Beattie may be drawing a bead
He expects to hear from Sox this week
Tomorrow will mark the one-month anniversary of Theo Epstein's announcement to his shocked employers that he was not returning as general manager of the Red Sox. And while his absence has not kept the Sox from conducting roster-rattling business such as last week's mega-trade with the Florida Marlins, Epstein's successor has yet to emerge.
But with just six days remaining before baseball's winter meetings start in Dallas, there were signs that the Sox were heading toward a resolution. Former Orioles vice president Jim Beattie said last night that he spoke with Sox CEO Larry Lucchino on Thanksgiving and again on the weekend.
''I've been given an indication that the first part of this week I might hear something," said Beattie, the Maine native who was GM of the then-Montreal Expos and shared the Baltimore GM job with Mike Flanagan until getting dismissed by the Orioles earlier this fall.
Another candidate for the job, Dave Wilder, the director of player development for the White Sox, did not get a second interview with Boston, as did Beattie and Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden (who did not return a phone call last night). But Wilder may yet be in the running, perhaps in some kind of tandem arrangement with Beattie.
On Sunday, Lucchino called White Sox GM Kenny Williams and questioned him about Wilder; one of Lucchino's closest advisers, Jeremy Kapstein, also called Wilder on Thanksgiving with holiday greetings.
Kapstein, the former super agent who briefly served as president of the Padres in the late 1980s, has declared an interest in the Sox job, and it remains a possibility that they continue in some kind of interim arrangement.
''The search process and due diligence will continue this week," Lucchino wrote in an e-mail last night. ''No comment on specific candidates at this point."
Lucchino, who last week closed the deal with the Marlins for pitcher Josh Beckett, third baseman Mike Lowell, and reliever Guillermo Mota, has taken some pride in the fact that the Sox were able to keep the trade under the radar until just before it was consummated. Sox ownership has made no attempt to hide its displeasure with the so-called leaks that occurred during the failed negotiations to keep Epstein in place.
So far, there has been little predictable about the Sox' offseason activity. Speculation that they would be making a bid for White Sox free agent first baseman Paul Konerko apparently was unfounded; Konerko, according to one well-placed major league source, is sifting through offers from three teams: the White Sox, Orioles, and Angels.
The Orioles offered the most money, the source said, and all three offers are believed to be for five years. The Baltimore offer could approach $60 million. The White Sox, who last week acquired slugger Jim Thome from the Phillies, have asked Konerko for an answer before the start of the winter meetings.
Similarly, a report that the Mets and Red Sox were involved in serious negotiations over the weekend about a Manny Ramírez trade also appeared to be an exaggeration. The Mets, who last week traded for first baseman Carlos Delgado, last night came to terms with another expensive bauble, free agent closer Billy Wagner, on a four-year contract for a reported $43 million.
Mets GM Omar Minaya, who last winter signed free agents Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martínez to lavish contracts, has been ardent in his pursuit of Ramírez, and as long as ownership continues to allow him to operate without any apparent budgetary constraints, the Mets remain the likeliest landing spot for Ramírez.
The Orioles, if they fail to land Konerko, would figure to look at Ramírez as an alternative, but reportedly have decided in internal discussions not to pursue him. The Sox would not rule out moving Ramirez to a team within the division; recently they sounded out the Blue Jays but were told the Jays were moving in a different direction. The Angels, a team known to be preferred by Ramírez, also could decide to join the hunt.
The other major order of business on the Sox' docket remains the re-signing of free agent Johnny Damon. The market for Damon has yet to materialize publicly, but agent Scott Boras has informed teams that his client is seeking a seven-year deal. The Yankees, who have investigated other options for center field, such as free agent Brian Giles, can't be ruled out as a suitor.
