It Wasn't Personal - It Was Business

So Jon Lester has signed with the Chicago Cubs for $155 million over 6-years. I agree with Rob Bradford that the reason this happened was simply because Boston didn't want him as much privately as they publicly claimed. An extra $20 million and a vesting seventh year was the difference. That difference would mean NOTHING to ownership if they really wanted Lester back.

Simply put - the team didn't want to sign a 31-year old pitcher to a long-term deal. But publicly they had to make it look like they did.

I like Jon Lester and will continue to root for him but what is becoming increasingly clear to me is what I really root for is laundry. Whoever is wearing the Red Sox uniform is the guy I cheer for (unless that guy is dickhead AJ Pierzynski).

Many people will place the blame for losing Jon Lester on Larry Lucchino and to a certain degree they would be right. I would guess that the low-ball $70 million over 4-years offer the team made to Lester in the Spring had Larry's fingerprints all over it. Larry is also the guy to blame for ownership thinking Bobby Valentine was a competent manager. Balancing the negatives, however, are the undeniable positives of three World Series Championships in the last decade and the fact that Lucchino was the man mainly responsible for turning Fenway Park from what was becoming a urine soaked rathole into a great (albeit expensive) place to experience an MLB game.

The real blame for losing Lester rests with principal owner John Henry. Simply put - he didn't want to sign a 31-year old pitcher to a long term deal. If he really wanted Lester back - then the extra $3 million a year (the cost for a below average veteran back-up outfielder) would have been no obstacle.

So now the Red Sox have a pretty potent line-up, some spare parts to deal and some starting (and bullpen) holes to fill. It should be interesting to see what laundry Ben Cherrington can come up with for me to root for.

Meanwhile - Godspeed Jon Lester.

What People are Missing About the Bobby Valentine Hiring

I saw what the Bobby Valentine hiring by the Red Sox was from the very start. It was not a bad hire at all as some pundits and personalities now claim. Bobby Valentine has completely succeeded for the purpose for which he was hired.

Let me explain. But first let me get a little geeky.

In the book (and movie) Dune - Baron Harkonnen first sends his nephew the Beast Rabban in to rule the desert planet Arrakis after the defeat and overthrow of the popular Duke Leto Atreides. However, Baron Harkonnen's real goal is to have Rabban crush the will of the people on Arrakis so that when he has his favorite nephew - Feyd-Rautha (played by Sting in the first Dune movie) replace Rabban - Feyd-Rautha will be hailed as a savior.

In the Red Sox example - Bobby Valentine is the Beast Rabban.

If you recall - originally the new Red Sox ownership had planned to make Billy Beane their GM in charge of baseball operations. There is no way that Beane would have tolerated any interference in baseball operations by Larry Lucchino. But at the last minute Beane turned the Sox down and Theo Epstein became GM. Now Theo had no choice but to tolerate interference from Lucchino and his minions because Epstein held much less power in the organization and because Lucchino was his "mentor".

I am convinced that it was the interference of Lucchino and his ilk that undermined Terry Francona and cost him his job and who also eventually caused Their to cry "enough!" and ask for exile to the Cubs.

Red Sox principal owner John Henry is no dummy (you don't get to be a billionaire by being stupid). He knew what was happening but what to do about it? Simple - you give Lucchino enough rope to hang himself. You let Lucchino hand-pick Bobby Valentine as the new manager but you saddle Valentine with enough handicaps that failure is all-but guaranteed. Don't let Valentine pick his own coaches and give him a contract that emphasizes Bobby V's weak position to anyone paying attention.

With the failure almost complete - John Henry can turn to Lucchino and order no more interference in baseball operations and then bring in a likable manager like John Farrell or DeMarco Hale (who will look like Sting compared to Valentine's Sideshow Bob act). The new manager also doesn't have to bear the burden of being compared to the well-loved Terry Francona. They just have to be better than the comical Bobby Valentine.

Just as it was planned.

The Red Sox Mess

People are looking to pin the blame for the Red Sox organization being a mess. Does the blame lie with players like Josh Beckett who is viewed as over-paid, under-productive and out of shape? Is it Bobby Valentine whose managerial moves at times are questionable at best and whose personality really rubs many the wrong way? Is it first year GM Ben Cherington who hasn't made enough moves to right the ship? Is it ownership who seem too distracted by new shiny things like Liverpool soccer (LFC) to see the forest through the trees? For anyone paying attention the answer is clear - all of the above!

I get into details after the break. Be sure to read it all because I really buried the lede.

Red Sox / Cubs Negotiations

In the next two weeks or so you will see lots of stories about the negotiations between the Red Sox and Cubs breaking down regarding the compensation for Theo Epstein. Don't waste your time reading stories like this.

Theo Epstein will be announced as the new Cubs GM but it won't be until after the World Series. Everyone knows that. MLB has an embargo on announcements until then because they don't want anything or anyone to take attention away from the games. Everyone involved knows that. Remember how MLB treated A-Rod as a douchebag when he announced during the World Series that he was opting out of his Yankees contract a few years ago?

That doesn't mean that a certain anxiety won't become prevalent. The Cubs and Red Sox represent the two most neurotic fan bases on the planet. The media will feed that neurosis. Don't fall for it. The Cubs want Theo Epstein and will pay a fair compensation price - my guess is one top prospect. The Red Sox will act like they hold all the cards but they don't want Epstein back at this point because the offseason has already become a three-ring circus. They don't need the return of Theo to make things into a further national joke. MLB in turn will see to it the deal is completed.

The whole situation reminds me of the great movie The Quiet Man. In the movie there is a problem with the dowry and John Wayne calls the brother-in-laws bluff by returning the wife and thus shaming his family. Picturing Larry Lucchino as a less manly Squire "Red" Will Danaher also amuses me.