Tampa Helps Red Sox with Software Development

When Theo Epstein, the whiz-kid general manager of the Boston Red Sox, popped champagne corks Wednesday to celebrate the team's World Series title, Richard Nicholas and Michael Morizio beamed with pride.

``We talk with everyone, from team owners on down. They live on this system. This is how they do trades,'' said Nicholas, co-founder and chief operating officer of E Solutions.

Among the things Epstein did when he took over as general manager for the Red Sox two years ago was sign up for a data software package from E Solutions that tracks players throughout the sport.

E Solution's software program, called ScoutAdvisor, allowed Epstein to track and maintain detailed biographical data on every player in the Red Sox organization - from superstars Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling to the rawest prospects scouted at high schools across the country and in Latin America.

ScoutAdvisor's popularity is growing. Eight other big- league teams, including the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals and perennial powerhouse New York Yankees, purchased ScoutAdvisor, company executives said.

``For them, it's all about making the best decisions about players,'' said Morizio, company president.

ScoutAdvisor is just part of the company's business. It also offers Web hosting, electronic billing and other services for businesses.

But ScoutAdvisor brings the company attention these days. The company charges an annual fee of $50,000 to $75,000 for a baseball team to use ScoutAdvisor.

The software stores detailed background on 14,000 players in the major, minor and Latin-American leagues. Information about players is updated daily. It also includes data on 2,000 amateur players being monitored by major-league scouts.