Chaim Bloom lasted barely four years as the Boston Red Sox's chief of baseball operations. Bloom got canned, and so did his predecessor, Dave Dombrowski, who served his four-year sentence. There was a flag in the Dombrowski tenure and a series of disappointments in the Bloom tenure.
What is on display at the executive level is impatience, dissatisfaction for known reasons, dissatisfaction for unknown reasons, and pure speculation as the root causes for dismissal. The Boston senior management behaved similarly to George Steinbrenner when a revolving approach was used primarily with the field boss.
What is in store for Craig Breslow? Bloom was fired for not winning, and Dombrowski for winning. Dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. Or, as Shakespeare would say, "Uneasy is the head that wears a crown." So, what can Breslow do to get his regime starting off on the right footing?
1. Don't be a Nervous Nellie
Long-time ABC announcer Keith Jackson used (or overused) the phrase "Whoa, Nellie!" as part of his announcing schtick. Former Secretary of State Frank Kellog often used "Nervous Nellie," and being nervous was the final blow that cost Bloom.
At the trading deadline, the Red Sox were still in the hunt for a playoff position and did nothing. Bloom made his reasoning, but the most noted reasoning was by reliever Kenley Jansen, who expressed feelings that likely represented the clubhouse view.
Breslow will have to make the decisions that Bloom should have addressed. If the team is on the hunt, provide the material for the roster to show the team, fans, and media you are serious.
Boldness has been demonstrated in the past, with 2004 being an example of a superstar being shipped elsewhere. Nomar Garciaparra was moved, giving up a penchant for offensive-oriented players for pieces that solidified the defense. Theo Epstein did not blink, Bloom did, and Breslow hopefully won't.