Maybe not quite yet. It's safe to say the Red Sox have some problems that even the mighty Theo will struggle to fix before pitchers and catchers report to training camp in a month.
The biggest problem the Sox face right now is sorting out the front office. When Epstein turned down the Sox' three-year, $4.5 million offer in October, they hired two general managers to replace him. Co-GMs aren't unheard of, but their success is a more dubious story. The Yankees employed a duo from 1980-1983, and saw winning records and a World Series appearance. The Phillies, on the other hand, experimented with two GMs in the mid-1980s with poor results that reverberated for a decade. Most recently, Baltimore failed to break .500 in all three seasons under its co-GMs.
The Red Sox have not yet announced what Epstein's exact position in the organization will be, but it is expected he will become part of a three-man team with present GMs Ben Cherrington and Jed Hoyer. Since his return has always been a possibility, Cherrington was wise to make a statement when he was first hired that he would be happy to work with Epstein if he came back. But even if Cherrington and Hoyer are willing to work alongside Epstein, employing three GMs seems like a bad business decision. As the saying goes, you can't get anything done with too many cooks in the kitchen.
Since Epstein left, rumors have been circulating that he was making phone calls on behalf of the team. Now that he's back, it's fairly obvious he will be making the big decisions, even if his title suggests he's part of a management team. But will three GMs be able to get anything done? I don't know the inner workings of a professional baseball team front office, but I expect they'll need a foreman, and Cherrington and Hoyer will probably lose that position to the owner-favored Epstein. Call it the anti-democratization of a baseball team.
Even if Epstein's return does usher in some important trades, will it be enough to buoy a sinking ship? With the Yankees winning the bidding war over Damon, there is a huge hole in the offense that will be hard to fill. Luckily, if the past is any indication, Epstein, et al., will find a savvy replacement.
With Renteria, Mueller and Millar all gone, Red Sox Nation will have to be ready for some new faces at Fenway. Manny and David Wells are both eager to skip town. Little remains of the Red Sox team that bedazzled the nation on its way to winning the World Series two years ago. With Epstein's departure, the team's collapse looked imminent. With his return, our hopes are resurrected. Let's just hope that those other GMs don't get in the way of another title.
