Ben Cherington....3 years in

[borg]

Big Ben has built quite a unique resume. One U.S. championship (Isn't it slightly arrogant to even call the World Series the "WORLD" series) sandwiched between potentially two of the worst Red Saux teams in our lifetime. I'm sure 100% of Saux fans will take a 1 to 2 awesome to awful ratio if it meant a US championship (what other countries participate in this series that crowns the World champion) every three years....
but how often will the Saux formula, signing FA's that were unable to secure long term contracts from the 29 other teams, really work. Basically, the Saux are limiting themselves to the defective players pile....AKA...the land of misfit toys. Lightning struck long and hard in '13, congrats for that, but based on the two seasons sandwiched around the US championship (why doesn't the MLS call their winner World champion) the law of averages will slowly reflect the truth of who the Saux really are.

So what about Cherington...the GM. Is the new "limited contract" philosophy really his philosophy or is he just the loyal employee executing ownership's decree. Who could blame Henry and Co.for shying away from contracts that can crush a team's long term future. The fact remains, Big Ben carries the GM title and therefore deserves the scrutiny his title attracts......and in two out of the last 3 years, his teams are/were bottom feeders despite a top 5 payroll each and every year.
I realize the master plan involves creating a new core of skilled/cheap players from the minor league system....which so happens to be the plan of ever team in MLB except the NYY and LAD....and from a cost effective stand point that sounds spectacular, but the savings this formula is supposed to provide apparently only gets deployed on players that all teams rejected as long term options....in other words...a diminished talent pool. To summarize..the Saux future....lots of rookie/sophomore types learning to be MLB every day players plus the best of the unwanted. How often can lightning be caught in the bottle?
Big Ben has a tough job. Ownership has limited his available options based on the "no long term contracts"....and because of the '13 miracle ( I call it that because the parts were not nearly as good as the whole ...JMO), ownership will grasp even tighter to this new model ....until a few more especially bad seasons change the plan. It's looking like Ben has two in the hopper after 3 years.

 

[captain insano]

I have a headache.

 

[borg]

Rant continued
Over the past 3 years, five bonafide stars have arrived in MLB, not through the draft, but from overseas and the Red Sox refused to engage in any of these auctions. Cespedes, Puig, and Abreu from Cuba....and Darvish and Tanaka from the far east. These are corner stone players a franchise builds a team around....but the Saux....not a sniff. Burnt by Dice K, ownership has clearly shied away from "all-in" contracts to these foreign born studs.
So lets review. Ownership refuses to buy stud players on the FA market because the market will offer too many years (in the Saux view) and ownership refuses to bid at the foreign auction pool as well.
So my question....where is the power going to come from to boost one of the weakest hitting teams in MLB. I don't see it in the minors right now, especially since the Saux have been stockpiling arms at the tops of their drafts, plus up the middle position players.
The plan is likely to secure a Stanton type bat by trading 4 or 5 or 6 draft picks to a team financially constrained......The problem is....NO TEAM IS FINANCIALLY CONSTRAINED. Look at the Marlins....one of the most profitable teams in MLB even before the new TV contract kicked in this year. Problem #2 is that teams are willing to extend their young players long before these players hit their arbitration years....and most players jump at that opportunity to get that early security.
So again I ask what is the plan? Wait for a stud who's willing to risk long term financially security and get to free agency? But then there is the nasty business of signing a 7-8 year contract at $20+ mill/year.....contracts the Saux want no part of...or..... Trade for a young stud with a bounty of prospects....and then sign him for a massive contract that may be a few mill cheaper over the long run.
This team needs bats now. At least one big bat this year. And a year or two down the line, two or three. But from where.... Because we know what ownership won't do

 

[captain insano]

headache continued

 

[IcyPatriot]

We got spoiled last year ... I think Ben is back on track in rebuilding the team with a slight eye open to the playoffs because the AL is so mediocre.

 

[borg]

Because the Saux MLB product is so pathetic, I've been reading alot of AA/AAA box scores lately and it has become clear that the Saux have studied the Patriots team building play book.
1) Much like BB's core beliefs regarding stockpiling TEs, Cherington has adopted the same principal in stockpiling arms and more arms
2) And Big Ben tore a page out of BB's play maker manual as well. BB loves midget WRs that are physically incapable of takin it to the house.....and Ben loves midget up the middle players incapable of going deep.
3) A core New England philosophy (disregarded by the Celtics) has become their team building credo....Better to drop a player a year early than a year too late. Or in Lester's case, 4 years early because that 5th year really has Dr. Creepy/Larry the Lawyer/etc all in a tither.
And finally...
4) Ignore your weaknesses for years and years. BB had contempt for tall WRs, a pass rushing force, and an attacking defense....Carmine and the Yawkey Four have contempt for drafting power hitters.

...And now for something completely different....

Why can't we have a Cuban basher like the rest of the league? Thanks alot Dice K!!
40 year old Koshi good, 30 year old Lester bad...got it
Prediction: at some point in the future, Pedroia will walk away from his contract....like Dempster. Pedey is wired differently. The guy gave up his baseball scholarship and made his parents pay full tuition so his college team could go out and sign an extra guy. Mark my words....3-4 years from now....a frustrated Pedey hangs up the cleats early.
Farrell is one anal dude and the robot may get tuned out at some point. His loyal employee schtick is admirable, but players want allies in the foxhole during bombardments.
Yaz needs to put down the scotch bottle. Manny the hitter rises above Mr. Me Ortiz. The MAN was a machine and Ortiz road his coat tails for a very long time. Clutch is clutch and Ortiz owns that, but pleeeease.....ignoring the most professional hitter the organization has had in 4 decades.....really?
Rant over for now

Edit: Ask for a Cuban basher....get a Cuban basher. Lets get two!!!
Edit #2: Cespedes eliminates one AAA quality player from the Saux starting 9.....a move in the right direction. For those unhappy with this Lester/Cespedes deal......likely hoping stud prospects would be added to the farm system instead, 3-5 AAA/AAAA players have been starting for the Saux each night. At some point the team needed to substitute a MLB player into the lineup .....And maybe just maybe score a second run each night....DARE TO DREAM

 

[goheels22002]

Discipline with money and contracts, stocking a top-flight minor league system, and letting other teams hamstring themselves with giant salaries that limit what they can do down the road. It's like Ben is talking with Jonathan Kraft.

Cespedes in the lineup with Big Papi is a great short-term move and sets up the next franchise slugger into the early 2020s, is a dramatic OF upgrade. Victorino, JB Jr. and Cespedes is fine.

They committed to being defensively excellent up the middle with Vasquez catching, Bogaerts at short Pedroia at 2B and JB Jr. in Center. That will make the pitching better. They've got to quit jerking around Bogaerts and let him become a genuine big-league SS.

The Red Sox have the money to address their other needs - primarily pitching - in a number of ways.