"This is like celebrating the return of stolen money."
-- 1.19.06, Bob Lobel, CBS-4 Sports Director

Shaughnessy: Questions Still Linger

"Unfortunately, there wasn't much honor or glory in Theo's comportment after he left Fenway in that gorilla suit Oct. 31. Rather, he undermined the credibility of the entire Boston front office by straddling the fence regarding his place in the organization. He repeatedly refused offers to return, but would not rule out coming back. He revealed himself to be every bit the cutthroat politician Lucchino is. He's been at best, immature and at worst, duplicitous."

"Like a character from Camelot, Theo remained forever young, forever brilliant, forever the man who brought a championship to Boston. And as long as he operated in the shadows, or allowed us to believe he was still involved, he couldn't lose. This dynamic made Theo less than popular with some of his hard-working friends in baseball operations." -- 1.20.06, Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe

Snow: Theo's Issues,
John Henry's Comments

"Principal owner John W. Henry, in an interview with the Globe Thursday prior to the team's formal announcement, said Epstein was ''not going to come back in a higher position" than he held before. That would seem to suggest that none of president/CEO Larry Lucchino's power would be usurped in the process of Epstein's reemergence."

"A team source close to those negotiations revealed in early November that just before resigning, Epstein examined several issues, foremost among them whether his trust in Lucchino was well placed. There also appeared to exist a divide in philosophies -- Epstein's desire to somewhat retool the club around pitching and defense and younger players even if public scrutiny was harsh, juxtaposed against upper management/ownership's apparent resolve to spend on older, established players." -- 1.20.06, Chris Snow, Boston Globe