Fans did get a look into some of the inner-workings, but probably the biggest thing to take from the town hall is that everyone in Red Sox Nation — from the owner's box to the bleachers — is excited about the 2011 season.
9:55 p.m.: "There's an old saying that baseball is too much of a sport to be a business and too much of a business to be a sport," Lucchino explains when talking about the changing dynamics of the business of baseball.
That said, he quickly emphasized that the Sox are focused on the sporting aspect first and foremost.
"Our plan is to generate the revenue to be a successful sporting enterprise."
9:53 p.m.: "He's a huge Backstreet Boys fan," Theo Epstein says of Terry Francona when talking about the recent concerts that have been added to the Fenway Park schedule.
9:47 p.m.: "Hopefully you love school, but if you don't, do it anyway," Francona says in a bit of life advice for a young softball player asking a question.
Well said, Tito.
9:44 p.m.: The panel all sound like they're in favor of replay if they can get the calls right, and get them done quickly.
Also, the idea of playoff expansion was discussed. Larry Lucchino said he'd be willing to maybe endorse the addition of another wild card, but that's about it.
9:40 p.m.: One of the coolest things about Terry Francona, and it's clear to see tonight, is how much he really enjoys managing in Boston.
"I count my blessings," he said when talking about going to work at Fenway Park everyday. "It's the best place to be part of baseball of anywhere in this country."
It's clear that Francona really has a grasp on how big the Red Sox really are to New England.
9:37 p.m.: Lucchino also quick to remind fans about the upgrades of the video boards in the outfield.
That one's even cooler when you think about being able to Manny Ramirez' hair nine times this season on a huge HD screen.
9:31 p.m.: Larry Lucchino says there are still "several hundred thousand" Red Sox tickets still to be bought, adding there are seats available for "virtually every game."
9:26 p.m.: Tom Caron follows that dig up with a shot at Manny Ramirez following footage of Francona's introductory press conference in 2003.
"Obviously you hadn't met Manny Ramirez," TC joked.
Good times.
Francona followed it up with a serious note, though, praising Red Sox fans with a high compliment.
"I've never seen a place where they care about their team so much."
9:23 p.m.: Larry Lucchino points out that winning is important, but was quick to point out the progress in the restoration of Fenway Park and the contributions to the Red Sox Foundation.
Some great file footage from 2002 of Theo Epstein saying "scouting and player development machine" probably eight times in one minute.
The footage was eerily prophetic (not to mention Epstein looks much younger), but he delivers the line of the night thus far.
"Yeah, we were about a pitch away," Epstein said in reference to a mention of trying to win the World Series in 2003, then leaning over to Francona to say, "That's why you're here."
Sorry, Grady.
9:16 p.m.: Not surprisingly, the panel tiptoes around a question regarding the future of closer Jonathan Papelbon in Boston.
Terry Francona, though, did shower Daniel Bard with praise, emphasizing that sometimes the most important outs don't come in the ninth, saying that Bard is a valuable bullpen asset regardless of where he's pitching.
9:12 p.m.: "Hopefully you'll never hear the word 'rebuild' here," Epstein says.
9:10 p.m.: Epstein wishes the recently departed Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre the best, but it's no secret that the ultimate goal was to get "younger" and "more dynamic."
Larry Lucchino on 2010: "That's not where we want to be."
9:07 p.m.: Ah, the injury bug. Tom Werner addressed the never-ending string of injuries that, may have ultimately cost the Sox their 2010 season.
"We thought we were gonna be a very competitive team, but it just makes us hungrier," he said of the lost opportunity of 2010. "We wanna be playing baseball in October, not watching."
9:05 p.m.: Epstein also says that Adrian Gonzalez will get a bit of a late start to the spring, but the goal is still "not to have him ready for Boston College, but have him on the field in Texas [on Opening Day]."
9:02 p.m.: Theo Epstein gets a question about the magical 95-win mark.
"We still use 95 as a target, we hope that the team we put together this year can exceed that target," he says.
Also makes an interesting point about the win total for the AL East winner being right around there since the change in playoff format.
9:00 p.m.: Just moments into the opening montage, it's hard not to be amazed at how different last year's team was on Opening Day than the team that ended the season. Even more astonishing is how much different they'll look in two months when they take the field in Texas.
8 p.m.: It's definitely going to be interesting to see what kind of interaction there will be at the Town Hall meeting between the Red Sox front office and the fans.
Excitement for Red Sox baseball is as high as it's been in some time, and we'll get the chance to really hear from the front office on where they're at just a couple of weeks from spring training.
8 a.m.: With more winter weather looming, it's tough to imagine that Red Sox spring training is only about two weeks away. When it finally does get here, not only will it give Sox a temporary reprieve from the harsh New England winter, but it will start the wheels rolling on the 2011 season.
You could argue, though, that those wheels got going long ago. The Red Sox have been working since the end of the 2010 season to rebuild and reload following a disappointing end to the 2010 season.
The additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford alone would be enough for a flurry of optimism, but the Sox upgraded their roster from top to bottom over the winter.
On Monday night, the Sox brass will address Red Sox Nation at the Red Sox Town Hall event. They'll discuss the last couple of months and what they mean to the team, they'll look ahead to the 2011 season, but most importantly, they'll answer questions from Red Sox fans, addressing, quite literally, the state of Red Sox Nation.
NESN will broadcast the one-hour event in its entirety beginning at 9 p.m., and NESN.com will also have you covered with a live blog of the event.
So be sure to get your last-minute questions for Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona in by clicking here. Then be sure to tune in and log on for Monday night's festivities.
