GM by Committee

Boston (AP) "Our baseball operations team is armed with an offseason plan and alist of priorities,'' club president Larry Lucchino said. "Like 29 other clubs, they are heading to Palm Springs to listen and gather information for later in the winter, but make no mistake, they are also empowered to speak with other clubs and with agents and to consummate any deal they feel will be in the best interest of the Boston RedSox.''

The Sox tried the Bullpen by Committee experiment and have graduated to GM by Committee. Maybe it's the new wave, and also the dissolution of authority prevents any of the young upstarts from usurping Master Luke's 'Star Wars' prima donna status. Way to go.

On the other hand, maybe it commences a new internal power struggle among Jed Hoyer, Craig Shipley, Ben Cherington, and Peter Woodfork. Too many guys for 'stone, paper, scissors' and the Sox are definitely too out of tune to consider 'musical chairs.' A Texas Death Match wrassling tournament could work, or maybe they could do karaoke, with Derek Lowe coming in as a celebrity judge.

Or maybe, they might team up to try to recruit another team's GM, enticing him with a clandestine trip to a strip joint, plying him with a few rounds, and getting some compromising pictures. That might seem underhanded, but the Sox will emphasize both creativity and achievement going forward. Machiavelli would be proud.