Even Cherington labeled this development ''a little bit atypical."
Most atypical of all: Team president/CEO Larry Lucchino refused to address the duration of their contracts and left open the possibility that Epstein would return to the club, in a capacity to be determined.
While Lucchino dubbed it ''fair to say there have been some general discussions about Theo coming back," he also called it ''premature to discuss what role, if any, Theo could have.
''All we're saying is we'll keep the light on in the window, the door ajar, and if there's a fit, we'd like to see it happen."
Hoyer, who began working for the club as an intern the day the current ownership assumed control, was Epstein's closest confidant in his former role as assistant to the GM. He turned 32 last week, and as Hoyer pointed out yesterday, is ''22 days older than Theo."
He will handle major league issues, including player contracts, negotiations, and trades. Cherington, the 31-year-old former director of player development, will be charged with his area of expertise, minor league issues. Incidentally, it was Cherington, an eight-year veteran of the organization, who gave Hoyer his start in baseball, hiring him to that intern post.
They become the third- and fourth-youngest GMs in the game, behind Texas's Jon Daniels and Tampa Bay's Andrew Friedman, both 28.
''I think our view is, the areas are distinct enough, the responsibilities demanding enough, the particular circumstances challenging enough, that it made some sense to try to divide the job at this time," said Lucchino, who spoke for owner John W. Henry and chairman Tom Werner, neither of whom was present for yesterday's announcement at Fenway Park. ''It came down to the final decision, that there were people in-house the last four years who knew how we wanted to do it, what the philosophy was.
''We don't have to worry about radical changes. This is the arrangement we're going with for 2006. Will there be other changes or other additions? I think that's always possible."
