The Saga Ends: Theo's Back, And Everything Old Is Old Again

On Halloween Day, 2005, Theo Epstein walked away from the Boston Red Sox under the cover of a gorilla suit. Soon after that, he was back in an 'advisory' role to the front office, and was thought to be making major decisions. Now, it's official. Three months after Theo Epstein walked away from the Boston Red Sox, he's back as General Manager.

This is fantastic, and by fantastic I mean not really fantastic at all. I'm not sure Theo brings anything to the table that Hoyer and Cherington don't. Sure he won a World Series, but he also ditched Orlando Cabrera for Edgar Renteria and gave away Dave Roberts for Jay Payton, who six months later was cast away with the Sox receiving nothing in return. I could go on. In any case, even if he's better than the current cast, it's not by a lot.

Second, this whole situation has been a distraction to the Sox all off-season, and may have slowed down their efforts to resign their free agents, and pursue new talent through the free agent wire and trades. It's great that Larry and Theo worked out their father-son dispute, but did it really have to be such a distraction? In any case, best of luck to all of them. Go Sox!

A few other comments:

• The Alex Gonzales signing is a good move. I don't feel comfortable with Alex Cora in the starting lineup, and Dustin Pedroia could use some more time in the minors. Gonzales plays good D, and will be a decent hitter in the 8th or 9th spot.

• I wish they'd hold on to Andy Marte, but if they can finalize a trade for Coco Crisp, that will be a huge improvement to the Major League roster. Coco plays a value position (CF), is a switch-hitter (a rare commodity), and will turn 27 year this year, so his best years are ahead of him. He hit 40 doubles in Cleveland last year, and could easily add 10-15 to that total teeing off against the Green Monster. Plus, it will be fun to have a guy named Coco Crisp on the team. Best name in baseball. He sounds like the star of a 1970s Blaxploitation film.

• If the Sox include Guillermo Mota in the Marte-Crisp swap, they'll regret it. With Foulke's status up in the air, they need all the bullpen arms they can get. Trading Mota would leave Timlin, who could collapse at any second, and young Craig Hansen at the back of the bullpen.

• Nobody seems to want Matt Clement, so does anyone have any idea what Boston is planning to do with the 14 Starting Pitchers on their roster?

Can you believe that it's less than a month until Pitchers and Catchers report?

Note: The Man in the Gorilla Suit Pictured Above is Not Actually Theo Epstein.