Red Sox Blowback

Here's what we've learned this week: people don't want to work for the Red Sox.

Three people, in three different parts of the organization, left or declined to come here: Dale Sveum, Jonathan Papelbon, and Heidi Watney. Yes, I think it's fair to include Heidi, because she had, by far, the best rationale for leaving. She had the opportunity to be at courtside for the Lakers, and for anyone with broadcast (or even acting?) ambitions, there's probably no better gig. The "right people" are watching you.

Papelbon wanted more years (and probably more money) than the Sox were willing to give. OK, that happens, but it looks like he didn't make much effort to stay. If he had stayed here, he could (in theory, anyway) have built a legacy that would get him compared to Mariano Rivera, King of Closers. Maybe it was fan pressure, or just a need for a change, but he wanted out.

Sveum most likely believes that he can win a World Series with the Cubs. Unless they've told him they intend to sign Albert Pujols, I think he's facing a long climb -- a climb that Theo Epstein can wait out, but a manager probably can't. Red Sox manager is a more prestigious job than Cubs manager. Replacing Tony La Russa in St. Louis would have been more prestigious. The top tier of management jobs are the Yankees, Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers (still), and maybe the Giants and now Rangers. Everybody else is way back of that pack. Granted, Sveum was never formally offered the Sox job, but it looks like he had the inside track. He must interview well.

I think we need to worry about this; three is a trend. And I think it all goes back to the infamous Bob Hohler piece in the Globe. The Sox, famous for trashing people when they leave town, finally overreached.

Bill Simmons, writing on Grantland on October 14, was the first to point this out.

What worries me going forward: I can't imagine why any marquee free agent would want to sign with this franchise, run it, or manage it when the whole "We will SHANK YOU if this doesn't work out" message has been clearly established by the owners. Would you want to work for these guys? Only if they grossly overpaid you, right? (Carl Crawford is nodding grimly right now.) I can't believe I'm hoping the three guys who saved Fenway Park and brought us two titles will sell … but shit, I actually want them to sell at this point. It's like having your team owned by the Judge, the creepy old guy who sits in the dark in The Natural, only if you multiplied him by three, made him media-savvy and gave him a house organ (in this case, the Boston Globe) to print anything he wants. Enough is enough. Sell. Nobody trusts you any more.

"Sell" is going too far for me. But the PR geniuses better start doing some PR for themselves.

All this said, Papelbon has not been trashed. Heidi Watney has not been trashed. Maybe they've learned their lesson, or maybe this is Ben Cherington's influence. Either way, for now I'll choose to be -- well, not quite optimistic. Cautiously optimistic maybe; the history is long, and even predates the current owners.