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Added Beane and 2003 offseason
===Sale of the Team===
===Sale of the Team===
In late 2001, a year after Harrington announced the team was up for sale, three bidders emerged as the finalists; New York lawyer Miles Prentice, Cablevision's Charles Dolan, and a group made up of former [[Florida Marlins]] owner John Henry and former [[San Diego Padres]] owner Tom Werner. Prentice entered a bid of $740 million. Dolan bid $700 million. Henry, known as "Investor 11" due to his still technically owning the Marlins<ref>Mnookin, Seth. (2006). ''Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top'', Simon & Schuster, Page 108</ref>, and Werner also bid $700 million. Due to Prentice's questionable financing, he was eliminated from consideration.<ref name="buy">Mnookin, Seth. (2006). ''Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top'', Simon & Schuster, Pages 122-124</ref> With the other two bids being similar, and the Henry group likely to receive a quick approval from the other baseball owners<ref name="buy"/>, their bid was chosen.
In late 2001, a year after Harrington announced the team was up for sale, three bidders emerged as the finalists; New York lawyer Miles Prentice, Cablevision's Charles Dolan, and a group made up of former [[Florida Marlins]] owner Henry and former [[San Diego Padres]] owner Werner. Prentice entered a bid of $740 million. Dolan bid $700 million. Henry, known as "Investor 11" due to his still technically owning the Marlins<ref>Mnookin, Seth. (2006). ''Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top'', Simon & Schuster, Page 108</ref>, and Werner also bid $700 million. Due to Prentice's questionable financing, he was eliminated from consideration.<ref name="buy">Mnookin, Seth. (2006). ''Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top'', Simon & Schuster, Pages 122-124</ref> With the other two bids being similar, and the Henry group likely to receive a quick approval from the other baseball owners<ref name="buy"/>, their bid was chosen.
Henry's first decision was to name former Orioles and Padres executive Larry Lucchino as team president. He then announced the firings of Duquette and manager [[Joe Kerrigan]]. Duquette's assistant, Mike Port, was named interim GM. The team tried to interview Houston Astros bench coach Tony Pena and Oakland Athletics bench coach Ken Macha for the managerial opening but were denied permission from their current teams. Henry then wanted to hire former Expos manager Felipe Alou, but was overruled by Lucchino's choice of Cleveland Indians bench coach [[Grady Little]].
Henry's first decision was to name former Orioles and Padres executive Lucchino as team president. He then announced the firings of Duquette and manager [[Joe Kerrigan]]. Duquette's assistant, Mike Port, was named interim GM. The team tried to interview Houston Astros bench coach Tony Pena and Oakland Athletics bench coach Ken Macha for the managerial opening but were denied permission from their current teams. Henry then wanted to hire former Expos manager Felipe Alou, but was overruled by Lucchino's choice of Cleveland Indians bench coach [[Grady Little]].
===Billy Beane===
After their first season, the Henry group looked to find a new GM. Their top choice was Athletics GM Billy Beane. The two sides were able to agree on a multi-year deal worth north of two million dollars per year. Beane had already planned his first moves with his new team, such as trading Varitek and signing free agent [[Bill Mueller]].<ref name="moneyball">Lewis, Michael. (2003). ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'', W. W. Norton & Company, Pages 278-279</ref> He also negotiated the compensation Oakland would get for losing him: Kevin Youkilis. However, at the last moment, Beane backed out of the deal. With Beane out, they turned to their second choice, Theo Epstein. Epstein preached fiscal responsibility and a commitment to building through the team's farm system. He quickly acquired cheap free agents such as Mueller and Ortiz that would go on to have major impacts on the team.
===2004===
In the aftermath of their disappointing loss to the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS, the team decided to make major changes. Unhappy with Little's performance, Henry ignored the front office and dismissed the manager. After being unsuccessful in their efforts to trade Ramirez, they placed him on irrevocable waivers in hopes another team would take the player off their hands.<ref>Wilbur, Eric. "Ramirez placed on waivers"; ''Boston Globe'', October 30, 2003</ref> When that failed, they tried a swap for Texas Rangers high-priced superstar [[Alex Rodriguez]]. After lengthy negotiations, they agreed to acquire Rodriguez for Ramirez, cash to pay part of Ramirez' salary, and pitching prospect Lester. In a separate deal, Boston would send Garciaparra and reliever Scott Williamson to the [[Chicago White Sox]] for [[Magglio Ordonez]], [[Neal Cotts]] and a third player.<ref>http://www.sethmnookin.com/blog/2007/03/15/ftm-post-peek-a-rod-the-sox-the-now-infamous-opt-out-clause-the-theo-n-larry-show-and-the-spending-sprees-of-2006-plus-jon-lester/</ref> The deals fell through when the Player's Association refused to allow Rodriguez to accept a lower salary. They were more successful in their attempts to upgrade the pitching staff, acquiring Schilling from the Diamondbacks and signing Keith Foulke away from the Athletics.
==Management==
==Management==