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Boston being Boston and the Red Sox being the Red Sox, the team's sale may not be as final as it seemed last week when the 14-step process came to an end and the club was awarded to a group headed by John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino.
Tom Reilly, the Massachusetts Attorney General, is launching an investigation into the process, fearful that outgoing CEO John Harrington didn't sell to the highest bidder, and thus, cheated Massachusetts-based charities -- the primary beneficiaries of the Yawkey Trust, which held controlling interest in the team -- out of upwards of $50 million.
To some, this is merely a classic bit of political grandstanding, or Boston parochialism at its worst -- the knee-jerk response that could have been anticipated when the two local businessmen -- Joe O'Donnell and Steve Karp -- failed to land the ballclub.
|  | | Billy Beane, right, has been the A's GM since the start of the 1998 season. |
The inquiry into the process may slow things some, but few doubt that Henry-Werner-Lucchino et al will be unanimously approved at the owners meeting in Phoenix in mid-Janauary.
Soon after, general manager Dan Duquette should learn of his fate, which isn't likely to be good.
Duquette, who has two years remaining on a extension given to him by Harrington last summer, made a series of bold moves over the last month which have improved the Red Sox considerably. He's added two dependable starting pitchers (Dustin Hermanson and John Burkett), a run-producing bat (Tony Clark) and a leadoff hitter-center fielder (Johnny Damon). If the Sox can sign Pokey Reese (obtained in a trade, then non-tendered the following day), they will have significantly upgraded their infield defense as well.
But all the upgrades may have come too late to save Duquette's job, since the new owners are as concerned as much about perception as they are about performance.
Though he has made some shrewd moves in his eight-year tenure (trading for Pedro Martinez; stealing Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb; rescuing Tim Wakefield from the scrap heap; drafting Nomar Garciaparra, then signing him to an affordable long-term deal) and has three playoff appearances to show for it, Duquette also must take much of the blame for the ill-will that has sometimes engulfed the organization.
The Henry group told investors as far back as November that Duquette would not be its GM for 2002 if it was successful in landing the team. At the time, they probably thought the timetable would move quicker and they would be farther down the road by now.
In addition to his recent acquisitions, the calendar may now be Duquette's best friend. It would be difficult for the Red Sox to hire someone away from his current organization with spring training just six weeks away, and by the time they get to Phoenix, pitchers and catchers will be less than a month from reporting.
Still, the precedent exists and it's filled with irony. The Red Sox once hired a general manager in mid-January from the Montreal Expos. His name, of course, was Dan Duquette.
A look at the candidates, their strengths and weaknesses and their chances.
Billy Beane, Oakland A's
By all accounts, Beane is the first choice of the new owners, and why wouldn't he be? Beane has guided the A's to two postseason appearances in a row, and has done so on a modest payroll.
Equally appealing is that Beane has built the A's chiefly through the draft. The team's Big Three in the starting rotation -- Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito -- are all homegrown, as are shortstop Miguel Tejada and third baseman Eric Chavez. So was Jason Giambi, for that matter. Shrewd trades for outfielders Terrence Long and Jermaine Dye completed the building.
Beane may be ready for a new challenge. The A's ownership situation is muddled, their quest for a new ballpark is hopelessly stalled (in the Bay Area at least), and the GM faces the prospect of watching the team he's constructed slowly get dismantled, unable to retain expensive free agents.
Brian Sabean, San Francisco Giants
If Beane can't get free, Sabean may be the next target. Like Beane, his cross-Bay counterpart, Sabean has done a lot with little.
Despite having a beautiful new ballpark, the Giants' debt service on Pac Bell Park is such that they have to maintain a mid-range payroll, so difficult decisions are sometimes made.
Like the A's, the Giants haven't been able to get out of the first round of the playoffs when they get there. But they have been consistently competitive.
Sabean's record of player development doesn't match Beane's, but he's shown a willingness to make daring deals (Matt Williams-for Jeff Kent).
Sabean is a New Hampshire native and his wife is from the Northeast, so it's doubtful he would pass up the opportunity to return home -- if it's offered.
Kevin Towers, San Diego Padres
In addition to being another West Coast GM, Towers shares other traits with Beane and Sabean -- a proven track record of player development, shrewd trades and an ability to make the most out of a modest payroll.
Towers has two other things that Beane and Sabean don't -- a National League pennant (1998) and a past working relationship with two of the three ownership principals.
When Werner owned the Padres, Towers was the team's scouting director, and when Lucchino served as San Diego's President/CEO, Towers was the team's general manager.
Towers loves the city of Boston and the New England area, but he's a West Coast guy at heart, and his wife is from California, too.
Doug Melvin
After a relatively successful run as GM of the Texas Rangers (three AL West titles), Melvin was fired at the end of last season by owner Tom Hicks.
His experience and immediate availability are both advantages, as is his relationship with Lucchino -- the two worked together in the Orioles organization.
A native of Canada, Melvin has been mentioned frequently as a potential candidate to take over the Expos, who soon will be without an owner and a GM.
Melvin wouldn't be a poor choice for Boston, but it's hard to make the argument that he would be better than the three West Coast candidates.
Lee Thomas, Mike Port, Boston Red Sox
If Henry-Werner-Lucchino are absolutely intent on removing Duquette but don't have the time to hire their first choice from outside the organization, they have two able and available choices within the existing framework.
Either one could handle the job -- either temporarily in transition, until someone could be hired next fall, or permanently.
Thomas built the 1993 pennant-winning Phillies and is among the most-liked baseball executives in the game, while Port, who directed the Angels to within an out of what would have been their only World Series appearance in 1986, is a master of detail and highly respected.
Neither would have the big-name appeal of an outsider, but it may be enough to assuage an angry fan base, many of whom would be happy with anybody but Duquette.
Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal covers baseball for ESPN.com.
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