Red Sox reunion is feel-good story for now

Oprah could have had a field day. Fact, fiction, or to use John W. Henry's word, ''mythology," Ms. Winfrey could have advised all of Theo Epstein's adoring fans to disregard the inconsistencies of the million little pieces involved in his departure from the Red Sox and focus on the ''underlying message of redemption" in his return. That worked for America's most famous self-proclaimed crackhead author, James Frey, why not for a fractured front office?

But like Henry, Oprah was otherwise occupied yesterday. Instead, it was left for Epstein and CEO Larry Lucchino to submit themselves to endless hours of spinning -- on the radio, in TV one-on-ones, and in multiple sessions with the ink-stained set -- how it was that Theo was back, 85 days after he left.

Epstein appeared in a crown of thorns and defiantly proclaimed, ''You want me to be great, but you don't ever want me to say I'm great." Sorry, more media mythology. That was Kanye West's rap in the current Rolling Stone, not Theo's conciliatory words to the Globe and Herald and Providence Journal.

Epstein wore blue. Lucchino wore the World Series ring. The Germans wore gray. Sorry again, wrong Epstein. This was Yawkey Way, not Julius Epstein's ''Casablanca." That's almost as silly a mistake as it was for Henry, in a late November e-mail to the true believers of the Sons of Sam Horn, to declare, ''[Theo] is not going to return as our surprise GM in the process."

Truer words were spoken by Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, who never bought into the idea that Epstein was more bent on becoming a roadie for Pearl Jam or taking the same humanitarian path as brother Paul than he was on running the Red Sox. ''It's like a Mafia hit," Ricciardi had said after Epstein bolted. ''You don't believe it until you see the guy at the funeral."

Hold the flowers for Theo, who most assuredly returned on his terms, in an agreement apparently hammered out in its final form in a meeting last weekend at Lucchino's home with Henry and team chairman Tom Werner also present. Epstein is no casualty in this affair, unlike the reputations of Lucchino and Dr. Charles Steinberg, the misplaced trust of Jim Beattie, the ambitions of Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, or the loyalty of Jeremy Kapstein and Bill Lajoie.

Had you been on the staff of the Republican National Committee, you might have learned over a month ago this is how it was going to play out. Oakland GM Billy Beane, a close Epstein confidant, was in Washington during baseball's winter meetings to make a speech to the group, and when a staffer from Boston asked about Theo, Beane declared he was coming back as GM, perhaps as soon as that weekend.

Asked later about his remarks, Beane insisted he was only joking, but his punch line, if not his timing, proved more grounded in fact than some of the earnest pronouncements issued by the likes of Werner (''I have read all the rumors, but as far as we're concerned, we're turning the page and we're looking for the next general manager of the Red Sox." -- Palm Springs, Nov. 9).

In some ways, it is as if Epstein never left. While Lucchino might have been calling Beattie for advice on the night the Josh Beckett deal went down, it is clear, by Epstein's reckoning, that he was in constant contact with Cherington and Hoyer -- and, while TE didn't say it, you can certainly add Henry's name to that list. Yesterday, for example, he left no doubt that he approved of the way the Johnny Damon negotiations were handled, which may come as a surprise to the erstwhile Sox center fielder, who grumbled on the way out that things might have turned out differently had Theo been on the job.

Think again, JD.

''The approach we took with Johnny Damon, I was proud of," Epstein told the first wave of print reporters invited to sit at the table. ''I think that setting a dollar figure for a player, then sticking to it, might cause heartache for fans in the short term, and we're understanding of that, but I think in the long term it's the best policy, because it will help you to win year in and year out."

Epstein and Lucchino, while not offering specifics, were candid in acknowledging that there were real, not imagined, fissures in their relationship, contrary to the principal owner, who would have you believe that reports of internal turmoil were invented by a media addicted to groundless leaks. Let there be no doubt, by the way, that part of the new Sox compact is a determination to manage the news as much as possible.

''I think the Patriots have had a lot of success in this market, the way they run things," Epstein said. ''I'm not saying we're adopting all of their practices, but it's hard to quibble with their approach."

In that spirit, no one was saying anything about Epstein's deal, including, laughably, length of term. We're allowed to know that Lucchino signed a contract extension through 2011, but not whether Epstein is signed through next week? Next thing you know, the Sox will be describing Curt Schilling's ankle problems as a ''lower leg" injury. And the same fans who have joined Henry in condemning the media for ''leaks" will be the ones bemoaning the dearth of information about prospective trades and free agent signings.

In just over three weeks, Feb. 18 to be exact, Sox pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training. By then, the Sox hope is that everyone's attention will be focused on the field. But after all that has taken place this winter, surely they understand why people also will be watching to see if this group hug sticks.