Right after one of the network pregame shows Saturday, a current manager called. “I listened to Joe Girardi and John Farrell being bashed by talk show and ex-player guys,” he said, heatedly, “people who have never managed, don’t know about 30 second replay times, dealing with players and the media and they wonder why there are so few candidates for managing jobs. There aren’t many people who want these jobs today.
“I’m not sure John Farrell really wants to keep going,” he continued. “I’m not sure Joe wouldn’t rather be with his family. It’s a brutal job. Look what they did to Brad Ausmus in Detroit. (—) joke.”
Well, Farrell has been fired. Ausmus, too. If Girardi makes it to the ALCS, it may be a different story.
But in the world of twitter, the internet, talk radio and analytics that look back on move that could have had an 11.2% better chance at success, it is very different from the days when in New England, Eddie Andelman and Guy Mainella were the only platforms for whom Eddie from Everett could vent.
Look, Farrell’s firing was inevitable unless they beat the Astros, despite three division titles and a World Series in five years. We all get it. The job, maybe the stress having Dave Dombrowski with him nearly every day of the season, home or road, wore him out. He’s a cancer survivor. Late in the season, he felt as if no matter what he did, he would be second-guessed.
A lot of people from the ground to the upstairs boxes felt that he was tired, that there was a lack of energy around the team and the clubhouse. In his defense, this 2017 Red Sox team had holes; they were last in homers, their 4-5 spots in the order had the worst OPS in the major leagues, there were vital injuries to Dustin Pedroia and others, Hanley Ramirez included.
When they limped home for Game Three of the ALDS last weekend, they played their hearts out. David Price was brilliant in a four inning stint. Chris Sale, tired and on short rest, came out of the bullpen with the heart and soul of a Tiant in Game Three, Cincinnati, 1975, or Curt Schilling‘s bloody sock in 2004. They lost, but when it was over Monday, in the joyous visiting clubhouse George Springer, a lifetime Red Sox fan, said, “they played their asses off. Man, they are tough.”
Who takes the job. One of the Red Sox executives who was in on the interviews after the 2012 season, called Ausmus’ interview the best he’d ever seen; had Farrell not gotten free of Toronto, he’d have been the manager. Brad grew up in Cheshire, Ct. a Red Sox fan. His mother grew up less than a mile from, Fenway, between the homesteads where Sam Kennedy and Theo Epstein were raised. He was hired by Dombrowski and has a good relationship with him. He calls Gene Lamont “the best baseball mind I’ve ever been around,” and Lamont, his bench coach, goes back with Dombrowski to Jim Leyland days; when Larry Lucchino hired Bobby Valentine, Lamont was runner-up and planned to make Ausmus his bench coach. David Price thinks Ausmus is the best manager for whom he’s ever played. Brad and his parents have adjoining houses in Dennis. One daughter is at Dartmouth, the other will be in college in New York next fall. His minor league manager was Brian Butterfield, one of the most important persons they have.
Clayton Kershaw and A.J. Ellis credit Ausmus with changing the Dodger culture as he closed down his 18 year major league career in Los Angeles. He is very intelligent, loyal through his core, has a striking sense of humor.
But managing a dreadful Tiger team beat down Ausmus, as well as a local media that asked questions based on what was trending on Twitter and failed to mention that in September he had to use six pitchers in a game, only one of whom had an ERA under 6.00.
And would he want this market’s scrutiny? Terry Francona, A.J. Hinch, Girardi, Buck Showalter, Dusty Baker, Clint Hurdle all benefited from taking a year off.
Alex Cora’s name is going to be discussed. He, too, is exceptionally smart, and while he hasn’t got major league managerial experience, he has managed in winter ball and the World Baseball Classic and spent a season with Hinch, one of the brightest and best in the business. Cora brings energy, he brings a remarkable ability to help Hispanic players. He is very close to Pedroia. He seemingly is wired into everyone.
He loved being on that 2007 team, and the daily workout relationship he and Mike Lowell had driving Manny Ramirez.
Jason Varitek’s name has come up, the ultimate player leader. But he has never managed, and while he is moving back to Boston, he has to decided whether he’d want to do the pre and postgame press conferences every day as well as be away from his wife Catherine and their young children.
Butterfield and Gary DiSarcina deserve serious interviews.
Sandy Alomar interviewed once, and probably will again, and deserves serious consideration. Don Mattingly may yet be available; he replaced Gary Dembo with the Yankees, and he was a Jeffrey Loria hire, although anticipated GM Jim Hendry would have no problem with Donnie Ballgame. Giants coaches Hensley Meulens and Ron Wotus have waited enough, when they were legitimate candidates years ago.
How the winning candidate resculps the energy—come on up, Carlos Febles—is vital.
This is an important decision. The window here closes soon, where the Yankee window is just opening. The good young Red Sox players are soon going to make big coin. According to MLBTraderumors.com, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Jr., Tyler Thornburg, Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Rodriguez, Joe Kelly and Drew Pomeranz stand to make between $30-35M in arbitration this winter. If so, they will take the payroll within $20-25M of the luxury tax threshold. So forget Eric Hosmer. Maybe J.D. Martinez, who as a left fielder-DH, would necessitate trading a Bradley for the $6M he likely will make.
Then Sale and Craig Kimbrel are up after 2019 and 2020. They will need to start making baseball trades in lieu of shopping for free agents at Tiffany’s and draining the farm system, which they’re going to need in the next two years.
There is also the issue of the organizational culture. Theo Epstein built a business that was strung together from his office to the Dominican Summer League, developing bright young executives and empowering them. They have some very bright people left over, like Brian O’Halloran, Eddie Romero, Ben Crockett, Gus Quattlebaum and Mike Rikard.
But Dombrowski has long viewed his role not as trades and acquisitions, but organizational-building. His right hand man is Frank Wren. Familiarity and first hand experience with young players far outweighs two look judgments, and instead of having the longterm connection with a Travis Shaw or listening to the coaches who saw Shaw developing from his benching and predicted last September that he was their 2017 breakout player.
So restoring or rebuilding the organizational culture is vital, as John Henry and Tom Werner ask why Mike Hazen wasn’t made the GM. Up and down the organizational ladder they know they have to get back to developing and empowering the brightest and the best, which Epstein and the Mark Shapiro-Chris Antonetti tree has done better than any organization.
There are tough calls for the new manager.
–Is Pedroia healthy enough to play 135 games? Monday in the Houston clubhouse, three different Astros players said, “I hate to see their season end with Pedey fighting off pitch after pitch fighting for his team’s life.”
–Can Bogaerts regain his game. There is no question he and Farrell had a connection problem down the stretch. I told Ben Cherington in 2014 that Bogaerts is overly-accountable, beats himself up, needs constant positive reinforcement. Both Meulens and Didi Gregorius say kids from Aruba and Curacao play so few games growing up, it takes them awhile to get where they are now. Ask Jonathan Schoop.
–Can Price get comfortable in Boston? His playoff performance began his restoration, and remember, when he came up in 2008 and broke-in out of the bullpen, the next spring he went into the rotation and began an eight year run of outstanding starting pitching.
–Can Blake Swihart be healthy and utilized. Four different members of their baseball operations this week think that healthy—and he privately admits the ankles bothered him up close to Labor Day, which is a question unto itself—Swihart is an offensive force who could catch and be used at first, third, left and DH. “Swihart can be a huge part of this team,” said one executive. At the minimum salary.
–Can Butterfield help Rafael Devers become an average major league defender at third?
–Can they restart the building of a bullpen bridge to Craig Kimbrel for his final year in Boston? Start with Tyler Thornburg’s comeback from Tommy John Surgery.
–What will they get from Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright, Brian Johnson and Jalen Beeks?
–Is Matt Barnes going to work out in Boston? Some in-house fear he’ll move on and become a premier power setup man elsewhere, like Chad Green.
–Given the opportunity, just how good a hitter can Sam Travis become?
There are probably two more seasons before the window starts closing, not enough time for the players they’ve drafted the last two years the players their skilled International staff have signed in that time. They need to look at Cleveland, see their pro scouting (Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, (Mike Clevinger, et al), and copy. They need to continually deal for undervalued 40 man roster players.
Whichever manager gets a hall pass for four or five months. He is not the solution per se, but he can change the climate, recharge the energy. Dombrowski was sincerely distraught at announcing the Farrell firing—no matter what their relationship—and will want him to succeed as his hiring. Sam Kennedy can tie all things Red Sox together as one of the sport’s strongest emerging leaders. Henry and Werner really want this to work.
This is not the time to look back at what did and did not work with Farrell, even the World Championship. It’s time for the vision to understand what the Red Sox organization should be from 4 Yawkey (or Taylor?) Way down to the Dominican Summer League.
There is a lot here, starting with Mookie Betts, Sale. Kimbrel, Devers, Benintendi and Vazquez. But when we hear “I don’t love this team,” it is because despite all the extra innings wins and comebacks and the Sunday response to singing along to Tom Petty’s “I won’t Back Down,” they often seemed as if they were playing in ¾’s time.
That wasn’t all John Farrell’s doing. Bringing back the feel of winning three World Series in a decade is going to require more than a managerial search, it requires a long, hard look at every part of what the Boston Red Sox have become.