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Cherington gets stroked these days by Henry because Henry knows he turned the money off last fall, and Cherington couldn't spend. Unfortunately, Ben made some bad decisions which killed their pitching for the year--moving Bard to starter and making some bad trades. The retread pitchers he picked up hurt more than helped. It was a bad year for him, but part of that was Henry's fault, which is why Ben is still around. Ben has yet to show he can handle the reins of turning this team around. It's a big job, and he isn't exactly a bold decision maker. It doesn't match his apparent personality. James will help, along with the other advisors added. I hope they add a few other saber consultants they let go the last few years--which was the start of their problems. My guess is James et al will have some weight in the decison-making. Henry is saving some money not replacing Epstein at the VP level, but it has cost him. Ellsbury? oh yeah. Trade him for a frontline pitcher. It's about the pitching.

The SS isn't going to make much difference. It's the pitching that will make or break this team. Maybe Iggy's defense can make a difference with the pitching. I doubt the difference in hitting at SS will make much difference--unless it's Tulowitski. Most SSs aren't good hitters. The last one the Red Sox had was Nomar, and that's a rarity. Teams have shown you can win a championship with a good field no hit SS. It's been proven time and again. The key is the pitching.

Cherington's FO mea culpa this morning in the Globe: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2012/10/11/red-sox-ben-cherington-feels-front-office-strayed-from-team-building-model/nRk6OwgWzS7xkSxxP6ItKN/story.html Pretty much consistent with my previous post last night, before this article came out. The decline of the Red Sox was a decline of the front office. It wasn't chicken and beer, and other such nonsense. It wasn't even Tito--though Tito was a very lax manager--at least in the end without his bench coach, Mills, to keep things in order. Cherington says they changed direction. Part of the problem was Lucchino-Epstein's cost cutting, which eliminated a number of saber consultants, including Bill James. Maybe others, since we don't know much about the FO.Another part was the loss of Hoyer and Byrnes by promotion to other teams. These guys were probably no. 2 and 3 in the FO. Were they replaced? Doesn't appear so. Cherington, under obvious financial constraints, made a number of personnel decisions this year which blew up in his face. The worst one was moving Bard to starter. Especially when it was known that he might have anxiety issues on starting based on his minor league experiences. They figured they would save money on signing a new starter by moving him, and they may have wrecked his career. The other bad moves were the trades-- with Oakland and Houston. Lowry would probably found injuries again in Boston, but he is a better SS than what they presently have. Melancon was a disaster. In Bailey, they inherited another injury machine, when they might have gotten Gio G. with close to the same package. They tried to get both, but their priority was Bailey--the closer. Wrong priority. Bard would have probably made a better closer than Aceves. Now we may never know. The oine decent thing they did was sign Ross. Cherington mentions the Dodger deal that "we" pulled off. Even though Henry has dictated that Cherington get "credit" for the deal (isn't it nice to be stroked by your boss?), the facts reported in several places says the deal was pulled off by Henry and Kasten at the owners meetings in mid-August. GMs don't do these kind of deals, and nobody really thinks Ben had the authority to do anything like this anyways. I do, however, think Ben et al in the FO had a big hand in picking out the Dodger prospects coming to Boston. Good job, there, I think. I still have my doubts the current FO is capable of turning this team around--at least very quickly. More changes will probably be needed, and the addition of James and other veteran scouts is a step in the right direction.

Makes sense, but don't count on this happening based on what management has done lately--which is mostly bad. They'll probably give up a Bogaerts for Farrell. The Jays aren't like the Red Sox--they won't let Farrell go without compensation first. While Bobby V gets all the blame in the media, the real culprits are Henry and Lucchino, who stripped the front office bare the last few years and finally let Epstein go before they agreed on compensation--another silly move. That's the real story about the Red Sox demise--not beer and chicken--or Bobby. I don't have much confidence in Lucchino or Henry right now, so I doubt they will do the right thing. The first thing they should do is get Lucchino away from team operations. But it appears Henry is unwilling to bring a senior person into the organization from the outside. It has become an insular organization--and that's trouble.

They need to get a frontline pitcher for Ellsbury. He is their biggest trade chip. Pitching is their biggest need.

Swisher wants big bucks, and I doubt he'll get it. They can get somebody for far less. Maybe Ike Davis from the Mets. I'd like to see them give Gomez a good shot. He can hit, and showed he could play some 1B in September.

I wish somebody would jump at the chance to get Ellsbury, but I'm afraid they won't get much value for him off-season, since he did nothing this year. I think they're stuck with him until at least mid season next year--if he shows something. I don't think they'll re-sign him. Boras is a factor.

Let's all agree that the dumbest thing the Red Sox could do would be to give up a top prospect for the right to sniff Farrell's underwear, I mean, make him their manager. Love affairs have been known to be bad for the Red Sox. AdGon comes to mind. There are plenty of good manager prospects out there--especially guys who are good with youngsters. They have to look no further than Arnie Beyeler, who is an ideal candidate for obvious reasons. Cherington's recent remark about wanting a lineup 1-9 in hitters is disturbing. The guy still doesn't get it. The problem is PITCHING, Ben. This year, the Sox finished in the top 5 or 6 in AL hitting, the bottom 5 or 6 in pitching. And that's with Papi taking the last two months off and Ellsbury being a non factor. What's needed is a pitching overhaul, and that should include an increased emphasis on DEFENSE. Hopefully James and the other new consultants will help restore front office sanity, which has been missing the past few years.

Talking about anxiety disorder, Bard may have shown some of this in his early minor league efforts to be a starter. He overcame his problems as a reliever--pitching basically for one inning. Why in the world they would try to convert him back to starter, in the light of his previous problems (which were not made known at the time) is beyond me. What happened this time around to Bard was wholly predictable based on his minor league experience. That's a sign of some competency issues in the Red Sox management organization. The media, predictably, has touched on none of this.

Piersall's problems were characterized then as a nervous breakdown. Never as "anxiety disorder" that I can recall. Maybe it was. Royce White, the NBA rookie, has anxiety disorder--a fear of flying and being confronted with new challenges (playing in the NBA, for example). It's the kind of thing you want to stay away from. Especially in the Northeast. The Boston and NY media will put Greinke under a microscope and eat him alive.

I think Lee or Halladay might be available in a trade. More likely Halladay, who may be in decline. They need an anchor in the rotation. The back part of their bullpen is in worse shape now than the starters. Bailey is no Papelbon--for sure. It's a shame Cherington may have wrecked Bard's career. In the light of Bard's minor league head problems as a starter, it was folly to try to convert him back. And Cherington was hardly qualified to make that kind of a decision. The Red Sox staff underachieved across the board. That suggests they are being handled wrong. Young failed in Boston--then succeeded in Oakland, suggesting it isn't the pitching coach. FO ideology forced on the manager could be a factor.Personnel, pitch counts,etc. The FO clearly sucks on pitching. That's been evident for awhile. Maybe James and the other new FO additions will help. It's really about the pitching: recognizing what the problems are and correcting them. The media focus is on Valentine, but the real problems are much deeper than Bobby's mouth, and they have yet to be corrected.

The 7 run rule is alive and well. The fundamental problem with this team is the pitching. It's been that way since last September. There is something wrong with the way management handles the pitching. You can see that in the early innings' blowouts. They can't improve unless they get to the bottom of the problem. Too many underachieving pitchers, especially in the early innings.

Good story on Iggy by Cafardo this morning: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2012/09/30/iglesias-thinks-can-handle-chance/U47J82semlai8dMvlM10PN/story-1.html Nick says the Sox made a mistake not playing Iggy at SS the whole season. His defensive skills are special, and they should have let the offense come with experience. This is especially true when you consider they were paying him $2.5 million. He is fair enough to Aviles, saying he had a good year playing decent SS. But one scout says Iggy is special defensively--maybe the best, and belongs starting in the big leagues. Which brings the argument to what may be the real problem with the Red Sox--the Front Office. Their judgement has sucked this year, and they have flown under the media radar, thanks to Bobby V's big mouth. Cherington appeared to be in over his head, based on a lot of questionable decisions this year. Maybe Henry's hiring of James, Tek and a few other "assistants" is an admission of this. But this won't fix the dysfunction and turf clashes in the organization-- Henry has to recognize he needs a VP-Team Ops to assume a leadership role, to oversee the team functions, before this team can go anywhere. And that clearly should not be Lucchino.

There are only two possible reasons to pitch Stewart a 2nd start: 1) they are desperately trying to finish last and draft in the top 10, and 2) Cherington hates to be proven wrong. I suspect both. Another tipoff: Cook is scheduled to pitch the last game in NY. That guarantees NY a win. I'm sure the Orioles are delighted, playing in Tampa.

I agree with all this and have been saying the same all year. I believe their biggest problem is in the front office: they let go all their saber consultants a few years ago, including Bill James, and also lost a couple of their top FO guys, Byrnes and Hoyer. I don't know if they were ever replaced. To top it off, they never really replaced Epstein--there is a big hole at the top in Team Ops. Cherington was a junior guy in the FO, and he inherited the GM job when Epstein left.A level lower. Asking him to rebuild the team is a bit much, especially after he has had a mediocre first season--wrecking Bard and engineering some mediocre deals. Contrary to some media, Henry pulled off the deal with LA--with Stan Kasten, as documented in several places. Henry, however, likes Ben, and when your boss likes you, you can do no wrong. So some local outlets have been brash enough to claim Ben pulled the Dodger deal off--probably with Henry's blessings. My own feeling is that no manager can turn this team around until leadership in Team Ops is restored. There is too much turf infighting going on for the lack of a Team Ops VP, to get all the ducks in order. Henry still has a management problem, and no amount of special assistants and personnel evaluators in the FO reporting to Ben is going to solve that. Not that he doesn't need the help.

Why did it take so long to hire Pedro? Tek needed some time to regroup, but Pedro? People talk about the manager, but it's the higher ups that have really screwed this team up. I doubt they are capable of putting humpty dumpty back together again. humpty dumpty sat on the wall, humpty dumpty had a great fall. all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put humpty dumpty together again.

More FO nonsense. Not shutting Bard down, and continuing to pitch retreads.

Iglesias clearly isn't the problem.

The management seems to be in love with Farrell. The guy has had a mediocre two years managing the Jays. And he was no Johnny Sain as pitching coach in Boston. Yet they seem to be willing to sacrifice a prospect to get him. I hope not. He's not worth it. Pitching coaches rarely make good managers, by the way. Somebody should remind Henry of that. It's not just the manager that makes a successful organization. It's the people upstairs. And I don't see the people upstairs there yet that can reassemble this team. Henry pulled off a coup getting rid of a lot of gold plated deadwood. But I don't think he has the management team to be successful.

I would hope they are smart enough to see the connect. Pedro is Rubby's idol. He sure does throw like Pedro, less the changeup. Maybe Pedro will teach him.

Anybody but Loney. Don't get suckered by the defense. He can't hit. 1B is a power hitting position. Possible candidates might be Gomez (made a fine play in the field last night) and LeHair, who is available from the Cubs--maybe a platoon with Gomez. Plus there are others-- Sands, LaRoche (whom they had and traded away), maybe Napoli, Hosmer, etc. Youks has declined hitting-wise, but he could come back in Fenway at 1B with a new manager. Gomez deserves a serious look. Loney is getting too much playing time--which is disturbing. You pay for hitting at 1B, not defense. The reverse of SS.

He should at least be the bullpen coach. I read that Pedro will also have an active position.

They can tolerate a weak hitting, slick fielder at SS--but not at 1B. The corner positions require a hitter with power. That means they should pass on Loney, who can't hit. Gomez is the guy who deserves a serious look. He made a good defensive play last night. Also, LeHair is available from the Cubs as a possible platoon with Gomez.

It will take a couple of years for the young players to get their confidence levels and abilities up to major league levels, and you have to give them a chance and see what they can do. The Red Sox have not given younger players enough opportunities recently, and what's needed is to play these guys and give them some experience to bolster their confidence. That means patience, and no rushes to judgement after 20 games.

Their pitching basically sucks, and I've been told they are looking into why--beyond just the personnel. Why they have a lot of underperformers with weak arms. The other night, they threw 4 pitchers out there for 4 innings-one per inning. I'm told they don't like to pitch guys more than one inning. Maybe that's why they frequently run out of pitchers. Plus all those bullpen heatups take their toll over a season. It takes a guy awhile to get ready in the bullpen. Throwing 10-12 pitches in an inning is not enough--especially when a guy is sharp. Taking your starters out after 90-100 pitches also takes it toll on the bullpen, and may actually be counterproductive to a pitcher's durability. A lot of these practices have no real foundation--it's a black art.