Dave Dombrowski
Dave Dombrowski is president of baseball operations and that means getting a product on the field that can win. The Red Sox did and will win more than they lost but with a staggering payroll, more was expected since being in the general vicinity of .500 gets you an early date on the golf links of your choice.
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There is speaking the corporate line and then there are statements made that just stun even the casual fan. Dombrowski in spring training mentioned being comfortable with his bullpen. I imagine Dombrowski would also be comfortable sending children to a daycare center operated by Freddie Kruger. That statement alone makes me question just what Dombrowski was thinking. Is there a concussion protocol for Red Sox executives?
The weakness of pitching was clear in the early going when Nathan Eovaldi went down essentially for the season. A four-year and $68 million contract that had no return. The Red Sox had depth, but having quality depth is more important and tossing out the Brian Johnson’s and Hector Velazquez‘s of the pitching world is great as long as you play the Orioles all season.
Forget the contracts that run good, bad, and indifferent since the role during the season is fortifying the team when breakdowns happen. There is no road service to call and Dombrowski made the right move in getting Andrew Cashner. Cashner then became a microcosm for the season and got smoked in almost every start.
Dombrowski did again speak of the bullpen during the season except for gloss over his bullpen situation. This may fall into the class of what he says but what he means remains planted in his brainpan since reality and honesty rarely coexist in baseball management. And that bullpen? Hot, cold, and inconsistent all season.
The very bottom line is Dombrowski is part of this mess and with his close association with ownership that dates back to the last century, I will be shocked, surprised, and mystified if he is canned. On my culpability scale of 1-5 with one being minimal and five you screwed us, I’d place Dombo at 3.5.