01:00 AM EST on Thursday, January 26, 2006

BY ART MARTONE
Journal Sports Editor

BOSTON -- No matter how similar today's organizational chart may look to last October's, things have changed at Fenway Park.

For the better.

That's what the principals all insisted during yesterday's media blitz by the Red Sox. President/CEO Larry Lucchino, executive vice-president/general manager Theo Epstein, assistant general manager Jed Hoyer and vice-president/player personnel Ben Cherington held day-long briefings with different groups of print and electronic reporters, and principal owner John Henry weighed in during an appearance on WEEI Radio's "The Big Show" late yesterday afternoon. The message was consistent: We're a better organization for having gone through the last 2 1/2 months of turmoil.

"Two, three or four years from now, or maybe even six months from now, we may look back on this period and say it was difficult, but it was worthwhile," Epstein said.

The Sox say Epstein's abrupt departure when his contract expired Oct. 31 prompted a series of meetings and conversations in which issues were addressed, resentments dealt with, and lines of communication improved. Although the Sox were deliberately vague about both the problems and the solutions -- part of a new organizational strategy, they say, in which they plan to better control the flow of information out of Fenway -- the changes satisfied Epstein to the point that he agreed to return last week.

"There was a fundamental disconnect [between the Baseball Operations department and executive management] in baseball philosophies, communications and priorities," said Epstein in describing the problems that prompted him to leave. "And there was a personal conflict [between himself and Lucchino], as well. It was not a power struggle, as has been speculated. But the all-too-public [contract] negotiations strained our relationship.

"It might sound insignificant, but these are important issues."

When Epstein walked away, the Sox say they did some soul-searching.

"Some of the [problems] were transient, but some weren't," Henry said on WEEI. "[Some were] small things, like moving Baseball Operations out of the basement . . . [Another resentment was] I didn't really spend any time in Baseball Operations. It was out of respect to Theo, because I've always been a chain-of-command type person. But people never saw me down there.

"[But] some things, I considered to be major. For instance, in Baseball Operations, everybody works 24/7. That's fine for [people of] a certain age [at] a certain time [in their lives], but it's not fine for the long run."

Lucchino felt the self-evaluation was positive.

"It's healthy, constructive and beneficial," he said, adding later: "I wonder if we'd ever have taken the time to do so if Theo hadn't left."

Henry felt Epstein needed time to decompress after making the decision to leave -- "Theo had been working 24 hours a day and I thought he needed some time off; I had urged him to do that" -- and Epstein took it in November. He reportedly looked into the Dodgers' open general-managers position, but decided not to pursue it.

Lucchino, conversely, started an external search for a new GM at the same time.

"We had to be on more than one course," he said. "Early on, we didn't know how the process would play out."

But Henry was intent on salvaging the Sox' ties with Epstein. That process got easier as the days and weeks passed, even as Lucchino continued interviewing candidates and was ready to recommend hiring ex-Expos and Orioles GM Jim Beattie.

"I don't think I had to talk [Epstein] into [returning]," Henry said on WEEI. "I had to get both parties to sit down and discuss their differences. A little time and talk made it easy for me to accomplish that. Sometimes in relationships, you take each other for granted. Time does help."

Epstein said the process "built momentum" quickly, and Henry stated: "I don't think it was too late in December before we decided we all wanted to work together again." Lucchino soon stopped talking about potential replacements and began talking about "leaving a candle burning in the window" for Epstein. When Hoyer and Cherington were named co-GMs in mid-December, it was with the assumption Epstein would soon be back.

"They knew going in it was very likely Theo was coming back," Henry said.

And so he did.

"The ultimate result," said Henry, "is the franchise is much better off today than it was on [October 31]."

amartone@projo.com / (401) 277-7345