Book Review: Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top by Seth Mnookin

"Feeding the Monster", by Seth Mnookin, is a book about the Boston Red Sox. That is certainly not anything unique, as scores of books each year are released about the Boston Red Sox. One of the things that make this book unique, however, is the unfettered access given to the author to "all levels of the organization" during the 2005 season, including access to team executives, staff members, internal memos, and the like. The team did not ask for or receive any editorial review of the work, so the words are those of Mnookin, not the words that Red Sox management forced on him.

The result is an entertaining and in-depth look at a team and the transitions that take place both on the field and behind the scenes in the major leagues. It's not just any team, either, but the Boston Red Sox, a team with a long and storied history complete with soaring highs (great players, great ballpark, playoff successes) and crushing lows (80+ years without a World Series win, allegations of racism and mismanagement). More so than with most teams, the fans ("Red Sox Nation") and local media (Ted Williams once derided them as the "knights of the keyboard") play a bigger role in this story.

After a brief history of the team and its management in the 20^th century, with its many ups and downs, we are brought to the turn of the current century, when the Yawkey Trust, which owned the team, decided the time was right to put the team up for sale. The team had been owned by Tom Yawkey from the early 1930's to the 1970's, when he passed away. After his death, his widow Jean had run the team until her death. As stipulated in the Yawkey's wills, the Yawkey's majority stake in the team was to be sold and all proceeds donated to the Yawkey Trust, a charity.

As with everything associated with the Red Sox, the potential sale of the team was a huge deal in Boston and the rest of Red Sox Nation. From the get-go, fans and the Boston media began making guesses at the bidders, picking favorites, and especially in the media, attacking any non-local group that dared express interest in the team.

This section of the book was particularly interesting to me, as I remembered reading many of the articles written in the Boston media at the time, from everyone from Peter Gammons (who I consider an excellent writer) to Dan Shaughnessy (who I consider a hack). I find the author's take in this section, as well as throughout the book, to be quite objective. One thing I wish the author could have done here, though, was to get interviews with some of the non-winning bidders. I believe he made overtures to them, but was rejected. He does a good job of remaining objective, but obviously, it's always best to hear a story from as many angles as possible.

After the rollercoaster ride of the story of the sale, which included everything from near misses on 9/11, to teams of bidders forming, falling apart, and reforming, to accusations of back-room dealing by the commissioner of baseball, to an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General, the story turns to the way the new owners changed the way the team was run.

For many years, the Red Sox had been a rather dysfunctional organization, with inept management making poor personnel moves, from player trades and signings, to naming managers and coaches, to neglecting the teams rabid fan and media base. One of my favorite things about the "modern" Red Sox is that their trades and free agent signings make much more sense than those made under the previous regime. Even when a deal doesn't work out (and there will always be a few that don't), the logic behind the move, both long and short term, is evident. The story of the organizational change brought on by the new owners is one of my favorite parts of the book.

We're treated to an insider view of how the team's new ownership group , lead by John Henry, made the decision to upgrade and continue to use historic Fenway Park as the team's home, their pursuit of Billy Beane as general manager and their eventual decision to hire young Theo Epstein to lead the team, and the cutting edge methods used to evaluate players value.

We are taken on a roller coaster ride both on the field and behind the scenes as the team as the makes player moves, deals with personality conflicts with players and members of the front office, and slowly changes the culture of the Boston Red Sox. We follow the team through the 2002 season and the additions of such players as David Ortiz at discounted prices, and the 2003 season, which ended in a heartbreaking loss to the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS.

And then, we're at 2004. The year the curse was broken, Red Sox fans celebrated, and the team won its first World Championship in over 80 years. Many books have been written about that wonderful Red Sox season, but this book gives some unique insights into the behind the scene motivations for several of the moves that helped put the team over the top.

The book is far from completely positive. Every team makes mistakes, and the Red Sox are documented with the same objective and in-depth manner as their successes. The deteriorating relationship between Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino, which lead to Epstein briefly leaving the team in October, 2004, is examined in detail.

The 2005 season and 2006 off-season are also examined. While these years were not as successful for the team as the storied 2004 season, the victories and defeats, both on and off the field, are examined, and the team's cutting edge approach to building a team explained and tested.

Overall, I found this book to be a very good read. If you're a Red Sox fan, then this should be required reading. If you're a baseball fan who is interested in the behind the scenes dealings of how teams operate, from owners and general managers down to marketing and their dealings with the media, then I would also recommend this book to you. The narrative has a very readable flow, and despite the fact that there's a good amount of economic and statistical talk sprinkled throughout, it does not get heavy. As I mentioned earlier, my one complaint would be that I would have loved to seen more interview and opinions from several corners...such as the bidders who did not win the team and the Boston media, some of whom don't come off very good in this book (deservedly so, in my opinion).

In conclusion, I found this book an enjoyable read, and would highly recommend it.