Boston's Epstein, Lucchino start anew; A's land Big Hurt

BOSTON — On Wednesday's episode of the soap opera that is the Boston Red Sox, Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino kissed and made up.

Tune in Thursday when the two work together to try to find a shortstop and center fielder.

Things are never dull with the Red Sox, and this offseason has been even more dramatic than most. All they did last winter was traipse around the state with the World Series trophy; this year, they've torn apart that team — and themselves in the process.

"There were some personal conflicts," Epstein said Wednesday in what the team vowed, promised and threatened would be the last discussion of the front-office dissension. "We've managed to repair the personal issues between us."

Epstein walked away from the ballclub — sort of — when his contract expired on Halloween, leaving a three-year, $4.5 million extension on the table. Reports centered on a power struggle with Lucchino and a desire for more autonomy, but in the end it was just a plain old falling out between the mentor and protege that drove away the most accomplished general manager in franchise history.

Having spent four years working all hours on baseball, Epstein went to a Pearl Jam concert in South America and to Hawaii with his girlfriend. But in many ways he never left: He kept in touch with his former co-workers and provided his opinion on trades (he liked them all) and exchanged frequent e-mails with owner John Henry about developing a vision for the organization; he visited Yawkey Way twice, but not at all in the last six weeks.

From the start, there were reports that Epstein would come back, even as two of his former lieutenants were named co-GMs in his absence. Last week, the team confirmed to much fanfare that he was returning, and on Tuesday the news was that he would return to his old job.

So, what changed?

Epstein listed three problems that existed before his 10 weeks away allowed the team to re-examine the way it does business: Organizational philosophy, communication and priorities.

The first one is the same kind of thing all baseball teams tackle: When to trade a prospect for a major leaguer, how much a free agent is worth, pitching vs. hitting — that sort of stuff.

The priorities involved the relationship between the baseball and business sides of Red Sox Inc. Now, everyone agrees that ancillary endeavors like television and real estate supplement the baseball team, and not the other way around.