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ianthomasmalone
They should fire DD already for even suggesting Frank Wren. Baseball needs to stop behaving like politics and reward executives with horrible track records with top FO jobs. Between the contracts of Sandoval, Ramirez, Porcello, and Craig, the Sox have tons of money tied up in hideous contracts. Wren will only add to this number. He ruined the Braves. Why pull Bobby Valentine part deux and bring a polarizing old fart into the organization?
Vandals Took The Handles
1. Wren was given control in Atlanta and became an example of The Peter Principle.
2. Wren has worked as an assistant to DD a couple of times in the past.
3. You must have missed DD’s first series of statements when he said that as president he would have final decision on all trades. All teams have GM’s. Almost all teams have baseball ops presidents. The authority those individuals have depends on how ownership feels that day….like any business, those things ebb and flow.
4. This article notes that speculation is that the Red Sox will be going after the 3 name free agent pitchers, and that some prospects will be traded. If the GM is going to be all-powerful, how can anyone bring that up when the GM isn’t even known yet?
petfoodfella
Wren deserves NOTHING in MLB for what he did to Atlanta.
jjs91
Wren had the second best record in the NL during his tenure.
Jay Sanders
One of the ‘best situations in baseball’? The Red Sox have the second worst record in the AL and are about to finish last once again. They have some of the worst contracts in baseball (Sandoval, Porcello, Hanley) and the ‘young core’ they have is really just Betts, Bogarts, and a bunch of guys that haven’t shown anything in the majors yet. I guess they have good (albeit overrated) prospects though. I’m just sick of the Boston hype train.
bruinsfan94 2
What hype train? Of course they are going to get news as they have a huge fan base in a big city and have been a winning team before this poor run. Bradley has been playing great. Bogarts and Betts play up the middle, positions you want to build around. They have two very good young catchers, Erod has pitched great plus Owens and Johnson look good. They have 7 top 100 prospects and are going to have a nice pick next year. They will have around 40 million to work with this offseason and an ownership group willing to spend money. I would say there is a great chance Sandoval, Porcello, and Hanley improve.
Mark 21
This sounds like the same stuff I heard before the season started and how the Sox where the best team in the AL and the favorites to win it all this year. So why is it that most all true baseball fans think the Sox have a ton of work to do and are not set up so great for next year with all the money wasted for the bad contracts they have and there prospects dont have a good history. I can remember when Sox fans thought Will Middlebrooks was the next Trout of MLB and how about there prize catcher? Where did his bat go? They have a TON of work to do this off season and next season before they have a nicely tuned team.
bruinsfan94 2
Most prospects fail. No one said WMB was Trout. Not one person. That catcher is 23 and has not even had a half season of games yet. He is only in Boston due to injuries. But you cant possbily say a team with that young core and the best farm system in baseball is in a bad position.
cookiemonster
dodgers have the best farm system in baseball, but i agree with your sentiment.
bruinsfan94 2
Not sure ether is really better. Dodgers just took a hit to depth with the Utley trade. Red Sox have 7 top 100 prospects.
Vandals Took The Handles
“Not sure ether is really better. Dodgers just took a hit to depth with the Utley trade.”
I don’t follow the farm system rankings as most prospects never work out. But a farm system takes a “hit” because their #10 and #29 (I believe that’s what I read) were traded? Go back and get some 4 and 4 year old issues of magazines that cover prospects. Look at the #10 and #29 prospects – in all of baseball, not just one team – and come back and report on how well they’ve done.
It’s a crap shot and no one knows. Can’t even begin to list all the variables of what goes in to a prospect becoming a successful major league player.
bruinsfan94 2
Two top 30 prospects still hurts its overall depth.I’m not talking about the MLB club, I’m talking about the farm system. Exact rankings are not everything, and guys can move up or down very fast. The Red Sox have 7 top 100 prospects and very good depth. The Dodgers have two very elite prospects.
RunDMC
Astros are actually benefiting from their farm system while LAD is adding grizzled vets that wreak of Ben-Gay.
mwk89
no one called wmb the next trout. but that wouldnt fit your little red sox narrative wouldnt it? and that catcher? swihart has batted .297 in the last month, but since he’s a red sox prospect, guess he’s automatically a bust.
cookiemonster
will middlebrooks highest prospect ranking was 51…
dmm1047
I seem to remember that back on his way through the system, that it was Middlebrooks who thought he would be the next savior.
rocky7
Mark,
Right on man…ranking minor league systems is an art not a science as their are many career minor league players that were minor league allstars that never could repeat their performance in the majors. The Red Sox have as good a chance as seeing some of these players make it as most of the rest of the league. They got a chance to reboot their last terrible set of signings by catching the Dodgers in a senior moment and unloading all those bad contracts on that organization simply because they had money to burn. Bottom Line is the Sox make as many bad choices as many other teams and shouldn’t consistently get a pass.
smrtbusnisman04a
Not to mention they have one of the top 5 ballparks in mlb and a dedicated owner and fanbase.
Valkyrie
top 5 ballparks? you’re not serious?
start_wearing_purple
Actually he’s very serious. Baseball has a historical aspect to it and Fenway is the oldest active major league park full of it’s own myths, lore, and legends. Writers and visiting fans tend to agree that a visit Fenway is a must for any baseball fan.
rocky7
Jay…you are right on. Their minor league players are exactly that…minor league players that have not translated very well to the major leagues. And, every time they make a terrible acquisition like overpaying for Sandoval or dreaming that Hanley can be a terrific left fielder, they get a pass from the MLB reading media.
Right on brother!!!
smrtbusnisman04a
I have to believe the Brewers are calling John Henry off the hook wondering when they can interview Ben for their GM position.
smrtbusnisman04a
If the Sabremetric Red Sox were broken up in 2011, this hire has completely killed it. Dombrowski has probably issued a mandate to burn all copies of Moneyball ..
Dock_Elvis
I’m OK,with that…it didn’t even represent analytics fairly
robbyb
any doubt it will be dipoto?
Vandals Took The Handles
“any doubt it will be dipoto?”
If he couldn’t get along with Scioscia, how does he get along with DD? Going around a manager to tell the players how to play is pretty bad. Think an experienced FO person taking over as president of baseball ops is going to put up with someone doing that to him? DiPoto may be a favorite of some fans, but he’s going to have a very difficult time getting another GM job without a lot of explaining to do.
jjs91
YA dipoto really struggled finding work.
Vandals Took The Handles
Tell me his other offers.
He hooked on as a “consultant” that works day to day.
mike156
You get the feeling that there’s things that are going unsaid. Cherington is getting paid his full contract. Everyone is being very polite and filled with admiration for each other. This is a great spot for someone new. There’s talent on the roster and talent in the minor leagues. There’s a big budget to leverage–not just in bringing in new talent, but also in pruning the roster of older player you think aren’t going to fit in in the future. The material is here, especially for someone a little ruthless.
charlie59
The only problem is Dombrowski will start trading off the minor league talent and possibly some of the young talent that is currently on the roster.
In July 2013, if the Sox had traded Pedroia for young arms instead of extending his contract through 2021, they could be in great shape with a young, inexpensive nucleus of position players and arms. And if they then needed a player to fill in a gap, the cost wouldn’t have been as great as this rebuild will be.
Vandals Took The Handles
I thought we needed to wait to see who the GM is to figure out what he will do.
JuanValdezz
Dumbrowski essentially had an unlimited budget and he used it to extend Verlander who had a 3 year $20M per year contract for 5 more years. And he let Scherzer walk. He also couldn’t find relief pitchers. He should have been fired last year. I don’t see anything positive that he’s done in the last two years.
He’s living off his reputation. The Tigers are better off without him. The Red Sox will be OK if they give him $500M to sign two starting pitchers and another $500M to fill other holes.
dmm1047
Both Cherington and Farrell had to go. The trick here is to make the Farrell move as gently as possible. The Sox can’t wait to see if he’s going to be okay and ready to start the season next year, only to find out he’s had a setback and have to scrabble for a good manager. Finding a manager has to be done during the off season. Perhaps bump him upstairs until he’s well enough to manage elsewhere? First off, Dombrowski has to figure out how to dump Ramirez, who plays like a 60 year old, Sandoval, who’s totally overweight and out of shape–and Porcello, who’s showing that he not worth 1/2 his salary. I don’t think Ortiz would be a “plus” next next either. He’s getting old, he’s out of shape and doesn’t run out balls hit. I’ve actually seen him “walk” all the way to 1st base after receiving a walk. I also think he’s “enabled” both in the clubhouse and on the field, which sets a bad example, as I continually see him and Ramirez step out of the batter’s box after nearly every pitch, which should lead to a warning/fine and hasn’t–not to mention his whining. Lastly, Next year’s outfield, barring any trades should be Betts in left, JBJ in CF and Castillo in RF. No way JBL should not be in CF. He’s one of the best in the business. It would be crazy putting him anywhere else.
Vandals Took The Handles
Farrell is not a good baseball man, he’s an excellent one. I think he will get along fine with DD and prosper.
petfoodfella
Ortiz is not going anywhere, and Boston should keep him next year as well. He’s an icon in the city, the face of the Franchise and he’s earned the ability to walk to first on a walk.
Oh, he’s also hitting the most HR’s.
IF it were up to me,
LF – Betts
CF – Bradley
RF – Castillo
3b – Sandoval (mandated diet & exercise program in off-season)
ss – Bogaerts
2b – Pedroia
1b – Ramirez
C – Swihart
Fill in a few bench roles with a mix of youth & veterans.
Examples: Gomes, Uribe, Zobrist, a few more. Add some depth from the AAA ranks too.
Bullpen needs work, use depth (Betts) to fill that void as well as no clear cut #1. Price, Cueto would be my top 2. I’d make a run at Mike Leake to to be a solid #3.
I’d even be open to trading Betts for some solid top rotation pitching, and try for a FA splash like Heyward or Upton. Upton I’d go 4 years, higher annual salary for shorter contract. Heyward I’d max at 7/$120mm – he’ll get more I’m sure, but he’s not worth it. If I’m Heyward, I’d take less to go to Boston.
Oh, and I’d never hire Frank Wren.
peyton
I could not imagine a baseball team with JBJ starting and Ben Zobrist on the bench.
bobbleheadguru
1. How do you “mandate” a guy who has a guaranteed contract for eleventy billion dollars?
2. High AAV with short contracts are rare and not really a good thing. They had to grossly overpay Porcello to get one. It also created the Panda/Hanley mess.
3. Why would you take less to go to a LAST place team if you are Heyward? The pink hats? Sweet Caroline/Love That Dirty Water? The Boston Media? Just curious.
Vandals Took The Handles
Heyward is happy in St. Louis. Boston is the last city he’ll want to play in. Those 2 cities are the ends of the spectrum in how players are treated.
Scheister of Doom
I can’t remember the last time so many GM changes transpired in the middle of a season. LAA, DET and BOS…am I missing any? I guess they just couldn’t wait till the off-season.
bobbleheadguru
DD did not like Porcello enough to sign him to a contract extension that would have been perhaps 2/3rds of what he got from Red Sox.
Ricky belongs back with the Tigers. Less pressure, bigger park, upgraded infield defense since he left. The $21MM/year is absurd, but perhaps something could be worked out.
Not sure either side would do it, but Verlander for Porcello would be intriguing. JV has been pretty good lately. Perhaps he is close to accepting his role as a solid #3 that throws in the low 90s. Porcello’s ceiling the next 4 years is a lot lower than Verlander’s. Their AAV is only about $7MM apart. Tigers get younger and cheaper while Red Sox get a pitcher who has a much better track record and better stuff, even without a 100MPH fastball (with some risk, of course).
bobbleheadguru
From the Tigers end of things, perhaps they can patch things up with Price, or more realistically, Cespedes and sign one of them. They can leverage DD leaving as an “excuse” for any disrespect taken by either player.
Vandals Took The Handles
You’re reaching again.