It was a horrific Halloween for Red Sox Nation. The team lost its general manager – one of the best and brightest young minds in the game – and is facing its toughest PR challenge of the John Henry/Tom Werner era.

The story of Theo Epstein’s departure has been well publicized. Too publicized. What started as a difficult negotiation exploded into an ugly public dispute – pitting the front office against itself in a firestorm fueled by Boston’s two daily newspapers.

There are many reasons behind Epstein’s departure. The public isn’t buying Theo’s insistence that Larry Lucchino wasn’t the cause of the divorce. Lucchino was notably absent at Wednesday’s press conference (carried live by seven television stations in Boston), and has maintained complete silence since the announcement that the Epstein Era was over.

Epstein’s leaving because he could not remain “all in” (his term), could not focus all his considerable mental and physical energies on the job 24/7. He’s leaving because he did not feel he could trust the rest of the front office, a feeling that gained strength as more and more stories appeared in the press, several portraying the 31-year old Epstein as a young apprentice. He is leaving because of his inability to walk down the street without being stopped a dozen times. Last Monday, he had to wear a gorilla suit and masquerade as a trick-or-treater to get by the media.

“This is a job you have to give your whole heart and soul to,” said Epstein. “In the end, after a long period of reflection, I just could not put my whole heart and soul into the operation.”

Beyond that, Epstein didn’t really shed much light on what was keeping him from doing that. It’s important to note that he stressed he was not burnt out, and that he planned on continuing his baseball career soon. Just not in Boston.

Now that it’s over, it’s important for the Red Sox to move on. They need to understand the systematic front-office failure that led to Epstein’s departure, and fix it so that this doesn’t happen again.

On Thursday, Henry told WEEI radio in Boston that he would take a more public role in the ballclub’s day-to-day activities. That’s a good thing. Many believe Henry could’ve avoided this debacle by being more involved in the Epstein negotiations long ago.

Henry has been adamant that Lucchino shouldn’t be portrayed as the bad guy in this. We may never know exactly what went on behind closed doors leading up to Halloween, but we can only hope it doesn’t happen again. Lucchino is well respected around baseball, but has to once again earn the respect of Red Sox fans.

For now, Theo Epstein hopes to walk around Boston without a gorilla suit. He’ll get his wish … and that’s not a good thing for the Red Sox.

Lewiston native Tom Caron works for NESN.