Five thoughts a day after a pair of press conferences that shook the city of Boston (OK, not really) and caused us to ask the toughest question of all: Is it possible NESN (gasp) lacks credibility?

1. It's a little bit ironic, I suppose, that the day Theo Epstein officially took over in Chicago we finally get some good news regarding one of his many free agent busts. And make no mistake -- the fact that John Lackey will be paid $15.2 million next season and not throw a single pitch is very good news indeed. That's exactly how pathetic the Lackey era has been. Maybe he comes back from the Tommy John surgery and becomes something resembling the guy that the Sox tried to sell us on in December of 2009 -- a legitimate No. 3 starter. Or maybe he comes back and continues to be what he has been over the last two years -- the absolute worst starting pitcher in the American League. But for the Red Sox -- and the fans -- the whole Lackey ordeal is something that can at least be put on hold for the next 16 months. Think about it: A year-and-a-half reprieve from the act. No more eight runs in four innings the day after a 14-inning game. No more selling out teammates. No more excuses in his postgame press conference. This is what freedom looks like. At least until Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his first start.

2. Cherington announcing the Lackey surgery on the first day of his job was the baseball equivalent of the hostages being released the day Reagan took office. A complete PR winner that he had no hand in creating. I'd give Cherington a solid B+ for the press conference -- didn't give anything away, of course (other than Lackey), but gave all the right answers. And yes, it's more than semi-disturbing how much he sounds like Theo. I was listening to the press conference on WEEI (on FM, which is like Megan Fox wearing a … forget it) and it was startling. Cherington even goes about answering the questions in the same way, starting with a "sure" before dropping into robo-baseball speak, just like Epstein. We'll see how it works out -- when you look at, it's impossible to know if Cherington will be a good GM or not -- but right now it's a terrific story (New Hampshire kid, reading the baseball notes in the Globe on Sunday growing up, waited over a decade for the job, all that stuff).

3. The image that struck me most from the press conference at Fenway was something resembling joy on the face of Larry Lucchino. It was the look of a man who won the war. I'm sure Luchhino is very happy for Cherington, equally sure he likes him personally. And I'll go along with the idea that Luchhino thinks Cherington is the perfect fit for the GM job. But you and I and everyone else thinks the real reason for the Joy of Larry on Tuesday was that the two press conferences truly meant that Theo was gone. All these years battling Epstein and Lucchino survived. And now he's in a situation where he will have -- control might be too strong a term -- significant influence on Cherington. 

4. One thing I learned from Theo at his coronation/media group lap dance at Wrigley: If I'm Mike Quade, I'm not putting a down payment on that property in Lake Forest. The Cubs are going to hire a new manager -- makes plenty of sense, the Cubs were 71-91 last season and you don't give a guy 18 million bucks and the keys to the franchise and not let him bring in his guy -- and I wonder if Terry Francona is a possibility. If Theo's telling the truth, he would have stayed another year if Francona had stayed. If Theo's telling the truth, he has "tremendous respect" for Francona. If Theo's telling the truth, there was never any "disconnect" with Francona. Now, all that doesn't mean that Epstein will hire the man he teamed with to win two World Series. I can understand why he'd want to go in a different direction -- clean break from all things Red Sox, the problems outlined in the Globe story about Francona are at least worrisome, Francona himself might want a year off -- but isn't it telling if Francona isn't even considered for the job?

5. I referred to the Chicago media at "nutless twits" on Planet Mikey Tuesday night, and that still feels about right a day later. Sometimes (often times, actually) the Boston media has a tendency to overplay its role in things. It seems that maybe the reason we think it's so tough for an athlete to perform in Boston is because we've been reading -- from this media, mostly -- about how tough this media is forever. But let's be fair here: Cherington was asked every question that needed to be asked on Tuesday, and Theo was asked nothing. It was the Chris Farley Show all over: "Theo, remember that time you made the Nomar trade? That was awesome." Just a complete embarrassment. How do you not at least ask about his free agent record? A freaking cricket-fest. And speaking of embarrassing, if NESN want to at least pretend to be a network with a sliver of credibility, you have to show Theo's press conference. I think we all could have lived without the 14th straight showing of "NESN Daily." You either cover all Boston sports, or you are a shill for Larry, John Henry, Linda Pizzuti and the Red Sox. I think we already have our answer.