Theo’s back????!!!!
- Thread starter SouthernBoSox
- Start date
Well, I don't click on Xitter, so I don't know the details. Is this just an investment? Will he and his family continue to live in Chicago? Is he moving back to Boston? So many questions, but it seems like exciting news, IF TRUE.
Nobody here is going to do your homework for you, click on the link or go somewhere else.
If it's not real, then Sportico went all out in its sham. The article has alleged quotes from Theo and Sam Kennedy.
Ownership stake in FSG. Not in a baseball capacity.
https://www.sportico.com/personalities/executives/2024/theo-epstein-returns-to-fenway-1234765152/#recipient_hashed=2d582c0e2fa90f1cdae81882ad268a69a12a037b7473a58255e6b47a79bc6392&recipient_salt=4a73d4f0edde147e8f68248adef673a0daad81cf5f46c7beefe7b2c83299b9aa
https://www.sportico.com/personalities/executives/2024/theo-epstein-returns-to-fenway-1234765152/#recipient_hashed=2d582c0e2fa90f1cdae81882ad268a69a12a037b7473a58255e6b47a79bc6392&recipient_salt=4a73d4f0edde147e8f68248adef673a0daad81cf5f46c7beefe7b2c83299b9aa
There's like a whiff of damage control but I agree, can't be a bad thing.
Though it does say that "Epstein will work on sports initiatives across the business' holdings, which include Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins, RFK Racing, TGL's Boston Common Golf, and a recently acquired stake in the PGA Tour, in addition to the Red Sox."
Hopefully he can convince Henry & Co. that spending more on quality players will make them more.
Love having him back with the Sox in any capacity at all, but I did like what he was doing with the MLB rule changes to improve the game. And I still dream that he will be commissioner someday soon.
I really just want him spending his time on making baseball better (in Boston or everywhere), not managing an investment portfolio.
I really just want him spending his time on making baseball better (in Boston or everywhere), not managing an investment portfolio.
This is the first bit of real hope for the team this offseason. I am desperately hoping he can have a real impact, because ownership seems to be focused on everything but on-field success at the current time.
Agree completely with this. Kinda bummed he’s not going to be working for MLB anymore.
Not so fast.
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On the baseball side, Epstein says he’ll act as a sounding board and executive coach, if needed, to the Red Sox baseball operations people. Notably, he hired Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow while at the Cubs. “I’m a full believer in him and what he and his team are going to mean for the Red Sox,” Epstein said of Breslow, who joined the Red Sox in October. “
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One of my biggest problems was that Breslow had no one above him that I trusted for him to lean on. That's over now. How this can be seen as anything but a huge positive is beyond me.
It's great to have Theo back in the fold. He's obviously passionate about baseball - and the Sox - in a way that transcends the bottom line of the ledger sheet, and I think you need someone like that in a team ownership group to help stir the drink, so to speak.
That he has at least some sort of advisory nexus to baseball ops is a good thing too. This feels like the type of leadership at the top that the club has needed. Let's roll.
That he has at least some sort of advisory nexus to baseball ops is a good thing too. This feels like the type of leadership at the top that the club has needed. Let's roll.
I'm curious as to what specific conversations might have been made regarding the baseball operations. Theo's a baseball guy, is very much tied to this ownerships early success and it seems logical that he would have questions prior to investing.
That the Red Sox are going to be a last place team with declining ticket sales and TV viewership.
That’s fine, it can’t be a bad thing for him to be around the franchise more. And if Breslow wants to bend his ear then all the better.
Just saying that he’s not going to be some phantom GM
I'm with you two. The pitch clock worked better than anyone could have hoped. I was hoping to see if he could do anything with the rules to get more balls in play. Maybe there are some other good people he was working with who can continue the efforts there.
The thing about this too.
Craig Breslow is not going to be able to get John Henry to spend on someone.
He has to be convinced.
Theo can convince Henry if he feels it’s the right thing to do.
Our prodigal son is now a part owner and our Ops will have direct access? And people are tepid?
This is the best news we’ve had in years.
The only thing I found didn't answer my questions:
https://wgntv.com/sports/report-theo-epstein-returning-to-boston-as-part-owner/
To say it another way, this is exactly the type of move ownership would NOT make if it wanted to milk Fenway to support their other projects and I cannot imagine Theo would join if the plan was anything other than putting a competitive team on the field.
It would be easy to find a silent investor. Theo is anything but that and I am very encouraged by this move.
For non-Red Sox interests, maybe Theo can be the embedded Bostonian who gets like a dozen PGA tour events to the area every year.
This is great news, especially since he hired Breslow in Chicago...
What a ride Theo's been on. Went from being perpetually announced as 28 year old GM for Boston to part-owner of the Sox (yeah technically FSG) and probable HOF-Inductee.
That was my thinking as well. My body is not equipped for this offseason's emotional rollercoaster.
Yes. Theo Epstein is not providing a capital injection. He is providing expertise.
Given his expertise is MLB, it would be foolish to assume anything other than he will be involved with the Red Sox in a significant way.
Good. We don't need one. It's more like Theo having Lucchino to bounce baseball stuff off of back in the day. There was absolutely no one with baseball savvy above Breslow until now. I think that's huge. Never mind that the success of the Red Sox will always be a Theo priority, especially with an ownership stake.
This is excellent news. Think of it this way - how would people feel if this exact announcement were made, but instead Theo had the same title, same role and same quotes, but he was part owner of Guggenheim Partners (entity that owns the Dodgers).
I liked the Breslow hiring for many reasons (incredibly intelligent, but also a former player that should be able to balance the complexities of analytics with the nuance of baseball) but the main reason why I liked him specifically was the tie to the Theo tree (why I was also interested in Byrnes, Hazen, etc).
Having him around the organization in any capacity - even if that is literally as nothing more than Breslow being able to call him any time and ask for input on specific players and circumstances because Theo is now back under the FSG umbrella - is an excellent thing.
I think we can also put aside the "are they going to sell any time soon" debate. Clearly, they're not.
This is easily the best news the organization has had since October of 2018.
Also, it's got to be nice for Henry to be able to pass the family business along to his "fourth" child (I believe he has three). I mean that seriously as well. They used to talk about not being the "owners" of the Red Sox but the "stewards" of the organization, this is the kind of move that I think actually lends credence to that. Rather than just sell, you pass the family business along to the most prepared successor - plus, he so much better looks the part than the Steinbrenner kids.
I liked the Breslow hiring for many reasons (incredibly intelligent, but also a former player that should be able to balance the complexities of analytics with the nuance of baseball) but the main reason why I liked him specifically was the tie to the Theo tree (why I was also interested in Byrnes, Hazen, etc).
Having him around the organization in any capacity - even if that is literally as nothing more than Breslow being able to call him any time and ask for input on specific players and circumstances because Theo is now back under the FSG umbrella - is an excellent thing.
I think we can also put aside the "are they going to sell any time soon" debate. Clearly, they're not.
This is easily the best news the organization has had since October of 2018.
Also, it's got to be nice for Henry to be able to pass the family business along to his "fourth" child (I believe he has three). I mean that seriously as well. They used to talk about not being the "owners" of the Red Sox but the "stewards" of the organization, this is the kind of move that I think actually lends credence to that. Rather than just sell, you pass the family business along to the most prepared successor - plus, he so much better looks the part than the Steinbrenner kids.
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Theo and Breslow having an existing relationship only adds fuel to this.
Theo is gonna be involved. He’s a baseball administrator. Maybe the best one ever.
He was just essentially given equity for his brain. His brain knows baseball.
He also understands Boston fans and the local media. I hope/expect that he becomes the public face of ownership, which would be a very good thing.
I imagine FSG also knows their approval rating is kinda in the shitter right now and Epstein is trusted and adored by a lot of fans. This can only be a win-win.
I was thinking exactly this. Hopefully it will be like Lucchino but without the drama. Theo has the advantage of having been on the other side of the fence to not create that sort of dynamic.
Just to game this out a little further. When you own a company you only part with equity for one of two reasons. 1) Capital injection needed for growth and/or operations OR professional talent.
Obviously this is the latter of the two. Anyone who doesn’t think Theo is going to be intimately involved in Op decision making doesn’t understand you don’t just part with equity for the hell of it.
Craig just got the best, most influential, advisor maybe in the history of the organization
Obviously this is the latter of the two. Anyone who doesn’t think Theo is going to be intimately involved in Op decision making doesn’t understand you don’t just part with equity for the hell of it.
Craig just got the best, most influential, advisor maybe in the history of the organization
