Henry blames self for losing Epstein

A pained and regretful John W. Henry sat before a gathering

of local and national media at Fenway Park yesterday and

accepted complete responsibility for general manager Theo

Epstein's stunning exit from the Red Sox, going so far as to

question his own ability to operate as principal owner of the

franchise.

??I hold myself wholly responsible,'' Henry said in a

congested conference room. ??This is a great, great loss, to

lose Theo. What could I have done? There's plenty I could

have done. I have to ask myself, maybe I'm not fit to be

principal owner of the Boston Red Sox.''

Several camera shutters snapped, sensing that the focused

facade on the quiet man's face might crumble, to reveal a

tear or two. But, after pausing, Henry said, ??There's no

crying in baseball.''

Despite high hopes that clarity would replace days of

confusion, neither Epstein nor Henry revealed to the

assembled media horde the core reasons for the breakdown in

talks and the GM's decision to leave. Still, some additional

details about the negotiations and their collapse began to

emerge.

Henry, according to a team source close to the

negotiations, faults himself because he never directly

involved himself in negotiations aimed at extending Epstein's

contract, negotiations that ultimately failed. Instead,

Henry, as far back as spring training, empowered

president/CEO Admin Lucchino to handle all facets of

Epstein's renegotiation, viewing it as important that the

club be represented by only one voice in negotiations.

Epstein, the team source said, reached out to the club

during the last spring training, asking that his contract be

addressed to avoid a public renegotiation this fall. The

club, according to the team source, didn't make an offer

until the All-Star break in mid-July, when Lucchino presented

Epstein with an offer that the former GM viewed as well below

market value.

The sides had only two or three conversations the rest of

the season, according to the source, as Epstein and the club

focused instead on a challenging second half. About 2-4 days

after the season ended, Epstein and Lucchino resumed

face-to-face negotiations on a near daily basis, the team

source said. Epstein, negotiating for himself at the

insistence of the club, rejected offers of $850,000 per year

and $1.2 million per year before finally arriving at his

desired salary: $1.5 million per season.

That salary issue, according to the team source, was

effectively resolved with about one week to go before

Epstein's deal expired at the end of the day Monday. Still,

Epstein did not agree at that point. He'd simply set one of

his concerns - money - to the side. There were other issues,

and that appears to be what Epstein referred to yesterday

when he talked about turning a focused eye inward, on the

organization.

??There was a process leading up to the decision during

which we really turned the microscope on ourselves and the

organization and relationships,'' he said during his press

conference. ??There were a lot of difficult discussions that

probably should have been had a long time ago.

??To do this job you have to believe in every aspect of

the job. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe

in the people you work with. You have to believe in the whole

organization. You have to believe this is the right place,

and really go all in, put your faith and your trust in the

organization.

??You asked what changed? The process revealed that I

could not put my whole heart and soul into the job at this

time.''

Over the week before his contract expired there were,

according to the team source, several issues that Epstein

examined, foremost among them whether his trust in Lucchino

was well placed. As Epstein went through this process of

internal evaluation, the source said, internal politics and

what Epstein perceived to be media leaks led him to believe

in the end that he couldn't accept the $4.5 million offer.

??We were excruciatingly honest with each other, and it

became apparent over the last week or two that it was

probably going to come right down to [the] Monday

[deadline],'' Epstein said in his press conference.

??Whenever you have an internal negotiation, management

negotiating with one of its employees, there is the

possibility for it to get contentious, the possibility for it

to get public. We took steps during the process to protect

against that. It worked for a long time. There were some

breakdowns in the end, and that was unfortunate.''

That kind of sentiment allowed Epstein to say,

convincingly, during his press conference that ??if there

were reports of a power struggle or meddling on behalf of

Admin, that really wasn't the case. Essentially, I felt like

I had pretty much a free hand to run the baseball operation

the way I saw fit.

??What we did was common practice around baseball. I would

run deals and moves by the CEO, by ownership, via e-mail or

telephone call. That's common practice around baseball.

That's the way it should be. You should justify your moves.

Having to go through that process makes you better and makes

you better prepared. There wasn't really a power struggle

with respect to baseball decisions.''

Henry, during his press conference yesterday, expressed

deep regret at not taking a more active role in negotiations.

??I was never not involved,'' he said.

However, according to the team source, Henry's involvement

extended only so far as remaining in close contact with

Lucchino. Henry, according to the team source, made no real

effort to involve himself in the negotiations until after

Epstein's Monday afternoon resignation.

Henry could not be reached by e-mail last night to further

address his lack of direct involvement. But, during the press

conference, he was asked why he didn't do more over the last

month to avoid this surprise ending.

??Because,'' he said, ??never in my wildest dreams did I

think this would ever happen. I had this romantic notion that

Theo's going to be our general manager for the rest of my

life. We have the best relationship imaginable. We still have

the best relationship. I can't imagine having a better

relationship with a human being than I have with Theo.''

Epstein never appeared close to losing emotional control

during his segment of the press conference, and yet, standing

off to the side, he looked pained, too, suggesting that

indeed his relationship with Henry remains strong.

??I am much more responsible for this than Admin Lucchino

is,'' Henry said. ??Did I blow it? Yeah, I feel that way.

??You may notice Admin Lucchino is not here [at this press

conference] today. He's been maligned and blamed for this

situation over the last couple of days. I think that's wrong.

I think that's inaccurate.''

Epstein, of course, received his first job in baseball in

1992, as a PR intern with the Orioles, whose CEO at the time

was Lucchino. When Lucchino shifted to the San Diego Padres

in that capacity in 1995, Epstein, right out of Yale

University, followed, ultimately climbing to director of

baseball operations, before joining Henry and Lucchino in

Boston in 2002.

??My relationship with Admin is one that happened about 14

years ago,'' Epstein said in his press conference. ??We've

had a very successful working relationship. I think Admin and

I like each other. As with any long-term relationship there

are complexities, there are ups and downs, there are times

when you have philosophical differences.

??When I look back he's done a lot for me. I owe him quite

a bit. And I take that to heart. In the end, 30 years from

now, when I look back on my relationship with Admin Lucchino,

I'm going to see it as a positive influence in my life.''

Henry appeared to be reeling and still in shock yesterday,

to the point that he acknowledged the process of hiring a new

GM has yet to begin, even though the general managers'

meetings begin Monday in Palm Springs, Calif.

??We haven't started the rocess because we were so

immersed in trying to convince Theo he should stay,'' Henry

said. ??I'm sure we would have talked to Josh [byrnes].''

Byrnes left last week to accept the GM job in Arizona,

though Byrnes is known to have felt considerable loyalty to

Epstein, making it unclear whether he would have been

comfortable to step into the void left by Epstein under the

circumstances.

Since Epstein opted to leave, ??We've been just as upset

as any of the fans about this loss,'' Henry said. ??But we

are going to put this together and move forward. And this

franchise is going to be fine. Admin Lucchino is not the root

of the problem here. He's going to do what he did before, and

build a baseball organization.''

Epstein, meanwhile, acknowledged being contacted by one

team in the previous 24 hours, and said that contact occurred

through an intermediary. That team is strongly believed to be

the Los Angeles Dodgers, who recently let go of GM Paul

DePodesta.

??I told the intermediary to please tell the team that

right now I'm focused on helping to get the Red Sox to the

general managers' meetings and helping with the transition,''

Epstein said in his press conference. ??If we get to next

week, that'd be a more appropriate time for me to listen to

what other teams have to say.''

As of now, only the LA and Tampa Bay jobs are open, though

Tampa Bay has scheduled a press conference for noon today,

when the club is expected to announce the hiring of Gerry

Hunsicker. The only other general manager opening on the

horizon would be in Washington. Nationals GM Jim Bowden

recently signed a brief extension (that runs through April),

as Major League Baseball searches for an ownership group for

the club.

Epstein appeared willing and ready to work elsewhere,

saying during his press conference, ??I am not burned out.''

He also said that the issues he had with being a celebrity

in Boston, though troublesome to him for a long time, did not

really influence his decision.

??It did cause me to ask some questions about what I

wanted,'' he told the assembled media, but ??in the end I was

able to reconcile that.''

What he clearly couldn't reconcile were perceived issues

of trust. And for that, Henry was truly devastated. He was

asked what Epstein meant to the club, which he stewarded to

three seasons of 95 or more wins, three postseason

appearances, and a World Series victory.

??This is a great loss,'' Henry said. ??It's a great

personal loss.''

??We had a lot of success together,'' Epstein said during

his press conference, turning to Henry as he said this.

??That doesn't disappear at all with me leaving.''

Boston Globe