The Red Sox should offer the job to Brookline native Theo Epstein.
This is not as stupid as it sounds. Think about it for a moment. There was a lot of emotion involved in young Theo's decision last week. He never really told us why he's not coming back, but he did say he could no longer put his heart and soul into the business of running the Red Sox.
Bet he's having second thoughts about that decision right about now. Bet he'd listen if the Sox reached out.
One would presume that Messrs. Henry and Lucchino covered all these bases last week. There must have been some heated discussions on Yawkey Way in the hours after Theo submitted his resignation Monday -- before he delivered his closing remarks on Wednesday. No doubt all parties had their say.
So why not revisit the situation now? Everyone knows Theo is better-suited for the position than Jim Beattie, Jim Bowden, Ben Cherington, Peter Woodfork, Craig Shipley, Jed Hoyer, Dan Duquette, or Lou Gorman. Some of them are about tomorrow, others are about yesterday. Theo is about today and it's not too late to go back and get him.
Anybody out there ever break up with a girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, or wife? Any of you ever get back together a few days later? It happens all the time. It can be done. And every effort should be made in this case before the Red Sox spend any more time spinning their wheels talking to those who would be Theo's successor.
This is where Larry Lucchino needs to step up. Do what's best for the Red Sox. Go back to Theo and ask him if there's any way all parties could make this work again. The breakup was unnecessary and emotional, and too much damage was done. Theo has had a few days to think about it. He's only 31 years old and there was a lot of pressure on him leading up to his decision. Bet he'd listen now.
