Oh, and in case you missed it, Theo Epstein also told Lucchino he did not want to be general manager of the Red Sox.
Reached at the owners' meetings in Milwaukee yesterday (cartel rules don't require Larry to return our calls, but he generally makes himself available), Lucchino addressed the GM search -- and a few other issues that have made him a New England dartboard on par with Haywood Sullivan after Sully forgot to mail Carlton Fisk's contract.
Lucchino started by saying, ''We're not going to have any further comments on Theo," which reminded me a little of Mark McGwire sitting in front of Congress and telling us he didn't want to talk about the past. Pushing the point, I asked if someone representing ownership could categorically state the book is closed on Theo and the Sox.
''I'm not going to have any further comment," he said. ''I'm sorry. I think the statement we released speaks for itself . . . I believe Tom [Werner] said it's time to turn the page on that."
An e-mail asking the same question of John Henry, who stayed behind at his Florida home during the meetings, was returned with a polite ''no comment."
So the Sox aren't saying yes or no on the Theo rumor that won't go away.
Meanwhile, there is the ball club's public relations nightmare of the last two weeks and the perception of chaos at the top during a critical time in the calendar. The Red Sox are the only team in the majors without a general manager. They obviously waited too long to negotiate with Theo and now they look like George McGovern trying to find a running mate in 1972.
This is the first time the current ownership group has been blasted in Boston. Now they know a little about how Bob Kraft felt after he alienated Bill Parcells, got too involved, and suffered through the Pete Carroll era. At least Kraft had a large faction of the fandom on his side. Lucchino is an alliance of one. Everyone in Sox Nation wanted Theo to stay. On this topic there was no ''other side."
