Ben Cherington
Ben Cherington
Benjamin P. Cheringtonis an American former professional baseball executive and current executive in residence in Columbia University's sports management program...
asked best both felt knew red solution
I don't think it was much of challenge. When Jed and I were asked to take on that role, we both knew this was an arrangement we were going to try and we were going to see how it works. We were going to do that because we felt that was the best solution for the Red Sox.
absolutely either gets labels level lower means minor opportunity people prospect trying understand word
The word prospect means absolutely nothing to us. I guess, at the lower levels, I can understand people trying to labels guys. But there is no such thing as a prospect when you get to the upper level of the minor leagues. You either play well or you don't. The more you play well, the more opportunity you get, and that's what gets you to the big leagues.
ability commitment good hard honestly level obviously reason seeing success
That's up to Theo and Tito. It's hard for me to say after only seeing him in one outing. Obviously he has ability and there's a reason why he's here. There's a reason why he had the kind of success in college. There's a reason we made the level of commitment that we made to him. He's going to be a good major-league pitcher. When that happens, I honestly don't know.
continue effort talk
We continue to talk to him in an effort to try to appease some of his concerns.
against boston college guy pitching remember virginia west
We have to remember that this guy was pitching against Boston College and West Virginia this year, not Oakland and the Yankees.
ability athletic bit consistent excellent fastball good movement needs pitch stuff
He's a big, strong, athletic kid. He's got a good fastball with excellent movement and good sink. He's got a major-league slider. Obviously, the stuff is there and the ability is there. He needs to pitch a little bit more and get consistent outings.
area couple course farm focus gray hard hats short system wearing
Personally, it's been a distraction. It's been an interesting couple months. We've been short staffed, we've all been wearing a lot of different hats and there's a lot of gray area that we've never had in the past. Of course it's hard to focus on our farm system through that.
benefit guys held last team time
Last year's team was a pretty young team. There were guys who got to Double-A for the first time and they held their own. We may feel, by the end of March, they could benefit from a little more time in Double-A.
county family living stay wants
More than anything, I think he wants to stay in the Northeast, with his family living in Westchester County (N.Y.).
accept agreed benefit best both build changes clear felt front happen interest knew manager mean office point position red returns strongest successful team time
When Jed and I agreed to accept the position of co-general manager we both made it pretty clear at that time we knew at some point in time more changes could happen and there could be another restructuring in the front office, if we all felt that was in the best interest of the Red Sox. That would mean Theo's return. So we see this as a successful outcome. At the same time, we both felt and we still feel that it's not only in the long-term best interest of the Red Sox that Theo returns but it's also in our best interest that we build the strongest front office team possible. We benefit from that, too.
believe career cleaned closer dominant harder knee last mental optimistic phoenix physically point remember season string struggled success touch
We believe physically he is doing pretty well. He had his knee cleaned out after the season and he's been in Phoenix rehabbing and working out. We've been in touch with him. The mental part is harder to answer. Obviously, he struggled last year. It's important to remember that he struggled at another point of his career and bounced back and had a string of success and had dominant years as a closer after he struggled. He's done that before and we're optimistic he can do it again.
accomplish believe bright david finish good impression simply strong
David had a strong finish to 2005 and made a good impression in big-league camp. We simply believe that there are still things for him to accomplish at the Double-A level. . . . He's got a very bright future.
good
It's good for them (young players) to see that.
balance benefit challenge happy help hurt love move season team today true trying
It's a challenge because we all love winning. We're trying to find the balance between doing something that will make us happy today but could hurt us in the future. It's not necessarily true that making a move to help the team this season won't benefit us later.