I do, to an extent. Mainly because Lucchino is gone, and what the FO was doing with all of their meddling clearly wasn't working. Use the definition of insanity to justify this one.
This board usually has a "consensus" on negativity-driven opinions, no news there. The whole "2013 was a fluke" angle is nonsense. He made solid moves that worked out for that particular season and should get credit for it. The fact that they didn't work out afterwards is an entirely different set of circumstances.
A lot of DD's more "high-profile" moves were Ilitch driven. I lived in Michigan at the time of the Fielder signing, and DD publicly stated in a visit to WMU that he didn't think the team needed Fielder (or any other high-profile FA) at the time.
I've actually thought about that scenario, and bringing Shields in (as long as it's not with the expectation that he'll be what he was a couple years ago) makes sense.
I said this over and over throughout the offeason and the beginning of the season and was lambasted for it. He's an excellent utility player, but not a regular. Some guys just tire out or get exposed.
They're going to mix him up with some analytical guys to see if they can recreate what they had in the Epstein era. This could be a great thing or it could blow up in their face.
Thanks for 2013, Cherington. Farrell and the coaching staff should follow suit. They also better goddamn have someone manage DD's BP assembly. His ineptitude at building a bullpen is the only reason he doesn't have multiple rings.
Thinking about Dontrelle Willis made me think about some of those other pitchers like Ben Sheets who were dominant for a while but fell off the map for one reason or the other. Longevity is hard to achieve in MLB.