Bill Belichick is regarded as one of the more ruthless figures in the history of pro sports. He cut Lawyer Milloy, he traded Drew Bledsoe within the division, he exiled Jamie Collins to the Browns, and this past summer he cut arguably the best punter in the NFL over the past decade.
But Belichick looks like a sentimental cream puff when compared to Red Sox ownership, who have had an incredible amount of turnover in the front office, in the dugout, and on the field over the past 17 years.
The Sox are again looking for a new GM this offseason, are seriously considering trading last year’s AL MVP Mookie Betts, are poised to let JD Martinez walk in free agency, and are one bad month away from firing Alex Cora.
All of this is coming just 11 months after the team posted a franchise record 106 wins and dealt the Dodgers a gentleman’s sweep in the World Series.
Who in the world would want the Red Sox GM job?
Coal miners and textile workers have better job security.
It’s amazing to think about, but Brian Cashman has been in charge of running the rival Yankees for over 20 years now – and the Yanks have won a quarter of the number of championships as the Red Sox have since John Henry and Tom Werner took over the Boston franchise in 2002.
It used to be the Yankees, under the late George Steinbrenner, that used to have the hottest GM and manager seats in baseball – but Henry’s Red Sox have barreled past them this century in terms of ruthlessness.
The two franchises have gone about things in totally different ways over the years, with the Yankees always relevant but typically unable to come up with a World Series ring, and the Red Sox willing to go in the tank for a year or two before rising from the dead to again to make a run at a ring.
Consider that the Yankees haven’t had one below .500 season since 2002. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have had three – just this decade (2012, 2014, 2015).
These year-to-year roller coaster rides by the Sox – with new hirings and firings happening at a Trump-ian level – have been chaotic and bring a boatload of drama during the winters here … but the approach has definitely worked in terms of ultimate success.
The Red Sox are the most successful franchise in baseball since 2002 with four titles. Only the Giants and Cardinals can approach that, with San Francisco having won three World Series’ and St. Louis having won a pair.
Maybe to succeed in baseball in 2019 you need to have high turnover in the front office and in the dugout. Maybe the way to go is to take the NBA approach of either going for broke and shooting for a ring, or completely tanking. Maybe the wisest move for the Sox is to trade away Betts, let Martinez and his fat contract walk, and sell off some other parts in order to rebuild the train-wreck that is the Boston farm system.
Look, the way Henry and Werner go about things is slimy for sure. Theo Epstein couldn’t wait to get out of town, they pulled the rug out from underneath Ben Cherington, they subjected fans to a full season of Larry Lucchino’s wrap-inventing buddy Bobby Valentine, they raised ticket prices yet again this week after a craptastic season, and we’re still waiting on that Dave Dombrowski press conference. They are absolutely terrible at public relations, as any person with half a brain can see how phony the whole operation is down on Jersey Street (David Ortiz throwing out the first pitch the day after the canning of Dombrowski … really?).
But with all of that bad, comes a boatload of good in the form of a World Series title every four or five years.
We may be about to enter a dark period again – possibly the darkest period if they trade away one of the biggest fan favorites in franchise history in Betts … simply in order to save some money.
But by now we should trust the way Henry and Werner conduct their business – warts and all. It’s often nauseating, but if it ultimately results in another championship early in the 2020s, sign me up.
