Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Over the past 10 years, the Boston Red Sox gave the impression of being somewhere between a well-run and model franchise. They were owned by people who cared about winning, tradition, the fans, and making a buck. Rather than wade into the “We need a new stadium… now!” waters, they looked at the situation, concluded that it wouldn’t get done and proceeded to renovate the living bejeezus out of Fenway Park to the delight of their fans and gobs of profit for themselves. See, I don’t mind team owners making a profit – even an obscene one – so long as they reinvest in the team, try to win, and don’t treat the fans like complete rubes. Keep that in mind because it’ll be important later.

Hope everyone enjoyed that decade of competency because all signs point to it being over. In the past week, the Sox have lost the manager and GM who helped the franchise get off an 86-year World Series schnide and then followed it up with another trophy three years later. Instead of shaking hands, smiling big for the camera and wishing them well, the organization has by all appearances shown them the door and then pushed them off the curb in front of a speeding cement truck. Allegations of painkiller abuse, airing the manager’s personal business, splitting hairs about whom was more responsible than whom when it came to certain personnel moves. It’s getting ugly enough around here that Yankees fans are placing calls to sports radio shows saying “Hey, maybe we collapsed in the playoffs, but at least we’re not the Red Sox”… and there’s no comeback for it.

Personally, I’ll miss Francona more than Epstein and it’s a mixture of business and personal. But let’s be clear – without both of those guys, the Sox don’t win in 2004, period. Theo shipped a local hero out of town for 60 cents on the dollar to get defensive help and cleanse the clubhouse – a move 19 out of 20 executives would never make. Had the Sox not hired Francona, Schilling probably doesn’t sign and there wasn’t enough pitching to get to the playoffs let alone the Series. But if I had to choose, I’d have rather seen Tito stick around and said good-bye to Theo every day and twice on Sunday. Francona managed the last 3 seasons knowing that one of the owners wanted him gone, dealt with Manny for how many years, dealt with all the crap from this year’s collapse, knew he wasn’t coming back, and yet was still gracious enough on the way out to continue taking bullets for his players, his GM, and the owners. Even after all these leaks regarding him, not a peep because he won’t get down and crawl in the mud with them. That’s class folks, and it’s sorely missing in this day and age.

Theo… It almost seemed like there was two guys at work. “Good Theo” was drafting and developing talent, building a fantastic farm system for the future. “Bad Theo” was out there signing horrendous free agent details and damn near driving “Good Theo” to drink. For every decent signing, it seemed there was another that was just plain bad before the ink even dried. I won’t even get into Carl Crawford because it’s one year and even Ted Williams had a bad year – besides, they’re stuck with him, so let’s hope he reverts back to form. John Lackey? That fish began stinking immediately. Too much money, too many years, and all for a guy who was never truly a top pitcher anyways. Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke were great. JD Drew? Bobby Jenks? Yikes.

Epstein always seemed to get a little too cute for his own good – and nowhere is this more evident than the revolving door that’s been shortstop over the last seven years. Instead of signing the guy who helped them win the World Series – a player who not only excelled but raised his game in the playoffs on the biggest stage imaginable – he went and signed the guy who was the last out for the opposing team. Sure, Edgar Renteria looked better on paper, but he never had the pressure he’d have in Boston while playing under a big contract – that worked out well, huh? How about Julio Lugo, who was sucked so badly with the Sox that they paid his entire salary to play an entire year for another team? Most recently, it’s been the Scutaro/Lowrie pupu platter, which is only an improvement in the sense that a 1993 Ford Festiva is an upgrade over a 1989 Ford Tempo.

Mostly what I’ll miss is the sense that the franchise was in good hands. Not only have these guys managed to piss off two of the biggest reasons why they’d won two championships and their investment was essentially a very large cash machine, but they’ve done it in such a way that diminishes the intelligence of the fans. Everyone knows that Theo and Tito had faults, but they also got the job done where dozens of others had failed. The owners played a big part in that by spending the money, increasing revenue to keep up with the Yankees, and improving the fan experience. For whatever reason, they’ve apparently come to the conclusion that all that goodwill is worthless and are now treating the fans like complete rubes. Tito was on drugs! What a load.

At the end of the day, the Sox are heading into a long, dark tunnel right now and no one is sure where the light comes in. Writers are turning on the team, the owners are turning on their employees, and the only thing expanding faster than the waistlines of certain players is the indignity of the fans. Everything has gone wrong, everyone is on the trading block, and the first people out the door were the ones who carried themselves with dignity and presented a professional face to the franchise. Yeah, good thing they got rid of those guys…