General Manager Dan Duquette was fired by the new ownership of the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. In the weeks before the sale closed, the new owners would not confirm that they intended to let Duquette go, but they also avoided giving him a vote of confidence and failed to deny that his job was in danger, so this move is far from surprising and was generally expected.

Duquette's firing likely pleased many baseball fans, as he was perceived as one of the worst General Managers in baseball. He did make some truly bone-headed moves, but he was also responsible for several moves that worked out very well for the Boston.

In his most recent article, Rob Neyer provides an interesting explanation for Duquette's weaknesses as a GM. Neyer, who has spent a substantial amount of time around the Red Sox, proffers that Duquette's administrative problems stemmed from his lack of people skills. This theory struck me as a very plausible explanation of the problems Duquette has suffered during his tenure with Boston, so I decided to look over the fortes and faux pas of the Duke's career.

Boston's involvement in the trade market since Duquette took over the team in 1994 has been very polarized. Duquette made both excellent trades and trades that will cause Boston fans to cringe for years, but unlike many General Managers, rarely negotiated a draw.

A desire to do business with people again probably leads to most GMs to refrain from complete thievery when dealing with their colleagues. However, if Neyer's conjectures on Duquette's personality are accurate, each of his transactions should be viewed independently rather than as part of a cohesive plan. His bad trades almost seem to represent a lack of patience combined with a willingness to throw in whatever was needed to acquire the player in question. How else to you explain Dennis Tankersley and Cesar Saba for Ed Sprague?

A perfectionist's pugnacity to refuse to admit mistakes also appears to be evident in his player dealings. Refusing to acquiesce to even small increases in the initial offers made to Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn led to their departures as free agents. While a knee-jerk reaction to losing Bernie Williams to the Yankees led to handing the money over to a far less deserving Jose Offerman, pride in picking Troy O'Leary off the scrap heap led to signing O'Leary to an over-inflated contract.

I think his troubles with Carl Everett are also likely a result of this personality trait. Everett was his acquisition, and he made a great trade to acquire him. He was also a quality player, and so Duquette couldn't understand the problem; an attack on Everett became an attack on Duquette.

He was able to work out contracts with Nomar Garciaparra, Manny Ramirez, and Johnny Damon because he didn't need to relate to them on a personal level. Their skills spoke for themselves; in those cases it was strictly a matter of business, and Duquette knew the rules of the business.

Unlike Neyer, I'm not sure that he deserves another GM job. I doubt that his personality will do a dramatic about-face anytime soon. Even if there are considerably worse alternatives, there is no reason to settle for known mediocrity, as there are numerous qualified candidates waiting to try their hand at the job.

I could continue with this topic and discuss Duquette's replacement, Boston interim GM Mike Port; however as I'm recommending you read Neyer's article for his comments about Duquette, you will also be able to read his comprehensive comments on Port. Since I have no real fresh information to offer on Port, I will reserve further judgment until Port provides us with a new sample of work to analyze.

With that in mind, I'll move onto a familiar topic and cover a few more of the birthday updates.

Manny Aybar is reportedly two and a half years older than his previous listed age, which means that rather than just turning 27 last October, he will turn 30 in May. Aybar, who has already had difficulty sticking in a major league pen, may find it even harder to hold a job now that it is known that he's a pitcher well into his prime rather than just reaching his peak. He signed with the Giants this off-season, so he would have had little chance of making the team even with potential on his side. As it currently stands, I certainly don't expect him to see much time this season unless several of the Giant pitchers go down.

Texas pitcher Omar Beltre underwent a two-year increase in age, going from 19 to 21. Beltre has spent the last two seasons in Rookie ball first in the Gulf Coast League and then the Appalachian League. He pitched well both seasons, posting a 44:15 K:BB in 61 IP in 2000 and 83:23 K:BB in 69 IP in 2001. I suspect that if the Rangers organization had known he was a bit older, they would have been advancing him at a more rapid pace. If he is to make it to the majors, he will need to accelerate his development. However, he does appear to have a good deal of potential, so I wouldn't rule out a steady progression at this stage in his career.

Jose Cabrera came back from his off-season three years older, making him 32 rather than 29. Cabrera, like Aybar, is another player who has had trouble holding onto a major league job. However unlike Aybar, he's shown considerable promise over the past few years. The only impact I expect this discovery to have on Cabrera is that he will be less likely to land a multi-year contract and may earn less when he becomes a free agent. I still expect him to break camp with the club as a middle reliever.