Saying Goodbye To Theo

Well, it's a bad day for Hire Me Theo; shocking just about everybody, Theo Epstein has resigned as general manager of the Red Sox, sending just about every baseball blogger into full-fledged apoplexy this morning. (Baseball Musings typically is the most sober and rational, pointing out how much better the official statement confirms reports that his exit was not about money, but about some sort of vague dissatisfaction ... a "quarter-life crisis," we think people call it.

Since he, you know, won a World Series for the Red Sox, it is easy to forget that Epstein is only 31 years old, single and not really sure what he's supposed to do with his life. Like, well, pretty much every single person we know. His three-year run as Red Sox GM was as whirlwind as any GM's tenure in baseball history in one of the most stressful media markets on the planet; that would wear out anyone, particularly someone who could legitimately make a radical change in their life and have plenty of time to do it. Theo Epstein could do anything he wanted in his life; he now has given himself that opportunity.

Personally, we wouldn't be surprised to see him hanging out at a String Cheese Incident show or something, explaining to us how the government is trying to bury the redemptive values of hemp. It would be difficult to say he hadn't earned the right to check out for a while.

Epstein Resigns From Red Sox [Baseball Musings] Official Epstein Statement [MLB.com] Hire Me Theo [Official Site]