Epstein Gone,Ramirez & Wells Next?
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
BOSTON -- Outgoing Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein on Wednesday dismissed reports that a power struggle with team president Larry Lucchino led him to walk away from the organization this week.
Epstein, 31, whose career in baseball started when Lucchino hired him as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles 14 years ago, rejected the team's offer of a $4.5 million, three-year extension that would have quadrupled his previous salary.
"Larry and I like each other," Epstein said in his first public comments since he shocked Boston sports fans by walking away from the bargaining table on Monday. "As with any other working relationship there are complexities, there are ups and downs."
The decision to leave, he said, was a personal one.
"This is a job you have to give your whole heart and soul to," he said. "In the end, after a long period of reflection about myself and the program, I decided I could no longer put my whole heart and soul into it."
Under Epstein, the Red Sox made the postseason three years in a row for the first time in franchise history, with the obvious highlight being the team's 2004 World Series win, Boston's first in 86 years.
"It was a time in my life I'll always look back on with fond memories," Epstein said.
The ballclub hasn't commented since Epstein's resignation. Media reports have circulated that he left because leaks about the negotiations convinced him there was a breach of trust with mentor Lucchino. But Epstein said Wednesday that the two remained close and that Lucchino gave him wide discretion over baseball decisions.
"I felt like I had pretty much a free hand to run the baseball operation the way I see fit," he said.
Epstein's deal expired at midnight Tuesday, leaving the team without a GM heading into the offseason. Negotiations with free agents such as center fielder Johnny Damon are on hold, trade talks will have to wait and the business of assembling the 2006 team has been interrupted by the Brookline native's stunning decision to walk away from his dream job with his hometown team.
The Red Sox need to plug holes in the starting rotation and bullpen that led to a first-round playoff sweep by the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox. Manny Ramirez and David Wells have reportedly asked to be traded; Epstein's chief assistant, Josh Byrnes, is now the GM in Arizona; the Red Sox trainer was let go; and third-base coach Dale Sveum decamped for Milwaukee.
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