Theo Epstein Time Quotations

From a personal standpoint, I really admire Bronson. I have gotten to know him really well, and that made it difficult. From an organizational standpoint, we owe a lot to Bronson ..I think it?s safe to say we would not have won the (2004) World Series without him. He?s handled himself with a huge amount of class on and off the field throughout his time as a Red Sox.

I think the first year in Boston can leave you feeling like you need to take some time off and you need to get away a little bit. He was a little bit taken back by how passionate the fan base was here. You expect a guy that's played in New York to make a seamless transition to Boston. But it was tough on him. He couldn't go out. I think he used the word 'hermit.' We know David doesn't like being a hermit. I think he'll need to go to his ranch and get away and think about that, how to deal with the hermit lifestyle.

I think the future is bright. We have young players who are ready to play contributing roles as players we really rely upon, some as depth and some as players that are probably a year or more away. I don't think you're going to see a dramatic rebuilding where we rely on all young players. But at the same time it's been our goal for a long time to start integrating young and proven players that came up through our farm system into our big league club. I think you'll see more of that next year.

Throughout November, (owner) John Henry, (owner) Tom Werner, Larry and I held discussions to see what lessons could be learned in the aftermath of my departure. Gradually, with the benefit of time and greater perspective, we tackled not only our personal conflicts but also the differences regarding our thoughts for the organization.

It was a time of personal conflict. We had discord.