Red Sox principle owner John Henry decided to meet with the media on Tuesday to address the state of the team on the heels of a brutal road stretch and a less than impressive start of the 2015 season. He met with a group of reporters behind the press box, but no cameras were allowed.
The Red Sox find themselves with half game lead over the last place Blue Jays after Tuesday night’s much needed victory at Fenway. They are coming off a 1-6 road trip. The pitching has been brutal and the offense, which had high expectations coming into the regular season, hasn’t been much better. Henry decided it was time to break his silence on the status of the team after a 50 game sample.
While he did address the fact that the team is clearly struggling, even going as far as saying “We have played like bleep” at one point according to the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, and also talking about the lack of entertaining play – “How painful has it been to watch these games? I watch these games, so I know how painful they are. We talk about television, it’s terrible television. But it’s even worse to be responsible for this and I feel responsible. I am responsible…I’m here to be accountable and tell you how I see it.”, he firmly put his support behind John Farrell and Ben Cherington.
“I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years and these are two people who I really like working with. They’re respective, they’re committed, they’re, I believe, very good at what they do.”
“I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years and these are two people who I really like working with. They’re respective, they’re committed, they’re, I believe, very good at what they do.”
In regards to Farrell in particular, according to NESN’s Ricky Doyle, Henry went on to say, “John has provided the kind of leadership that we need through a really tough period. I just don’t think you can blame the manager for this.”
He then discussed Ben Cherington’s job security and gave him a huge vote of confidence: “The general manager is going to be the general manager of this club for a very long time. I have nothing but respect for him and the job that he does. I think we’ve been on the same wavelength, so you have to blame ownership as much as you can blame the general manager. We have a certain philosophy, we’ve talked a lot about adjusting that philosophy. As I said earlier, I’m not sure that just the players need to make adjustments. In fact, I’m sure about that. There are adjustments we need to make as an organization. Ben will make those adjustments and he’ll lead that process. But I think he and his people are the right people to do that.”
As a fan, you have to like that the owner is stepping up and taking responsibility. John Henry is admitting that Cherington isn’t making all of these major roster decisions on his own, which has long been suspected, and that perhaps the overall team approach may need to be tweaked. While that is unsettling, it is also refreshing to hear some truth. However, I’m not sure Henry totally gets the severity of the issues when he talks about how this is a good offense and they can get back on track.
“The general manager is going to be the general manager of this club for a very long time. I have nothing but respect for him and the job that he does. I think we’ve been on the same wavelength, so you have to blame ownership as much as you can blame the general manager.
”You look at the work that goes into it, and I have looked at it. Did this whole team become a collection of poor hitters? I don’t think so. I think the production has been poor, and there are adjustments that need to be made. We haven’t played great. We haven’t played smart, and haven’t played the way we’re capable of playing. ”All we have to do is put our offense together and the rest will follow,” Henry said. Easier said than done, John.
Clearly John Henry is attempting to call out the players without going into the clubhouse and literally doing just that. This is it – their final chance to turn things around. Whether he truly believes in Farrell and Cherington or not, he is removing them from the equation so that the players cannot point any fingers. It’s up to the players on the field to turn things around, and perhaps Tuesday night’s 1-0 win is proof that Henry’s wakeup call worked. It’s going to take more than 1 run and 1 win to convince most fans.
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