Well, it's happened.
Sort of.
A joint statement from the Red Sox and Cubs has made it official: Theo Epstein will step down as the Red Sox' general manager in order to assume the role of President of Baseball Operations in Chicago. Simultaneous press conferences will be held on Tuesday to introduce both Theo in Chicago and, by all accounts, new General Manager Ben Cherington in Boston.
But before you start thinking that this means anything, the Red Sox and Cubs haven't agreed on compensation.
Yes, that means that there's actually nothing new happening here, and that the Sox and Cubs are at the same impasse as before. We all knew the intent was to send Theo to Chicago. The question now is: what happens if they don't meet this Tuesday deadline they've set for themselves to agree? There's been talk of Bud Selig arbitrating, but I'd have to hope that's at the invitation of the teams. Otherwise it's a dangerous precedent to set.
I suppose we'll know on Tuesday. Maybe. Nothing else this year has really gone according to plan, after all.