A NICE VIEW AT THE TOP
Cherington optimistic as spring training nears
Two weeks from today, nearly three dozen Red Sox pitchers and catchers will be in Fort Myers, bracing for their first spring training workout. And shortly thereafter, predictions will begin to roll in.
Not even the Mayans would be so bold as to call the Sox a playoff team.
Ben Cherington respectfully disagrees.
“I believe we will contend,” the Red Sox general manager said Thursday in a sitdown with the Herald. “There is no reason we shouldn’t contend in 2013. But we also want to build something really good for a long time. We’re confident we will.”
Cherington understands the skepticism. The Sox haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2009, and since then, the infamous September collapse of the “Best Team Ever” in 2011 and the 93-loss nightmare of the one-anddone Bobby Valentine Era last year have served only to shake the organization to its core and disillusion its most ardent rooters.
An ownership group once lionized for bringing an end to an 86-year championship drought by funding two World Series winners in a four-year span has been accused of prioritizing marketing campaigns and TV ratings over smart baseball decisions. And after an offseason filled with the addition of complementary players rather than big-name stars, there’s little public confidence that the 2013 season will end any more successfully than the past three.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Red Sox will enter spring training unburdened by lofty expectations, the usual hype replaced by a touch of apathy.
But in Thursday’s interview, Cherington suggested the Sox may be well-positioned to surprise. In October, he hired the manager he wanted all along, and three months later, John Farrell has been given an overhauled roster. More than one-third of the players who cleaned out their Fenway Park lockers after last season won’t be returning.
To varying degrees, the Red Sox have addressed short-term needs at first base, in the outfield and in the starting rotation, while adding depth at catcher, shortstop and the bullpen. And in so doing, they avoided sacrificing long-term assets by giving up draft picks or top-level talent in their ever-improving farm system.
So, Cherington is satisfied that progress has been made toward building what he often calls “the next great Red Sox team,” even if outsiders are unconvinced.
“We acknowledge the expectations may be different, for good reason coming off the year we had,” Cherington said. “But, in a way, it’s less important to us. 2012 was sobering. It sort of gets you back on track. We’re more uberfocused on what we need to do to get things right for the long-term than we are worried about what everybody is saying.”
Cherington’s optimism isn’t baseless. In assessing where 2012 went so wrong, beyond Valentine’s impact, the GM and his staff identified a few significant areas:
• As a team, the Sox posted their worst on-base percentage (.315) since 1931, straying from their signature mark of seeing a lot of pitches and having long at-bats. Given their career track records, new first baseman Mike Napoli, left fielder Jonny Gomes and catcher David Ross should help restore that relentless offensive approach.
• After years of dominance at Fenway Park, the Sox went just 34-47 at home. Napoli and Gomes have right-handed swings tailored to launching balls over the Wall, while Shane Victorino brings a Gold Glove to Fenway’s tricky right field.
• None of the Red Sox’ starters posted ERAs below the league average in 2012. And while any reversal of fortune will depend on improvement from Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, 35-year-old Ryan Dempster was signed for his durability and, Cherington says, “no fear.”
It matters little to Cherington that the newcomers — Napoli, Victorino, Dempster, Gomes, Ross, shortstop Stephen Drew, reliever Koji Uehara and closer Joel Hanrahan — aren’t superstars. He’s confident the sum of their contributions will exceed their individual resumes.
“If we don’t win, I don’t think it’s going to be because of a lack of star power,” Cherington said. “It’s just going to be because we’re not good enough. Let’s see if we’re good enough.”
Cherington believes the Sox should at least be good enough to keep pace in what he describes as a “flat” AL East, in which “everyone’s sort of upper-middle class.” Given the division’s potential parity, he acknowledged the temptation to match the opportunistic Toronto Blue Jays with a “go-for-broke” move to swing the balance of power.
“We thought about it, but we just didn’t see that move. We didn’t see the right one anyway,” Cherington said. “It wasn’t available. Every year in Boston is precious. We need to take advantage of every single season, but we also need to do things that allow us to be really good over a period of time. We’re committed to doing both.
“I think we have some depth throughout the team in different areas. I think there’s a lot of upside, even aside from what we look like on paper. We’re not a perfect team. But we feel good.”
And, who knows, maybe all the doubters eventually will feel the same way.