People were okay with unprecedented last place finishes by a Red Sox team as long as they were convinced that he was building toward the future. Ben was just awful. To paraphrase Bob Gibson, the only thing Ben knows about pitching is that he can't hit it. The future never would have come under Ben as he could dismantle pitching staffs, but he couldn't build a staff. You can't win without good pitching. Houston was built from the ground up, but they were bold in adding the final touch in acquiring Verlander at the trading deadline. Ben never would have made that type of move.