THE GM SEARCH (OR SAGA) CONTINUES

I was wrong. Though I said that Dayton Moore was likely to become the Red Sox next GM, Moore took himself out of consideration and opted to remain with the Braves organization. Moore joined the long list of candidates - Kevin Towers, Doug Melvin, J.P. Ricciardi, Brian Sabean, Terry Ryan, Chris Antonetti, and Tony LaCava - who've told the Red Sox that they're not interested.

The Red Sox are now the only team in baseball without a GM. They are clearly one of the best franchises in baseball, and their GM position is generally considered one of the plum jobs in the sport. They have excellent revenue streams, a top-end payroll, a very dedicated fan base, ownership that has proven itself committed to winning, and a rich history to boot. And yet none of the Sox top choices wanted the job. It now appears that whoever ownership eventually chooses, they'll be settling.

Though some of the candidates declined due to family reasons, many assume that none of them wanted to work with Larry Lucchino. Rightly or wrongly, Lucchino seems to have earned himself a bad reputation, and that could hurt the club in its search for the best candidate.

While Lucchino denies that the Sox are currently in turmoil, it's hard to see how not currently having a GM isn't hurting the team during this free agent period, and with the Winter Meetings just weeks away. No one will be surprised if the club is beaten to the punch in the free agent or trade markets because they are unprepared.

This is a very unfortunate position for the club to be in right now, and it won't just suddenly get better with the selection of a new GM. That person will have to get up to speed very quickly with things such as the team's off season needs, its player personnel, its minor league rosters, and its payroll to name a few.

It shouldn't have come to this. None of this should have ever happened. Theo Epstein told the club back in Spring Training that he wanted to negotiate his contract then so that the organization wouldn't be distracted during a critical free agent period, when there would be other very important decisions to be made. But ownership wouldn't listen, and this is where they find themselves now as a result. That's very unfortunate. And now all we can do is hope for the best.