81 replies to this topic

[Sille Skrub]

This is a dark day for the Boston Red Sox.

Parcells/Kraft redux - Sadly, I saw it coming from a mile away.

Thanks for your service, Theo.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

[CaptainLaddie]

Theo, thank you for being a major important cog in the 2004 World Champs. Without you, they don't win it.

I have enormous respect for anyone that is willing to walk away from that kind of money/power that you had and have in Boston for the reason that you don't like your boss. It is what makes you a great GM and a great person. Wherever you end up, good luck and godspeed.

[templeUsox]

Thanks. I don't know what to say right now, i'm still in shock. Fuck the Globe.

[berstch]

Constructed the 25. Thanks Theo, you deserved so much better. Good luck wherever you end up... hopefully in the NL.

[jacklamabe65]

Shame on them.

CHB = Bob Novak.

Edited by jacklamabe65, 31 October 2005 - 06:49 PM.

[John Dopson]

I know Theo is a member here and I hope at some points he settles down, reads this and realizes how much the fans appreciate him.

Edited by John Dopson, 31 October 2005 - 06:07 PM.

[jacklamabe65]

We fulfilled our lifelong dream because of you, my friend. Nuf said.

Teaching is a great line of work, Theo, if you are thinking of a true sea-change. If you are as good in the classroom as you were as a baseball executive, your students will be the true beneficiaries.

You just rejoined Sox fandom without any strings attached. God bless and keep your SoSH membership up (perhaps with a new poster name such as WaywardSon05).

Edited by jacklamabe65, 31 October 2005 - 07:02 PM.

[Pandemonium67]

Theo, we hardly knew ye...

[SpokaneSoxFan]

100 % behind you Theo. God speed and best wishes for continued success throughout life.

[allaboutthesox]

Thanks for everything. Thank you for the trade that was not that hyped. The Dave Roberts trade. Hey whatever your reasons are....you made your decision and I hope you did take a stand for what you were feeling. If you dont stand for something, you will fall for anything.

Good luck and best regards in your future endeavors.

[amh03]

Theo:

Thank you for all your efforts. Not just in 2004 either...you helped us have an enjoyable 2003 (too short a season, unfortunately) and a fun 2005 as well. Of course, 2004 was the highlight and, forever, we'll be grateful for your efforts.

Good luck with your decision and your next challenge. We (the fans) will miss you and we're sorry if we made it kind of tough to be a private citizen. But, we also wish you well...

[Sportsbstn]

Thanks for everything Theo. Thanks for bringing the Red Sox to the playoffs all 3 years, and of course the world title. Thanks for hiring some great people under you who have really helped rebuild the farm system as well. Do yourself a favor and go out on a high note, and keep it that way.

Good luck in the future.

[PedroSpecialK]

Thanks for the title, Theo, and great way to go out - backhanding that prick Lucchino in the mouth.

Good luck wherever you end up

[purist]

Parcells/Kraft redux

I disagree. Parcells leaving the Pats was a good thing.

Thanks, Theo....for "not accepting the clubs offer".

[ccsubruce]

Theo, if you read this...thanks. You ended my baseball angst and did changed history. Whatever you do, you'll be an incredible success.

Thanks, man.

[BoSoxLady]

Theo--

I give you a lot of credit for walking away from a situation that didn't feel right, despite the money. Brian Cashman took the money to put up with the aggravation, but apparently money isn't what drives you. Good for you.

Thank you for 3 straight post-season appearances -- a franchise record, and for making all of our dreams come true in 2004.

Best of luck in your future endeavors. You will be missed.

[Bosoxen]

I don't even know what to say. When I heard the news, it was like someone kicked me in the nuts...

Thanks for everything, Theo. Best of luck to you wherever you go.

[anaxamandr]

Thanks Theo for bringing Boston the World Series title they so richly deserved. Thanks for assembling the team that won it all and doing it w/ characters who were easy to root for. Thanks for standing up and making a point to Lucky. Lets hope he learns from it.
Best of luck in all future doings, and you will never have to buy a drink in Red Sox Nation so long as you live.

[rmurph3]

Theo jumps to the top of the list of "guys who never have to buy a drink in this town".

Figure out what you want to do next, and go kick ass at it. You have our eternal thanks for your work here.

[aslot123]

Quite simply...

Thank You Theo. You generated one of the best stretches of Red Sox baseball (albeit a short one, unfortunately).

[redsoxstiff]

Thanks a million or 2.5...

[Alacoldart]

Thanks for 10/27/04 in St. Louis, Theo.

Thank you for Curt Schilling, Jason Varitek, David Ortiz, Keith Foulke, Craig Hansen, Jonathan Papelbon, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Timlin, Kevin Youkilis, Deustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Dave Roberts, and Tim Wakefield.

Thank you for three straight years in the postseason.

Thank you for 95+ wins three years in a row.

Thank you for standing your ground and making a point that had to be made.

Thank you for being a great human being in a very dehumanizing sport.

You're welcome back anytime.

[HoyaSoxa]

I really thought Theo and I would grow old together. Everyone else I have rooted for on the Red Sox is bound to leave the uniform at some point, even if they last 10, 15, or 20 years. Given his age and his early success and his ties to the area, it never occurred to me that Theo would not be there forever. Even with all this discussion over the past few weeks, I hardly paid attention, I was sure it would get done. Now that it looks like it is over, I am in shock.

So thank you Theo, all the best, welcome back any time, but maybe you go out nearly on top, at least in Boston, the only job that could really mean so much to you and to so many others.

[SpikeMyOwen]

Well 1000s of college girls around boston are most likely heartbroken right now, as well as millions of red sox fans.

Thank you Theo, thanks for being the one that enabled us see it in our life times, thanks for me and my mom and every one else.

A dark day in boston sports.

Fuck you larry, I don't care what you do or donate for charity, you just earned a place in hell, hopefully a painful place.

Edited by SpikeMyOwen, 31 October 2005 - 07:42 PM.

[XNOUGHT]

If I ever meet you, I'll buy you wine and the finest pizza in town.

[philly sox fan]

Dear Theo,

If you think the homeless are less needy and oppressive than Sox fans, then you've got another thing coming.

Social worker? Oy Vey!

[Lose Remerswaal]

Thanks for everything, Theo. You owe us a Chat now.

[Oil Can Dan]

An hour into this news, I'm now resigned to just laughing out loud about all this. I gotta say, Theo, you're a friggin badass. I congratulate you for standing up and making the move you feel you need to make. The reasons are for you to know, and for us to guess, but at the end of the day they're not important. You just proved to me that you really are the badass I've always suspected you were.

You've got my respect, my thanks, and my well-wishes as you go forward. I hope that one day I get to shake your hand. God Bless.

[Frisbetarian]

Theo -

Thanks for changing the way I look at the Red Sox after 37 years of watching. I'll never forget what you did for the team I root for in the Greatest Game Ever Invented.

El Tesoro for you forever, hermano.

Yo la tengo,
Fris

[Wiffle Me Elmo]

It's an astonishing ending isn't it? Astonishing. In fact, it transcends baseball.

Thank you, Mr. Epstein, and good luck.

[hair and cheese]

I'd always hoped Theo would become Red Auerbach-like. I saw him leading the Sox to another World Series once the oraginzation was completely full of players signed on his watch. I thought the organization would be in very good hands for a long, long time.

Theo was the ultimate GM for the Red Sox. His strength was knowing the fanbase. He knew all about the history of the franchise and the media. He knew what kind of player could suceed in Boston. He found them.

He made a ton of bold moves. My favorite would have to be Turkey day at Curts. Says all you need to know about him. He knew we needed an ace to pitch with Pedro and didnt stop til he had a certified Yankee killer. Great move.

Second, taking a chance on the Big Papi. Post season stud, thrives in Boston.

Third greatest move. Probably the most difficult, trading Nomar. It didnt seem that way at the time, but that trade contributed to the World Series in a major way.

Thank you Theo. There isnt anyone who can say they were more responsible for 2004 than you were.

[PaulinMyrBch]

Thank you Theo.

I've lived the better part of your 3 year tenure with a "In Theo I Trust" motto. Don't know exactly when you had my blind faith, but I'm sure you've had it for at least 12 months, probably more.

The only feeling I have right now is I know you made the best choice for you. But I root for the Red Sox, they're my team. With all due respect, I don't have a rooting interest in the parts of your life that don't revolve around making my following the Red Sox more enjoyable, and now I have to learn to walk with someone else running the show. For that I'm mad. But I respect the workload you're leaving, and I understand working 100 hours a week through your 30's is no way to go through life.

I wish you good luck. Please wish us the same.

[Paradigm]

I was going to say that I felt Theo might have been a more important part of the 2004 club than some of the players, but that's an overstatement.

All I can say -- and I'm not the type to get emotional on SoSH -- is that I'm 21 and outside of my family and close relationships, I look up to Theo Epstein. I looked up to him as he began to emerge during the 2003 season which was my return to hysterical fandom after pretty much slugging through 2001 and 2002. Theo is articulate, poised, passionate and adept, all attributes that anybody can only hope to posess.

And after today's resignation, my gut instinct tells me that Theo did it out of principle, and just when you think he can't soar any higher, he does.

Thanks, Theo Epstein. I feel proud to be a fan and proud to write this. I wish you could read it, and know that some of us don't harbor ill will. Thank you.

[redsox1918]

Thanks Theo! Rick has arranged for your letters of transit.

[sfip]

I don't know what to believe right now, except this:

Thank you, Theo! Without you, we're still hearing chants of, "1918!" <clap-clap, clap-clap-clap>

[Maalox]

Thanks Theo! Rick has arranged for your letters of transit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was very funny.

Thanks for winning one, Theo.

[AlNipper49]

Why the hell are you guys thanking Theo Epstein on a goddamned message board? If you want to thank him why don't you write him a letter or something?

[Harry Hooper]

Thanks, Theo, for all your efforts for the Red Sox and the fandom.


I hope that someday you'll be able to go to dinner in this town without an Inside Track item showing up the next day.

[AmyintheSouth]

As someone who is studying Sport Management and would do just about anything to get a job in baseball, Theo was someone I looked up to. I envied him. I tried to model his professionalism and the way he carried himself.

It's also discouraging in terms of my future employment.  Do I even want to risk the chance of losing my love and passion for baseball by becoming an employee of the sport?  Tonight's events are certainly making me second guess my dream.

It hurts me to think that Larry Lucchino may have torn the 'baseball fan' out of Theo Epstein. I can only imagine the bitter taste he has in his mouth right now.

That's just about all I can say right now. My head hurts and I don't know what to think.

Theo, you did good. May you have success in whatever you choose to do in the future.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, this is pretty much how I'm feeling. I know I want to work in sports and I've always been aware on some level that taking on such a job might change how I feel about it, but this is one of the worst case scenarios. It's such a conflicting feeling.

I'm in a leadership class and we have to write case studies on leaders. My group is writing about Theo Epstein. At first I thought our project as ruined. But after reading Theo's statement, I know that's not the case. It takes a hell of a lot of leadership skill to know when you can no longer lead and keep your integrity.

Thanks for everything.

[Comfortably Lomb]

Theo, you were the wind beneath my wings.

[InstantKarmma]

Thanks Theo, and best of luck.

[PaulinMyrBch]

Why the hell are you guys thanking Theo Epstein on a goddamned message board?  If you want to thank him why don't you write him a letter or something?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Come on Nip, you know the formula.

Heartfelt threads turn into folklore, folklore turns into books, books credit sources, sources are board names, board names are actually real people, real people like to brag to nobody's, and nobody's aren't smart enough to recogize "look at me" stunts.

It's your basic flow chart.

[Let it Flo]

What can I say? I wish it didn't have to come to this, but it did. Thanks, Theo. You've helped give us something invaluable, and you've earned every right to leave. I'm just sorry you decided to.

[I12XU]

Unbelievable. Hats off to you, cajones.

[JenInMA]

Since others have expressed their heartfelt sentiments just as well as I could, I will just say, I'd still do you Theo.

[The Last DiMaggio]

I'm sad, angry and jealous all at once. I hope this turns out right for Theo.

[Remagellan]

God bless you, Theo, for your part in making last year's miracle possible, and for three of the most exciting years I've ever enjoyed as a Red Sox fan. May success follow you in whatever you choose to do next...unless it's another job in baseball, in which case, as the late, great Wellington Mara wrote to Bill Parcells when he became the head coach of the Cowboys, "I wish you success...to a point."