Nick Madrigal is penciled in as the second baseman on my defending champion fantasy team.
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-offseas...tial-scenarios
Nick Madrigal is penciled in as the second baseman on my defending champion fantasy team.
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-offseas...tial-scenarios
The current state of the farm can be blamed on JH and Ben as much as on DD.
Ben blew it in 2014 and 2015 and as a result, JH hired DD to do exactly what he did.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
i dont know bell. some of the best run sports franchises (pick a sport) - the owner hires capable FO personnel and allow them to run the ship. some of the worst run sports franchises (pick a sport) the owner gets involved in decision making.
I prefer my owners to hire the FO folk and let them do their jobs without interfering. obviously mandating a budget should be the responsibility of the owner. what that budget is spent on should be the decision of the GM / PoBA
other names i have posted under: none
But when JH hired DD the mandate was obvious. JH was unhappy about finishing last back-to-back and worried about missing the playoffs again in Papi's final season.
We had a poor pitching staff and nothing ready in the minors.
We had lots of prospects.
JH knew exactly what was about to happen.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I don't think Bell is wrong here, though.
Ownership wanted a change in direction, and they got it...out with Cherington, in with Dombrowski. It seems silly to "blame" Dombrowski for doing exactly what he was hired to do and behaving exactly as everyone expected him to - especially since (in 2016-18 at least) it worked out about as well as anyone could have reasonably predicted.
As for what went wrong subsequently... John Henry's fingerprints are all over the Sale extension at the very least, given his comments in spring training about not wanting to blow those negotiations the way they felt they blew the Lester situation. Knowing that his bosses very much wanted to avoid the distraction and spectacle of another ace pitcher getting ready to walk at the end of the year, it seems quite possible that Dombrowski felt some pressure from above to get a deal done.
In any case, I have questioned and still question why, if we believe ownership that they knew at least a year in advance that they were going to want to re-set the tax penalties in 2020, and that there were major disagreements with Dombrowski as to the future direction of the team as early as the World Series, Dombrowski was then allowed to continue writing fat checks to injury-prone pitchers. If the financial goalposts he had to work within were not made clear to him, or if he was somehow allowed to defy ownership's wishes and keep spending profligately, then that to me is on ownership.
Please note that I'm not trying to bash or complain about Henry & Co. (four World Series wins - end of story), but I think if they find themselves unhappy with the corner they seem to have been backed into with regard to the luxury tax, the first place they should probably look is in the mirror. Dombrowski makes a convenient but not entirely convincing fall guy here...I prefer to say thank you for the ring and leave it at that.
It might also be as simple as this: Henry knew DD's M.O. and knew he'd trade the farm away for a window to win a ring or two, but he expected the window to be open longer than it was (not unreasonable given the budget in 2019).
Now, he looks at the situation and sees DD is not the guy for the step needed to open the next window.
Changing plans is part of being a great owner or company manager. Knowing when to do it is tricky and very important.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?