BOSTON -- For nearly 45 minutes yesterday afternoon, it seemed as if Red Sox management had come to praise Grady Little and not, professionally speaking, to bury him.
CEO Larry Lucchino and general manager Theo Epstein heaped one accolade after another on the Red Sox manager for the last two seasons. They spoke glowingly of his character -- "a real gentleman . . . a wonderful human being," gushed Lucchino -- of his ability to unite players from different backgrounds, and the high regard in which his players held him.
What they didn't do, however, was rehire Little for next season and beyond. The club, which held an option on Little for the 2004 season, chose not to exercise it and informed Little of the decision yesterday morning in a 15-minute phone call.
The action had been expected for the last 10 days after the Red Sox were eliminated by the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. Commissioner Bud Selig's directive to clubs to refrain from making moves during the World Series delayed what many saw as inevitable as soon as Aaron Boone's 11th-inning homer in Game 7 stopped the Sox short of the World Series.
Little stayed with starting pitcher Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning, watching a three-run lead disappear as the Yankees pounded out four consecutive hits.
Little's fate was sealed three days after the Sox were eliminated from the postseason when Lucchino, Epstein, principal owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner met to address the manager's future.
Henry, who had to be talked into hiring Little by Lucchino in March 2002, was adamant about making a change in the dugout, and what support Little enjoyed from Lucchino and Epstein nearly vanished amid the fallout from the crushing loss to the Yankees.
In a news release issued concurrently with the announcement, the Sox pointedly noted that Henry "took the position well before the postseason that the club may need to question a long-term commitment to its manager."
Henry wasn't present at yesterday's news conference.
Lucchino and Epstein stressed yesterday that the decision to esssentially terminate Little was not based solely on his actions in Game 7, and reiterated that point in their phone call to Little.
"We did assure him that this wasn't based on a single decision in a single game," Lucchino said. "This is not an organization that makes decisions of this importance based on one event."
Still, Little's strategic blunder in Game 7 undoubtedly helped lead to his downfall, and to some in Red Sox management it confirmed their worst fears about his decision-making.
Said a club source: "Grady wasn't fired for one wrong move. He was fired for the wrong way he went about making decisions."
The club's reluctance to pick up Little's option during the season was viewed as a poor sign for the manager. But when the team streaked through September to clinch the American League wild-card spot and make its first visit to the postseason since 1999, it was believed that Little had guaranteed himself a return to the dugout.
Little, however, may have overplayed his hand some in the final month of the season, telling management that he wouldn't be satisfied merely with the option for 2004. After becoming the first Red Sox manager in 25 years to win better than 90 games in each of his first two full seasons, Little wanted additional job security.
In the wake of the Game 7 loss, that seemed impossible.
"It became obvious after a lengthy discussion that Grady was not going to have 100-percent support [from management]," Epstein said. "Once that question was answered, the other answer [regarding his future] was clear."
Little enjoyed a strong relationship with his players and maintained an atmosphere of harmony in the clubhouse despite a roster full of sizeable egos and salaries. The Red Sox won 23 games -- nearly one-quarter of their 2003 win total -- in their final at-bat and rallied from an 0-and-2 deficit against the Oakland Athletics to win their American League Division Series.
But Little was often reluctant to incorporate statistical data in making personnel decisions, lineup choices or in-game strategic moves.
Additionally, communication with the coaching staff was often lacking, and management expressed dismay that input and scouting reports on players weren't disseminated to coaches.
Since the elimination at the hands of the archrival Yankees, the team's passionate fans had angrily turned on Little, demanding that he not return. While the club was clearly aware of the sentiment, Lucchino stressed it was "not in any way," a factor in the team's decision to seek a new manager.
"It's important for us not to be fans," said Epstein, who said the management team addressed the issue in a "rational, logical evaluation."
Epstein phoned many of the Red Sox players yesterday morning to inform them of the decision. Many players met the news with disappointment. But Lucchino said that would not sway the front office.
"We don't take a referendum of our fans and we don't take a referendum of our players," he said.
In addition to the $60,000 that Little was owed for performance bonuses related to reaching the postseason and winning the first-round Division Series, the Red Sox gave Little a $250,000 severance payment.
Little hasn't spoken publicly since the middle of last week and did not return phone calls yesterday. Through the Red Sox public relations department yesterday, he issued a statement.
"Yes, we came up short of our goal, and to the Red Sox Nation, I say: I hurt with each of you," Little said. "It was painful for all of us. . . . Boston is a great place. The Red Sox fans are the most passionate in all of sports. I appreciate all of the support they gave me."
Little thanked Lucchino for his first opportunity to manage in the big leagues and praised Epstein. Tellingly, he didn't make reference to Henry.
"[Let] me emphatically say that we had the best bunch of guys in the clubhouse and on the field that I have ever been around," Little added. "Those boys played their hearts out and gave it everything they had.
"Grady Little is going to be fine. The organization made a decision to go in a different direction. Whoever they hire to replace me will be getting the best bunch of players in baseball and a solid general manager. I love each and every one of those guys."
