Ben Cherington appears to be under no illusions.
He knows things have gotten pretty bad on Yawkey Way. And the new Red Sox general manager, who was introduced to the media yesterday, is out to fix them.
“We’ve let our fans down in some important ways recently,” the GM said at a Fenway Park news conference. “The last few weeks have been painful and difficult. But what I’m left with is an incredible conviction that the Red Sox will be the best organization in baseball.”
That means changes are coming, starting with a new manager. Cherington promised the Sox will do “small things” differently, “because what’s going to work moving forward is not exactly what’s worked in the past.”
So don’t expect a full-on annihilation of the roster, September choke or not. The “body of work” is simply too strong.
“We have a bunch of players that are really motivated by what happened at the end of this season,”?Cherington said.
How they compare
Cherington was introduced in Boston the same day his former boss, Theo Epstein, was unveiled in Chicago. Here’s how they stacked up yesterday:
Cherington money quote: “It’s my job to preserve what we’re good at, and also serve as a catalyst to decide what we need.”
Epstein money quote: “To me, baseball is better with tradition, baseball is better with history, baseball is better with fans who care, baseball is better in ballparks like this, baseball is better during the day.”
Cherington’s biggest task: Finding a new manager, John Farrell or otherwise.
Epstein’s biggest task: Rebuilding the Cubs’ entire farm and scouting systems from the ground up. Makes Boston seem easy, huh?
