Halloween Extra Scary in Red Sox Nation

Well, Theo Eptein announced today that he would not re-sign as the Sox General Manager.

Prodded by Allan Wood's take on the matter, (Allan blames Larry Lucchino for giving too much info to the Globe) I would also like to blame Dan Shaughnessy whose stupid article used Lucky's bullcrap.

Let's take a look:

Larry taught Theo too well and now he is looking in the mirror as he tries to hammer out a deal with the GM he made in his own image. Both are merely doing what they are trained to do. In Theo's case, he's doing what Larry trained him to do.

What is alarming -- for the future of the Sox franchise -- is Theo's sudden need to distance himself from those who helped him rise to his position of power....

Okay, so Theo is Greedy and power hungry. Larry Lucchino has created a monster. Here's some more:

Let's start with Theo being a ''baseball guy" while Larry is a lawyer with a lofty title (CEO). Granted, Epstein is a student of the game, but it's a mistake to say he knows more about baseball than Lucchino or anyone else in the Red Sox baseball operation. Theo is 31 years old and did not play baseball past high school. He spent four years at Yale and three years at law school. That hardly leaves time for much more than rotisserie league scouting. He can read the data and has a horde of trusty, like-minded minions, but we're not talking about a lifetime of beating the bushes and scouting prospects.

Okay, so Theo is unqualified and yet doesn't seem to know his place...Below Lucchino. Also, he surrounds himself with "yes men," for what reason, Shaughnessy does not explain.

It was charged last week that Sox management conducted a ''smear campaign" against Epstein. How? Where's the campaign? It was correctly reported that Theo turned down a three-year deal at $1.2 million per year. That's a smear campaign?

Hmmmmmm...Could maybe this be it Dan?

There have been no quotes from Sox management on the negotiations.

And why should they, when you do the negative press for them?

The real kicker to this article, is that it was written in full expectations that Theo would be on TV today to announce his re-signing with the Sox.

The news conference should be at Fenway tomorrow afternoon. Halloween. No tricks. No boos. Look for the traditional handshake and jack-o-lantern smiles from Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino. They'll say they look forward to many more years working together to bring championship baseball to Boston.

It's too bad it went this far. Too bad it took this long. Theo's old contract expires at midnight tomorrow, and there were a few hours last week when it felt like he might actually leave the Sox.

Oops! I mean geez, why would Theo even think about leaving the Sox. Look at all the respect he gets...