This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on Nov. 4, 2005.

By Nick Tavares

In the heat of the moment, things often feel far more severe than they really are. Emotions are high and, as a result, feelings can swing to extremes really quickly.

Take the Patriots' loss to San Diego last month. At the time, the team looked down for the count, embarrassed at home and going nowhere quickly. Radio callers panicked, writers scrambled to find out what could be wrong and the team itself had to regroup.

But after some time, things settle down. Again, the Patriots now seem to be in a better position — alone in first place in the AFC East, a division win under their belt and Tedy Bruschi on the field again.

However, the situation that unfolded on Yawkey Way this week isn't one of these moments. For Red Sox fans and anyone who even remotely cares about the team, this is a bad situation. And no matter who the team brings in, it really won't make things better sooner.

For weeks leading up to Theo Epstein's Halloween deadline, it was just assumed he would stay. And he wouldn't be staying for the fame or the money necessarily; he would stay just because he was so good at his job. When Dan Duquette was shown the door in 2002, he had left the organization a mess, and this 28-year-old kid was supposed to fix it.

Fix it he did. After interim general manager Mike Port cleaned a little house in 2002, Epstein took over and sent his army of scouts to work.

But now, the team has split into factions, has become obsessed with public relations and media spin, and now might make the mistake of overpaying for players in order to keep the fans happy.

Sound familiar? It sounds a lot like how the Yankees have been run lately.

Epstein said he left because "in the end, after a long period of reflection about myself and the organization, I decided I could no longer put my whole heart and soul into it." He didn't air any dirty laundry, he didn't throw Larry Lucchino under the bus. He just said he couldn't work here anymore. It would've been very, very easy to take the money and hang around, and there's no reason to think he couldn't do the job anymore. He just didn't want to.

What he didn't say was why he didn't want to, which leaves fans on their own. Power likely had some play in this, as did the fact that he was a mega-celebrity in Boston, something not many could be comfortable with.

But the exit still stinks. Had ownership brought up his contract mid-season, as they had with Lucchino, it's hard to imagine that this wouldn't have been resolved. Waiting until the last minute and throwing money at a problem is not the way to make people happy.

Look at the Yankees for proof. In winter 2003, George Steinbrenner took pitcher Andy Pettitte for granted, instead focusing on signing Gary Sheffield. When King George finally tried to sign Pettitte, he offered the lefty $9 million more than the Houston Astros had.

Pettitte said no thanks, and took Houston's hometown discount. Then he brought Roger Clemens with him, leaving the Yankee brass to try to resolve the issue internally and with the fans.

This resulted in the acquisitions of Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano and Randy Johnson, to name a few. None have led New York to the Promised Land. Pettitte and Clemens had.

Could Epstein trigger a series of bad moves? Is Lucchino Lord Vader in a new evil empire? It's too early to tell, but it's not out of the question.

The main reasons the Yankees are so unlikable is their mega-million payroll, their corporate attitude and their fake, glossy "mystique." There's nothing solid there, just a machine trying to buy championships which in turn sells tickets, hats, jerseys, etc.

With Epstein gone in such an ugly manner, the Sox are well on their way to becoming another soulless, power-hungry baseball product. Membership cards for fans, Fenway turning more and more expensive with every improvement, and maybe, a team of older, high-priced free agents instead of the young, home-grown squad that Epstein had envisioned.

In other words, a team totally impossible to root for.

Welcome to the new Red Sox Nation, where everything's cheaper than it looks.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. E-mail him at ntavares@s-t.com

This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on November 4, 2005.