Feeding the Monster

When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series on October 27, 2004, they made history. Their stunning comeback against the New York Yankees and their four-game annihilation of the St. Louis Cardinals capped one of the most thrilling postseason runs ever. The World Series victory-Boston's first in 86 years-came less than three years after John Henry and Tom Werner bought the team from the Yawkey Trust and forever changed the way the Red Sox operated on and off the field. Seth Mnookin was given access never before granted to a reporter in the history of organized sports. He had a key to Fenway Park and a desk in the team's front office. He spent weekends talking business with John Henry and afternoons in the clubhouse with Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. He learned never-before-told details of the team's Thanksgiving Day wooing of Curt Schilling, the jealousy Nomar Garciaparra felt toward better-paid teammates, and the anxiety that impelled Pedro Martinez to insist that the Red Sox guarantee his future. He was there when general manager Theo Epstein's frustration over the organization's ceaseless drive for more media coverage and new revenue streams collided with his fracturing relationship with CEO Larry Lucchino. The resulting narrative -- juicy, gripping, and overflowing with thrilling detail -- reveals how a savvy sports organization tries to stay on top while under the relentless scrutiny of the country's most voracious sportswriters and baseball's most demanding fans. Drawn from hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews and a year with the team, Feeding the Monster shows as no book ever has before what it means to buy, sell, run, and be part of a major league sports team in America.

Seth Mnookin

Introduction

PART I: A CENTURY OF BOSTON BASEBALL 1 From the Beaneaters to the Babe 2 Tom Yawkey's Team, Ted Williams's Town 3 The Impossible Dream and the Sixth Game 4 The Gerbil, the Spaceman, the Rocket, and the Curse 5 The Yawkey Trust

PART II: FOR SALE 6 Selling Boston's Salvation 7 The Producer 8 The Baseball Visionary 9 From Soybeans to Stadiums 10 Putting Together the Team 11 A Surreal Process 12 December 20, 2001 13 Boston's Second Favorite Sport: Revenge

PART III: A FRESH START: 2002 14 "Sweep Out the Duke" 15 "Getting Ready to Have a Good Ride" 16 The Love Affair Begins 17 Enter Bill James 18 Red Sox General Manager Billy Beane 19 Introducing the Boy Wonder

PART IV: THE BEST HITTING TEAM EVER ASSEMBLED: 2003 20 Shopping at Wal-Mart for David Ortiz 21 Kim and the Committee 22 "You Want Me to Hit Like a Little Bitch?" 23 The Manny Sagas, Part 1 24 Gumped: A Cautionary Tale 25 Not Again 26 Nomar Wants to Know Where He Fits in 27 The Epic Offseason Begins 28 "This Is About Winning the World Series" 29 The A-Rod Chronicles

PART V: THE WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX: 2004 30 Welcome to the Jungle 31 Treading Water 32 Trading an Icon 33 "We're Gonna Kick Fucking Ass Starting Today" 34 "Can You Believe It?"

PART VI: FEEDING THE MONSTER: 2005 35 The Morning After 36 Goodbye to No. 45 37 Theo Epstein Looks to the Future 38 The Defending Champs 39 The Manny Sagas, Part 2 40 The Rift Widens 41 The End of an Era 42 Apocalypse Now, Redux 43 Putting It All Back Together Again 44 Reversing the Curse Epilogue A Note on Sources and Methodology Acknowledgments Index