Can't sleep. I'm having these nightmares. I wake up in a cold sweat, fearful that the Red Sox have been sold and Dan Duquette is still running the team.
It's not enough that Duquette has made the Red Sox the disgrace of baseball. No. Now Dan's working behind the scenes to make himself the god of the Red Sox after the Sox are transferred to new ownership.
It appears that Duke has joined forces with Sox bidders Tom Werner and Les Otten (the same Les Otten who steered his ski empire into losses approximating a half-billion dollars). The Werner/Otten group is believed to be one of the three top contenders for the team. Duquette is Otten's pal and served on the board of directors of an Otten company. Might Duquette use his Red Sox status to steer the sale of the team in the direction of this group?
It's part of my nightmare.
We've heard Dan talking about his desire for an ''expanded role'' with the ball club. He covets equity interest in the ball club.
What gall. It's not enough that he paid $112 million (second-highest payroll in baseball) for a collection of bloated, selfish players who could barely finish .500. It's not enough that he's created a no-prospect joke of a farm system (ever see more 30-year-old Sept. 1 call-ups?). It's not enough that he backed Carl Everett instead of Jimy Williams. It's not enough that he hired an inexperienced puppet to manage the team via satellite while Dan calls the shots from upstairs. It's not enough that he's run off so many good people from the Red Sox (ever see more disgruntled ex-employees? No one ever has a good thing to say after leaving). It's not enough that the smug Duke has alienated almost every other team with his arrogance and Machiavellian style.
No, Dan's got to have more. He's got to have an ''expanded role.'' He's got to have a piece of the team. With little financial risk of his own, of course.
Sensing that public opinion may not be going his way, Duquette's embarked on a Duke-across-New England goodwill tour, granting interviews to reporters and radio outlets. Saying nothing, as always.
Meanwhile, ever-operating under the impression that he's smarter than everyone else, Duquette no doubt will do his best to see that the Werner/Otten group is judged to be the ''highest qualified bidder'' for the Red Sox.
I worry about the blind allegiance John Harrington has for Duquette. Would Uncle John try to make sure the ''highest qualified bid'' comes from a group that'll let Dan run the show?
Ouch. There's more to my nightmare. Harrington will remain a limited partner after the sale is completed. Is he trying to, in effect, sell the team to himself, carving out roles for John and Dan with the next regime?
Hope not. It would be the ultimate lasting stain on the vaunted Yawkey legacy that Harrington cares about so much.
There are small people in this world who root for their successors to fail so it'll make them look taller. Is Harrington worried that the next group will make sweeping changes and ride a wave of new popularity which would taint the Yawkey/Harrington legacy? Hope not. That too, is part of my nightmare.
The Duke must have gotten a jolt Thursday when he read that the Werner group is bringing Larry Lucchino on board. Lucchino was the power behind the throne when Edward Bennett Williams owned the Baltimore Orioles. Lucchino is the man who got Camden Yards built. He still owns a piece of the San Diego Padres and he wouldn't have any interest in working with Duquette. As the old saying goes, this town isn't big enough for both of them.
It could be that the Werner group is just floating Lucchino's name out there so it'll be taken more seriously. Maybe they are using him in a veiled effort to gather investors. But there's no way Lucchino is coming on board if Duquette is running the show.
Still, I worry. It's my nightmare and I can't shake it. In the best case, this thing is going to drag into next year and completely sabotage the 2002 season. All the good, potentially-available GMs (Brian Cashman, Billy Beane, John Hart) will be under contract someplace else by then. Same for Joe Torre, who could probably be had at the end of this season. Next year is already in the tank.
But that's OK. As long as the next owner makes firing Duquette his first order of business. Then I can sleep again.
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist, 10/20/2001
This story ran on page G1 of the Boston Globe on 10/20/2001
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