasonably priced.
5. Should have kept Wily Mo as an insurance policy
What was the point of trading him, especially late last season? Turns out Manny went down for a month immediately after, and Wily Mo hit eight home runs in September for the Nationals. I would have rather have had Wily Mo than Bobby Kielty.
Especially if Ortiz or Manny get hurts again, Wily Mo would be a nice backup. It's too bad Wily Mo was never able to develop in the minor leagues. He reminds me of Bo Jackson. I love to watch his home runs.
6. Paying $100 million for Daisuke Matsuzaka
That was a little too steep and risky, and I'm surprised John Henry did not balk at this. They might as well have signed Santana instead.
7. The Jeff Suppan Chronicles
Groom him, dump him, trade a top prospect (and future batting champ) to retrieve him, dump him again, watch him play in two World Series for the Cards.
8. Could have signed A-Rod
It's always best to keep such talents away from your archrival. Imagine the Yankees with Lowell instead of A-Rod to save their lineup. Imagine Ortiz, Manny and A-Rod in the lineup, even if for one year as Manny's contract expires.
We could have had A-Rod instead of Lugo and JD Drew, since the money would not have been available for Theo to waste so foolishly. Thankfully, its worked out by passing on him twice, but it was very risky.
Those are my thoughts. I'm forever grateful for the rings, but Theo doesn't strike gold every time.
8 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Chris Schmidbauer about 1 year ago
Calling Epstein a genius is like calling Brian Cashman a genius. Someone like Mark Shapiro, who has a budget, is a genius. Someone who keeps putting the Minnesota Twins is a genius. You can't give a guy an unlimited amount of money to sign someone and call them a fantastic GM. C
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josh kless about 1 year ago
nice article i think theo is a mad scientist.
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Aaron Meyer about 1 year ago
You forgot he traded Hanley Ramirez away for Josh Beckett. Beckett's great, but Hanley Ramirez may be the best freaking player in baseball, and he plays shortstop! Truly, he gets a lot of credit for throwing money around in odd places. I do think you give Varitek the money, he may not be a great hitter anymore, but he's a switch hitter, doesn't kill your lineup, and when the team lost him for the end of the season a couple years ago they fell completely apart. He's that important to morale apparently.
Now Billy Beane, somehow, always seems to look like an idiot throughout the off-season, trading away excellent players in their prime for unknown prospects, but he comes out smelling like rose-flavored water when the bats hit the balls. He has apparently assembled the greatest scouting staff ever, and infused a philosophy at every level of his organization that dictates how his team always plays. You'll notice it doesn't seem to matter who is on the team or who the manager is, they always take a lot of pitches, get great starts and quality saves, never steal, and wait for the RBI's to come. It's incredible.
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Greg Giardini about 1 year ago
Overpaying for Jason Varitek? would you rather have kevin cash or george kottaras as the starting catcher? Also trading for Suppan, at the time the Sox needed another quality starter and he was the best starter available at the time, freddy sanchez was expendable and the trade was viewed as a quality one at the time. One more thing, Dice K's contract is fairly market value for a pitcher that is currently 7-0. If you're going to criticize Theo for anything go with the Gagne trade last year.
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Kevin Luchansky about 1 year ago
good points but ill have to go with genius - hes def not perfect but he did something in Boston that no one else could figure out how to for 86 years
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Nick Noble about 1 year ago
Hmmmmm. You make some good points, but I have to disagree with you. More genius than mad scientist, Theo still benefits from a very special conjunction (connection, intersection, allignment) of collaborators-- ownership with vision, patience, and deep pockets; a manager who handles personnel as well as any in the history of the game, and a GM (Theo himself) with a fresh approach to the game.
One of my problems with your analysis is that you expect a GM to create an All-Star or Fantasy League team, rather than a real-life, flesh-and-blood 24/25 man (40 in September) roster, positioned for a regular season of 162 games and up to 21 additional post-season contests.
JD Drew-- maybe not an All-Star, but a more-than-competent veteran outfielder who hit unspectacularly (but not horribly-- expectations were, as often is the case in Boston and NY, unrealistic), and whose bat came to life in the post-season. He helped them get into the post-season, was instrumental in their winning a championship. Perhaps overpaid, but then who isn't overpaid in MLB these days?
As for Billy Beane, Aaron: well, his business model is sound, but the Sox won the whole enchilada twice-- has Billy?
Kevin (the last comment before mine) hit the nail on the head-- not only did Theo do "something in Boston that no one else could figure out how to for 86 years", but then HE DID IT AGAIN!
Wily Mo? JD Drew can field rings around Wily Mo (especially in Fenway's huge right field), and is an experienced veteran. I was thrilled when Wily Mo stepped in and produced in the clutch, but even the Bo Jackson comparison is unfair-- Bo Jackson was an awesome athlete, fast and versatile, with a cannon for an arm. Wily Mo is Sam Horn with better wheels.
Shortstop? You have a point there, but you overstate your case. And Lugo helped get them to a Series. I would have kept Gonzalez myself, but...
Jason Varitek overpaid? Not at all. Here is a case where the realities of flesh-and-blood players, the needs of the team (morale and leadership), the guidance and development of a pitching staff, come into play. Perhaps not a wise decision for a Fantasy League team or an All-Star game, but absolutely right for the Red Sox. Without Varitek, I do not believe the Sox would have made it to the Series (even if they had AJ-- where were those other Sox in October).
Greg's comment above also reflects some of my thinking on this. With the exception of the Gagne deal, virtually all of Theo's deals were praised at the time (even Hanley for Josh-- certainly a case of trading unproven youth for established talent, even if it is reminiscent of Jeff Bagwell). Even the Gagne deal was applauded initially (until he actually got into a game). Whoulda thought?
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John Gray about 1 year ago
Regarding JD the Sox were only outbidding themselves as they also did with Veritek.
JD was nuts to risk ripping up his $11/ year Dodger contract. No fan in NE wanted JD especially for the money Theo gave him. Wonder if John Henry ever kicked Theo in the butt for this stupid deal.
Obviously, Theo was a law school student and not a Finance major.
Wily MO might not have bene the most graceful in the outfield, but he does have a cannon of an arm.
I hope to one day see him plow over a catcher with a play at the plate.
I thought Wily Mo would have been worth developing as Manny winds down his career which is why Theo acquired him in the first place.
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Jennifer Golden about 1 year ago
I agree with you on the Lugo signing. The Dodgers weren't even playing him towards the end of the season. Gonzalez was one of the best defensive shortstops last year, and Lugo was never known for his good defense. I guess Theo thought his bat would make up for it, but look what happened with that.
As for Wily Mo, he needed more time to develop, and he was not going to get that chance right now in Boston. I don't agree with the JD Drew aqusition, but Wily Mo was not the answer for Boston at the time.
As for Josh Beckett for Hanley Ramirez, Beckett won us a World Series. Pitching is always more valuable.
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