The change that has seemed inevitable for the Boston Red Sox for most of the season has finally come. Following the announcement that Larry Lucchino would step down as president and CEO and would be replaced in part by new CEO Sam Kennedy, on Tuesday the Sox announced that General Manager Ben Cherington would step down, and that Dave Dombrowski would assume the role of president of baseball operations. Cherington will assist in the transition.
Cherington, who declined an offer to continue as general manager, endured a tumultuous tenure as Boston’s general manager. He inherited the 20ll “beer and chicken” scandal Red Sox from Theo Epstein, who bolted for the Chicago Cubs. That disastrous season cost longtime manager Terry Francona, who brought the team to two World Series victories, his job, leaving Cherington without a manager in his very first offseason behind the reins. Cherington would eventually hire Bobby Valentine as manager after his top choices were rejected by Lucchino.
The Valentine-led Red Sox fared little better than the previous edition. Big-money players Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Adrian Gonzalez played with what seemed like a lack of effort, and wilted under the scrutiny of the notorious Boston media. Cherington’s first major coup, somewhat ironically, was shipping these players off to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a group of players who are mostly no longer with the team. The biggest victory, in that move, was convincing LA to absorb the remainder of those three huge contracts.
The next offseason proved much more successful for Cherington. He finally got the man he wanted to manage the team in John Farrell, and an infectious optimism seemed to settle over Fenway Park. That feeling proved justified, as the Red Sox were almost unbeatable out of the gate and went on to capture another world title. It was a magical season that followed a terrible tragedy in the Boston Marathon bombings. That year, the Red Sox embodied the spirit and resilience of an entire city and rode that energy all the way through October.
A lackluster 2014 that saw the departure of fan-favorite ace Jon Lester was followed by an offseason in which Cherington made some very questionable choices to fill out the pitching staff and gave a lot of money to Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. To a man, the Sox’ rotation has been unreliable, and that’s putting it in the kindest terms possible. Sandoval’s weight has irked the fans, and his defense and bat haven’t bought him any favor. Ramirez has also been disappointing at the plate, and has been a disaster in left field. Several times this season, miscues on routine plays to left have cost the Red Sox games.
Though not technically mathematically eliminated, the Sox are surely out of contention. After being picked as the offseason favorites to win the division, Boston now occupies the basement of the AL East, and is 13.5 games out of first place with an overall record of 53-66. Though Cherington brought the team a title, it has been clear for months that he would not last through the season as the general manager.
Dombrowski brings a championship pedigree with him to Yawkey Way. He built the 1997 Florida Marlins who went on to win it all, and twice brought the Detroit Tigers to the World Series. He was allowed by the Tigers to step down as their GM earlier this season in order to pursue other interests. His interests, apparently, include fixing Boston.
While it has not yet been announced who will fill Cherington’s role as general manager, rumor has it that Dombrowski favors Frank Wren for the position, Wren, the former GM of the Indians, was fired by Cleveland in 2014. Wren was known for building a very strong farm system with the Indians. Boston has also been known for the depth of its farm system for many years.
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
