Thanks for the Memories, Theo

If Bostonist could paraphrase the infamous words of Colonel Jesop in the movie A Few Good Men, "You weakened Red Sox Nation today Larry Lucchino, that's all you did."

Theo is gone, and the Boston Red Sox are without a General Manager.

In what will go down in history as one of the supreme boffo manuevers in the Boston Red Sox checkered history became "official-official today" when Theo Epstein held his farewell press conference with the Boston media this afternoon at 1pm at Fenway Park.

Most Red Sox faithful were secretly hoping that Theo Epstein would pull a "Hulk Hogan joining the NWO" moment from World Championship Wrestling in the late '90s. On the podium, Bostonist half-expected Theo would change his mind and announce to the press in attendance that he had "come to his senses", and the past four days was part of some elaborate practical joke. Maybe Theo would even go back stage and drag out Larry Lucchino and give him a quick headlock and noogie on live television, just to show that everyone was friends again.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

This afternoon, Theo announced a bunch of stuff Bostonist already knew. Theo was gone. And he wasn't coming back. The 3-year stint of the youngest GM in baseball history had come to an end. Kaput. That’s a Wrap. Smell ya later.

Its shocking, and Bostonist, along with Sox faithful are reeling. There are a lot of questions to be answered, and the Sox are without a #1 baseball man AND even a #2 (the Sox let the Assistant GM Josh Byrnes run off to Arizona Diamondbacks to play GM there before Theo was signed… woops!).

The Red Sox are without a GM during one of the more critical times in the baseball "season", where teams begin free agent and trade negotiations with other teams, and most importantly, in the Red Sox case, their own players. For the Sox, key members of the 2005 team and 2004 World Series team who are now free agents include Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller, and Kevin Millar, not to mention the mess with Manny Ramirez reportedly wanting out of town.

So what’s next for Theo?

He might end up as the GM for the Los Angeles Dodgers or another MLB team, or he could be kicking it with Pearl Jam through their South American tour over the next year, Bostonist doesn't know. But Bostonist does thank you, Theo. The elation, the experience, the comeback... The 2004 campaign is something Bostonist will not forget anytime soon. The ride was reward enough. Bostonist wishes you better than the best in your future endeavors. You will be missed.

Contributed by Benjamin June

Photo courtesy of ESPN