So....who is the new GM/head of baseball ops?

[JM3]

I just don't understand deciding Cora was so valuable that the new front office has to roll with him. It's not like he's some Johnny Pesky/Red Auerbach figure that's been with the organization for 50 years or whatever. Who do we thing the chief meddler is? Kennedy? Romero? Ferreira? Henry?

Bottom line is it's Henry's decision. Who is championing Cora & putting him on that pedestal? I have no clue. & he is still on an expiring contract, so it may be complete nonsense & this is spin put out by Cora's people to ensure he gets a great job somewhere else. It certainly doesn't seem like that, though.

The best thing about hiring a new CBO is getting the institutional knowledge of another, very successful organization. We have our own institutional knowledge from our own successful organization, but we don't get any new knowledge or the opportunity to grow further as a smart modern organization by hiring internally. That was the best thing about hiring Bloom - getting that Tampa Bay institutional knowledge & doing a lot of things in similar, smart ways as they do. But he was never really allowed to bring in his own people (or he chose to not bring in his own people because reasons?). Regardless, though, they started modernizing a lot of practices.

But I bet the Dodgers, Astros & Braves don't do things the exact same way as the Red Sox. Or the same way as the Rays. So let's learn from everyone & sort out the best practices. That was why my dream was Gomes or Byrnes as CBO with Sestanovich as GM. Bring in all the ideas & let the best ones rise to the top. Keeping everyone in house is fine & I like Eddie Romero & think he'd probably be fine...but I want better than that. & I don't want to give decision-making authority to a guy who is a manager with no real proof of aptitude whatsoever when it comes to personnel - which is a completely different profession than he is currently in.

 

[chawson]

My sense is that a lot of gripes on behalf of an entering GM being affronted that they don't have full autonomy are complaints about Cora in disguise. People want him gone, and if it isn't for their preferred reason then it's to uphold some professional standard...or something.

I imagine my view is colored similarly. I think Cora's very good-to-great, so I don't mind that the entering FO exec has to add Find a media-savvy, analytics-friendly, tactically astute, bullpen-competent and bilingual manager who will defer to the GM in all situations to an already lengthy task list this winter.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Bottom line is it's Henry's decision. Who is championing Cora & putting him on that pedestal? I have no clue. & he is still on an expiring contract, so it may be complete nonsense & this is spin put out by Cora's people to ensure he gets a great job somewhere else. It certainly doesn't seem like that, though.

The best thing about hiring a new CBO is getting the institutional knowledge of another, very successful organization. We have our own institutional knowledge from our own successful organization, but we don't get any new knowledge or the opportunity to grow further as a smart modern organization by hiring internally. That was the best thing about hiring Bloom - getting that Tampa Bay institutional knowledge & doing a lot of things in similar, smart ways as they do. But he was never really allowed to bring in his own people (or he chose to not bring in his own people because reasons?). Regardless, though, they started modernizing a lot of practices.

But I bet the Dodgers, Astros & Braves don't do things the exact same way as the Red Sox. Or the same way as the Rays. So let's learn from everyone & sort out the best practices. That was why my dream was Gomes or Byrnes as CBO with Sestanovich as GM. Bring in all the ideas & let the best ones rise to the top. Keeping everyone in house is fine & I like Eddie Romero & think he'd probably be fine...but I want better than that. & I don't want to give decision-making authority to a guy who is a manager with no real proof of aptitude whatsoever when it comes to personnel - which is a completely different profession than he is currently in.

To the bolded, wasn't Bloom barred (or severely limited) from hiring anyone from Tampa as part of them letting him go? I don't think it was a choice on his part, or the Red Sox for that matter.

 

[soxhop411]

To the bolded, wasn't Bloom barred (or severely limited) from hiring anyone from Tampa as part of them letting him go? I don't think it was a choice on his part, or the Red Sox for that matter.

yes

Quatraro would seem a natural target, since he has spent most of his coaching and managerial career with the Rays, starting in 2004, filling a variety of roles from minor league catching instructor, hitting coordinator, hitting coach and manager. He's also been part of the major league coaching staff since 2018 -- first as third base coach and then as bench coach. In every year but this past one, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was with the Rays, too.

But per an agreement with the Rays, forged a year ago when Bloom left Tampa Bay to join the Red Sox, Bloom is prohibited from hiring anyone from Tampa Bay -- both front office and uniformed personnel -- for a period of two years.

(Bloom has hinted that some restrictions were put in place upon his joining the Sox, but has declined to specify them. He declined comment for this story).

It's conceivable that Bloom could go back to his former team and ask permission to interview Quatraro, citing the fact that, agreement aside, protocol within the game is to not block someone from getting a promotion elsewhere -- as going from bench coach to manager would surely qualify.

But the consensus is that the Rays insisted upon this non-compete clause for a reason. Add in the fact that the last thing the Rays want is to be seen as is some sort of small-market franchise serving as a training ground by their big market division rivals and it would seem the chances of Quatraro being given permission to talk with the Sox is slim indeed -- maybe even non-existent.

https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2020/10/23/mcadam-red-sox-managerial-search-starts-heat-one-potential-candidate-appears-beyond-reach

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

Bottom line is it's Henry's decision. Who is championing Cora & putting him on that pedestal? I have no clue.

I really can't help but wonder if Cora (whom I assume can talk to FSG any time he wants) was out there advocating guys to add or subtract recently, FSG said something like "it's the FO's call" and then Cora's side of the ledger looked like he was a better MLB evaluator than Bloom.

Again, I don't know this for sure and I'm certainly not pretending I do, but I will say that if I were the head of a multi billion dollar operation and I had one person in my organization that was "hitting" on ideas that I watched have success at my competitors and another that was making different choices and missing the expanded playoffs in the last two seasons, I'd consider sticking with the former and wanting him to be a big part of the organization.

To be clear, pure speculation. But it would at least give a plausible answer as to the sway Cora - apparently - holds among ownership.

 

[JM3]

To the bolded, wasn't Bloom barred (or severely limited) from hiring anyone from Tampa as part of them letting him go? I don't think it was a choice on his part, or the Red Sox for that matter.

He was here 2 years after that restriction, though. I remember hearing about it when they did finally bring on someone from the Rays org. & it's kind of a weird restriction to have in place anyway since what leverage did the Rays have to make the Red Sox make that concession? But that borders on conspiracy theory.

 

[Jimbodandy]

My sense is that a lot of gripes on behalf of an entering GM being affronted that they don't have full autonomy are complaints about Cora in disguise. People want him gone, and if it isn't for their preferred reason then it's to uphold some professional standard...or something.

I imagine my view is colored similarly. I think Cora's very good-to-great, so I don't mind that the entering FO exec has to add Find a media-savvy, analytics-friendly, tactically astute, bullpen-competent and bilingual manager who will defer to the GM in all situations to an already lengthy task list this winter.

I can't speak for anyone else, but that's not my motivation at all. I'm super discouraged about how this year's team finished and figure that may be an indication that Cora lost the room. But I have no inside knowledge, and frankly the room should hopefully look very different next year anyway so who cares.

I'm talking about Romero, O'Halloran, and Cora all being publicly anointed and propped up by Kennedy since the season ended. Frankly, I'm not sure that any--let alone all--are problematic and should be dismissed or marginalized. The point is that these are CBO decisions, not the decisions of a guy with a sales and marketing background.

 

[JM3]

I can't speak for anyone else, but that's not my motivation at all. I'm super discouraged about how this year's team finished and figure that may be an indication that Cora lost the room. But I have no inside knowledge, and frankly the room should hopefully look very different next year anyway so who cares.

I'm talking about Romero, O'Halloran, and Cora all being publicly anointed and propped up by Kennedy since the season ended. Frankly, I'm not sure that any--let alone all--are problematic and should be dismissed or marginalized. The point is that these are CBO decisions, not the decisions of a guy with a sales and marketing background.

This is my feeling as well.

I do have concerns about how awful the Red Sox were at defense & other fundamentals this season, but if the new person has the authority to make an independent decision & says, "Yes, Cora is definitely the best fit, let's extend him", I would completely respect that. Same goes with the various front office people in place. Except those are probably more to do with role within the org & whether they would be willing to accept a role with less responsibility if the new person deemed it optimal.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I can't speak for anyone else, but that's not my motivation at all. I'm super discouraged about how this year's team finished and figure that may be an indication that Cora lost the room. But I have no inside knowledge, and frankly the room should hopefully look very different next year anyway so who cares.

I'm talking about Romero, O'Halloran, and Cora all being publicly anointed and propped up by Kennedy since the season ended. Frankly, I'm not sure that any--let alone all--are problematic and should be dismissed or marginalized. The point is that these are CBO decisions, not the decisions of a guy with a sales and marketing background.

The alternative to keeping those guys in place while there's no CBO (because someone has to run the team in the meantime) would have been to have a hire lined up before they fired Bloom and allowing him/her to clean house as they see fit. But that's not what happened, it's not usually how these things happen for any team.

All indications seem to be that ownership likes where the team is headed overall, they just didn't think Bloom was the right guy to take the team over the hump. So the new hire is going to be one that can continue Bloom's good work while also hopefully fixing whatever Bloom wasn't doing well enough. Whether we like it or not, they seem to have no desire to hire someone whose vision for the club is to start over from scratch from top to bottom.

 

[Jimbodandy]

The alternative to keeping those guys in place while there's no CBO (because someone has to run the team in the meantime) would have been to have a hire lined up before they fired Bloom and allowing him/her to clean house as they see fit. But that's not what happened, it's not usually how these things happen for any team.

All indications seem to be that ownership likes where the team is headed overall, they just didn't think Bloom was the right guy to take the team over the hump. So the new hire is going to be one that can continue Bloom's good work while also hopefully fixing whatever Bloom wasn't doing well enough. Whether we like it or not, they seem to have no desire to hire someone whose vision for the club is to start over from scratch from top to bottom.

I think that some of us (me in particular) aren't communicating this well, because it keeps getting boiled down to a dichotomy between cleaning house or keeping everything in place. Sigh.

I'm saying that I don't have a strong opinion about those guys. I think that the CBO's job is to assess all of baseball operations when they take the job and decide where to make improvements and on what schedule, all within the budget that they've been given and in alignment to the overall vision of ownership. It may be the case that all of these cats are exactly the right people. I have no idea. Maybe some are, some aren't. But the CBO is supposed to have the authority to make these calls full stop, on whatever pace makes sense to them. That's the damn job.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I think that some of us (me in particular) aren't communicating this well, because it keeps getting boiled down to a dichotomy between cleaning house or keeping everything in place. Sigh.

I'm saying that I don't have a strong opinion about those guys. I think that the CBO's job is to assess all of baseball operations when they take the job and decide where to make improvements and on what schedule, all within the budget that they've been given and in alignment to the overall vision of ownership. It may be the case that all of these cats are exactly the right people. I have no idea. Maybe some are, some aren't. But the CBO is supposed to have the authority to make these calls full stop, on whatever pace makes sense to them. That's the damn job.

History suggests that except in the cases of cleaning house, no CBO is hired without some/a lot of staff remaining in place from the previous regime, at least initially. All of the people in place right now within the Sox FO were there when Bloom was hired (perhaps in different roles, but they were there). Some of them were there when Dombrowski was hired. Some were there when Cherington was promoted. This notion that a new CBO must have immediate and final say on the staff around/under him just isn't how it works.

 

[SoxinSeattle]

I'm not at all concerned yet. People turn down every opening for various reasons. The media likely has no clue why each prospective candidate says no. It's not always doom and gloom.

 

[YTF]

My sense is that a lot of gripes on behalf of an entering GM being affronted that they don't have full autonomy are complaints about Cora in disguise. People want him gone, and if it isn't for their preferred reason then it's to uphold some professional standard...or something.

I imagine my view is colored similarly. I think Cora's very good-to-great, so I don't mind that the entering FO exec has to add Find a media-savvy, analytics-friendly, tactically astute, bullpen-competent and bilingual manager who will defer to the GM in all situations to an already lengthy task list this winter.

For the last few years I've expressed my opinion that Cora is a good manager. Nothing more, nothing less and the game is filled with those types. I think his faults were magnified these past two seasons with his team's inability to play smart, fundamentally sound baseball. Yes, a thousand times yes he didn't choose the roster and we've beat it to death, but we've watched this team make the same blunders over and over for the past two seasons. We've debated the role of a manager in relationship to improving those deficiencies and voila, baseball savant Alex Cora has suddenly sided with the majority here in pledging to work on these things NEXT spring. Do I think that Cora should be shown the door? I'm certainly leaning in that direction, but feel that the incoming hires should make that call. Not because of what I think about Cora as a manager. I fear the team is handicapping itself with not just the public comments about Cora staying, but also the public discussion about him potentially moving into the FO and Cora stating he doesn't feel ready for that move just yet. I can't help but feel that some candidates look at this situation and wonder if they might be paceholders for Cora. It's sort of hard to hire the cream of the crop IF there are candidates willing to pass on this job for any Cora related concerns.

 

[jon abbey]

MLBTradeRumors has the update, from the above linked pieces but also they always add interesting context.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/10/latest-on-red-sox-general-manager-search.html

And again, the context that isn't mentioned nearly enough, for Bloom's tenure as well as for now, is that the division is absolutely loaded both now and going forward, even with their collective postseason fizzle this year. BAL has a ton more stud prospects on the way plus three more first round picks coming next summer, plus they have no real payroll commitments if they ever decide to spend any money.

 

[gibreel]

The McAdam report is worrisome but vague. In his interview with Cotillo, he says the Sox are being met with "less than enthusiasm" from potential candidates. That's not the same as being explicitly turned down. If there were more specifics, it'd be more worrisome. The Sox will almost certainly pay above market for whomever they hire, but that's different from not being able to hire their preferred candidate.

 

[E5 Yaz]

And again, the context that isn't mentioned nearly enough, for Bloom's tenure as well as for now, is that the division is absolutely loaded both now and going forward, even with their collective postseason fizzle this year. BAL has a ton more stud prospects on the way plus three more first round picks coming next summer, plus they have no real payroll commitments if they ever decide to spend any money.

The only team that might be ripe for "falling back" in the division could be Toronto. We all know NY isn't going to be satisfied being third (or fourth) best in the East. A prospective GM/Opps choice from outside the Red Sox organization -- reportedly being told to keep much of the current administration and the manager -- is going to look at the landscape and say to themselves "Why, other than to have one of the 30 jobs, is the reason to go to Boston?"
Who wants to come in as an outsider to that situation? Particularly when the GM-in-waiting is in the dugout and has the ear of management?
Maybe the Romero/Cora duo will make this work. I hope so, but those aren't high hopes

 

[RedOctober3829]

The McAdam report is worrisome but vague. In his interview with Cotillo, he says the Sox are being met with "less than enthusiasm" from potential candidates. That's not the same as being explicitly turned down. If there were more specifics, it'd be more worrisome. The Sox will almost certainly pay above market for whomever they hire, but that's different from not being able to hire their preferred candidate.

It's not that difficult to figure out why candidates aren't interested. The head of baseball operations has been fired every 4 years despite two of them winning World Series titles. Who of substance is going to want to come into a place where even if you accomplish the goal you end up getting fired a couple years later? Combine that with the fact that Alex Cora has more power than your normal manager and it's a lot to deal with.

 

[Fishercat]

The reports of candidates not being in love with Bosotn shouldn't be surprising in my view - many people called this out in the Bloom firing thread to many degrees. The Red Sox are spending like a mid-market team, have a manager who seems really involved in the front office relative to other managers, and management who is very quick to move on the CBO Position relative to other teams. It seemed foolish to think that this represented a destination that S-tier candidates would be dying to go to. I would think any candidate seriously considering the role should be, at least, evaluating their desire to work with Alex Cora long term as a condition of employment as well as the potential of the front office pulling a Brad Stevens with Cora once there is mutual feeling that he is ready.

I still think we have to see who the name is that comes down. If the plan is running with Romero for a substantial amount of time, I really don't get the firing as the net result seems to just be removing the guy at the helm of the farm system revival without adding, to JM3's point, other valuable institutional knowledge. That makes the Bloom firing, with the "plan" being to promote the next man in line after a search fails to produce a mutually agreeable candidate, look particularly stupid. If Romero was the guy, I'd have preferred if that was the corresponding announcement with some expression of confidence that the move was being made because they believed in Eddie Romero to be the "guy" to steer the ship and not because they were grumpy at another end year collapse but they don't want to blame Cora for any of it.

Granted, I absolutely do not get the FO's love of Alex Cora either so unlike others, that is skewing my viewpoint.

 

[Fishercat]

It's not that difficult to figure out why candidates aren't interested. The head of baseball operations has been fired every 4 years despite two of them winning World Series titles. Who of substance is going to want to come into a place where even if you accomplish the goal you end up getting fired a couple years later? Combine that with the fact that Alex Cora has more power than your normal manager and it's a lot to deal with.

When you compound this with the coach now outlasting two CBOs, and the senior Red Sox FO leadership having 15+ years with the team, it suggests there may be other people involved pushing the CBO under the bus too. Though none of us know enough to know any of this...neither do the other GM candidates.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

It's not that difficult to figure out why candidates aren't interested. The head of baseball operations has been fired every 4 years despite two of them winning World Series titles. Who of substance is going to want to come into a place where even if you accomplish the goal you end up getting fired a couple years later? Combine that with the fact that Alex Cora has more power than your normal manager and it's a lot to deal with.

Does he though? Or are we projecting that because he's been given an outsized public voice in the absence of a true CBO?

I feel like if Cora truly had more power than a normal manager, he wouldn't be going into next year as a lame duck. He'd have a contract extension that demonstrates the organization's commitment to him.

 

[SouthernBoSox]

Does he though? Or are we projecting that because he's been given an outsized public voice in the absence of a true CBO?

I feel like if Cora truly had more power than a normal manager, he wouldn't be going into next year as a lame duck. He'd have a contract extension that demonstrates the organization's commitment to him.

He’s going to survive two GM/CBO cycles + a year long ban for a massive cheating scandal.

They have fired two CBO’s and hired Cora TWICE in that time.

Hard to see anything other than this is his show as far as ownership goes.

 

[jon abbey]

Does he though? Or are we projecting that because he's been given an outsized public voice in the absence of a true CBO?

I feel like if Cora truly had more power than a normal manager, he wouldn't be going into next year as a lame duck. He'd have a contract extension that demonstrates the organization's commitment to him.

Unless the plan is to promote him to a new job after next season.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Unless the plan is to promote him to a new job after next season.

They need for his managerial contract to expire in order to do that?

Edit to add some content: I think he's a lame duck right now because they want the incoming person to make the call on extending him. Without an extension beyond next year, I just don't buy the idea that Cora is more important to ownership than the CBO, whomever it turns out to be.

 

[jon abbey]

They need for his managerial contract to expire in order to do that?

Obviously not, just saying it’s possible that that is the plan.

It seems pretty clear that Cora has more organizational power currently than a typical manager, he has Henry’s ear or whatever. How that plays out from here, no idea.

 

[chawson]

I can't speak for anyone else, but that's not my motivation at all. I'm super discouraged about how this year's team finished and figure that may be an indication that Cora lost the room. But I have no inside knowledge, and frankly the room should hopefully look very different next year anyway so who cares.

I'm talking about Romero, O'Halloran, and Cora all being publicly anointed and propped up by Kennedy since the season ended. Frankly, I'm not sure that any--let alone all--are problematic and should be dismissed or marginalized. The point is that these are CBO decisions, not the decisions of a guy with a sales and marketing background.

Ah, gotcha. Didn't mean to imply you specifically, just reflecting that a lot of the collective general unrest is now without an outlet since the Bloom firing, and Cora's naturally the target.

For the last few years I've expressed my opinion that Cora is a good manager. Nothing more, nothing less and the game is filled with those types. I think his faults were magnified these past two seasons with his team's inability to play smart, fundamentally sound baseball. Yes, a thousand times yes he didn't choose the roster and we've beat it to death, but we've watched this team make the same blunders over and over for the past two seasons. We've debated the role of a manager in relationship to improving those deficiencies and voila, baseball savant Alex Cora has suddenly sided with the majority here in pledging to work on these things NEXT spring. Do I think that Cora should be shown the door? I'm certainly leaning in that direction, but feel that the incoming hires should make that call. Not because of what I think about Cora as a manager. I fear the team is handicapping itself with not just the public comments about Cora staying, but also the public discussion about him potentially moving into the FO and Cora stating he doesn't feel ready for that move just yet. I can't help but feel that some candidates look at this situation and wonder if they might be paceholders for Cora. It's sort of hard to hire the cream of the crop IF there are candidates willing to pass on this job for any Cora related concerns.

Sure. I guess it all just kind of seems like it's emerging from restless energy and speculative leaps from thinly reported stories from beat writers, who have to file stories daily.

It all seems like a leap to me to pin the bad defense on Cora. Several of these guys are just bad defenders at their positions. The ones who could stand to improve seem likely to have been more focused on hitting (Casas, Duran, Yoshida).

The McAdam report is worrisome but vague. In his interview with Cotillo, he says the Sox are being met with "less than enthusiasm" from potential candidates. That's not the same as being explicitly turned down. If there were more specifics, it'd be more worrisome. The Sox will almost certainly pay above market for whomever they hire, but that's different from not being able to hire their preferred candidate.

That kind of language means the reporter is working with second-hand info or a single-source on deep background. It's not substantive enough to do anything with, and the construction McAdam settled on is impossible to refute.

McAdam: So, Mike, congratulations on the extension. What do you think of that CBO opening in Boston?
Hazen: Ha, off the record?
McAdam: Sure.
Hazen: Always interesting to see what they're doing over there. They even gave me a call a couple weeks ago. Anyway, I'm happy here.
McAdam: I imagine it’s been a topic of conversation over there, given several of your past connections to the Red Sox organization. Do you think it's an appealing job given all the turnover they've had?
Hazen: I don't know! Yeah we’ve chatted about it a bit over here. Great baseball city, but I’m sure I'd have a few questions going in. Seems like whoever takes that job would naturally have some questions about job security, and they’d have their hands full otherwise.

We’ll get a CBO who’s more than qualified and good at what they do. And everyone will find a reason to be mad at them anyway.

 

[RobertsSteal]

It is like trying to steer an oil tanker.

That would seem to answer at least one question: Urias is likely to get the 2B job next year.

 

[nighthob]

It’s going to end up being Romero.

Given how well he's done in his present role I would not be opposed to this. It would also likely mean a continuation of their recent draft/international signing approach which I think has worked pretty well of late.

 

[tdaignault]

Ah, the old robust nationwide search where top external candidates are not interested. So what do you do? Float names of external candidates that the fanbase hate to ensure they embrace the internal candidate you wanted to hire all along. I feel like I've seen this movie before.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

Ah, the old robust nationwide search where top external candidates are not interested. So what do you do? Float names of external candidates that the fanbase hate to ensure they embrace the internal candidate you wanted to hire all along. I feel like I've seen this movie before.

Is that in reference to FSG and something they've done. Because if that is the case, there are really only two options - being rebuffed by Billy Beane and ending up with Theo, which was a huge win. Or (and I don't even recall if others were interviewed, but I'm sure they must have) Cherington which resulted in a title his 2nd year on the job and the (at least positional) core of the 2018 juggernaut. I mean, I'd take either of those 4 year stretches again.

 

[JBJ_HOF]

Romero, according to those sources, is one of multiple internal candidates who either has interviewed or will do so. The Sox also have external candidates who have agreed to be interviewed, according to one source.

That said, multiple external candidates — believed to include some current heads of baseball operations — are believed to have turned down the chance to pursue the job.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/10/13/sports/red-sox-interview-assistant-gm-eddie-romero-top-job-with-more-candidates-expected-follow/

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Is that in reference to FSG and something they've done. Because if that is the case, there are really only two options - being rebuffed by Billy Beane and ending up with Theo, which was a huge win. Or (and I don't even recall if others were interviewed, but I'm sure they must have) Cherington which resulted in a title his 2nd year on the job and the (at least positional) core of the 2018 juggernaut. I mean, I'd take either of those 4 year stretches again.

Theo took the job with the Cubs on October 11, 2011. Cherington was announced on October 25, 2011. Not a lot of time for them to interview outside candidates and reject or get rejected by them, let alone float believable false flags to soften the reception for the internal hire. IIRC, the public ire was mostly aimed at the players (and the media went after Tito). The anger about Theo was that he was leaving, not that he needed to go, so an internal hire made plenty of sense for continuity.

 

[twoBshorty]

I would love to know if they requested to interview Amiel Sawdaye, and if so, what he said. I feel like that would be a good barometer. He was with the organization for 15 years. He's presumably got friends here still and knows the lay of the land. His advancement is blocked in Arizona for at least five years. He's been an assistant GM for 7 years. If he said no, that would be concerning. Both because you'd think he'd want to at least consider a promotion, and because he probably has a very good inside line through former colleagues on what things have been like and whether it's a desirable environment.

Remember the 2005 offseason when LL brought Jim Beattie and Jim Bowden in for second interviews? And David Wilder, the White Sox guy who turned out to be skimming bonuses and defrauding the team and later went to prison? At least we're not there yet.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I really like the idea of Ng, and it would be amazing if she could come to Boston and win. I barely even know what a GM does, other than the obvious, and have no idea how to judge a GM or evaluate one. But if we're allowed to root for things, that's what I'm rooting for.

Edit -- to be clear, I'm rooting for her to be seen as the best candidate and to win here. Not saying "let's just hire the woman." I want the best person for the job, but I'm hoping that might be Ng and would be happy if it turned out to be.

 

[JBJ_HOF]

Hill has a much better track record than Ng during time with the Marlins, in my opinion. Have people that support her looked at her transaction record?

 

[YTF]

Sure. I guess it all just kind of seems like it's emerging from restless energy and speculative leaps from thinly reported stories from beat writers, who have to file stories daily.

It all seems like a leap to me to pin the bad defense on Cora. Several of these guys are just bad defenders at their positions. The ones who could stand to improve seem likely to have been more focused on hitting (Casas, Duran, Yoshida).

You'll notice that in the post you quoted that there was no specific mention of the team's poor defensive play. I get that some of these guys just don't have the tools to be plus or even average defenders. That said, even the best defenders work at maintaining or improving their craft and these sorts of things aren't done in a vacuum. They are done on the field in concert with other players and coaches. Some people may argue as to what is or isn't the manager's role in these matters. I'll argue that it is the manager's job to make sure that his players are properly prepared to play the game at the best of their abilities. It matters little to me how hands on he is with this, but if the team is poorly coached and/or poorly prepared it's his job to make adjustments that will be beneficial to the team. Apparently those adjustments are suddenly important to the point that it was publicly addressed, but not important enough to be a point of focus until NEXT season. This is my biggest point of contention with Cora. It was clear as day as to what the many of the flaws on this team were. If a player has trouble catching or throwing a ball, there may not be much that Cora can do. But there are other ways to improve defense through positioning, knowing what the situation calls for once you have the ball, etc... Those aspects of the game seemed to be sorely lacking on a regular basis. So much so that it was like watching the movie Groundhog Day complete with AC's obligatory, post game "We gotta play better.".

 

[tdaignault]

Is that in reference to FSG and something they've done. Because if that is the case, there are really only two options - being rebuffed by Billy Beane and ending up with Theo, which was a huge win. Or (and I don't even recall if others were interviewed, but I'm sure they must have) Cherington which resulted in a title his 2nd year on the job and the (at least positional) core of the 2018 juggernaut. I mean, I'd take either of those 4 year stretches again.

Nope, not in reference to FSG, but in other teams or sports. It's a common tactic in football for coordinator positions. I have a feeling the Sox are stealing from that playbook. To acknowledge you need to make changes and do a robust search, only to tie your own hands by forcing the manager and several existing front office positions seems to indicate you already have an internal solution in mind. I would be happy to be see them move in a different direction.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I would love to know if they requested to interview Amiel Sawdaye, and if so, what he said. I feel like that would be a good barometer. He was with the organization for 15 years. He's presumably got friends here still and knows the lay of the land. His advancement is blocked in Arizona for at least five years. He's been an assistant GM for 7 years. If he said no, that would be concerning. Both because you'd think he'd want to at least consider a promotion, and because he probably has a very good inside line through former colleagues on what things have been like and whether it's a desirable environment.

Remember the 2005 offseason when LL brought Jim Beattie and Jim Bowden in for second interviews? And David Wilder, the White Sox guy who turned out to be skimming bonuses and defrauding the team and later went to prison? At least we're not there yet.

Sawdaye got an extension when Hazen did, so my guess is someone came calling on both of them. Whether that was the Sox is anyone's guess.

The thing with 2005 is the only guy who seemed to be looking to replace Theo was LL. Everyone else in the org (hell, the league) knew he would be back. Interviewing old retreads was the only thing LL could do because no young up-and-comer wanted to interview for a job that wasn't really available.

 

[Sin Duda]

"Why, other than to have one of the 30 jobs, is the reason to go to Boston?"

 

[reggiecleveland]

I can completely understand this job being unattractive. The past two GMs seemed to successfully complete their tasks. DB went for it successfully then, as expected, suffered long term problems. Bloom basically had opposite instructions and rebuilt the farm, but he's gone too. Add to that the media crushing Francina, Epstein, (not to mention Brady, Belichick, etc) it makes sense people are not jumping at this job.

 

[johnlos]

Is the post-season really a reason for this to be delayed? Does Sam Fuld really have so many day-to-day responsibilities with the Phillies that he can't take a meeting, or even a phone call? It's been nearly a month since Bloom was canned.

I'm not nervous...yet. But I'll be annoyed if this isn't settled by the end of the WS.

He does, and he's a great person to be patient for. I've seen some posts making a big deal about how waiting is going to kill our offseason. Maybe it will have some impact. But an even larger impact is finding the right person. Fuld is super well-respected in the PHI organization (I know someone in the org). He possesses a strong aptitude for analytics and as a former player apparently did a great job convincing players to follow them in his previous gameplanning role. As a result the Phillies fast-tracked him to his current GM position so other teams wouldn't poach him. So if there's any indication he's interested in heading baseball ops he's one worth waiting for. The Phillies certainly seem like a current success story for a team with a similar payroll as the Sox.

 

[derekson]

Does he though? Or are we projecting that because he's been given an outsized public voice in the absence of a true CBO?

I feel like if Cora truly had more power than a normal manager, he wouldn't be going into next year as a lame duck. He'd have a contract extension that demonstrates the organization's commitment to him.

Extending Cora directly in the aftermath of two last place finishes would look pretty odd. But on the other hand, it seems extremely bizarre to allow a lame duck manager any kind of input on hiring the new head of Baseball Ops. This entire situation just looks confused from the outside looking in; it would hardly be surprising if many of the top candidates declined interviews.

Personally, it's hard for me not to see a Romero promotion as acknowledging that Cora is the de facto GM similar to the Mike Scioscia situation with the Angels. That's not a knock on Romero or his qualifications for the job, but it seems like the exact type of internal hire that you would make in that scenario.

 

[tdaignault]

Damn! Daniels seemed like a solid fit based on his prior experience and fondness for Cora.

https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red-sox/why-one-red-sox-candidate-took-himself-out-of-consideration

 

[chawson]

Damn! Daniels seemed like a solid fit based on his prior experience and fondness for Cora.

https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red-sox/why-one-red-sox-candidate-took-himself-out-of-consideration

Okay, so it’s Hazen and Daniels, both for perfectly legitimate reasons. Those two thanks-but-no-thankses are enough to build this silly sensational story that No one wants to be the next Red Sox CBO.

 

[EyeBob]

Bottom line is it's Henry's decision. Who is championing Cora & putting him on that pedestal? I have no clue. & he is still on an expiring contract, so it may be complete nonsense & this is spin put out by Cora's people to ensure he gets a great job somewhere else. It certainly doesn't seem like that, though.

The best thing about hiring a new CBO is getting the institutional knowledge of another, very successful organization. We have our own institutional knowledge from our own successful organization, but we don't get any new knowledge or the opportunity to grow further as a smart modern organization by hiring internally. That was the best thing about hiring Bloom - getting that Tampa Bay institutional knowledge & doing a lot of things in similar, smart ways as they do. But he was never really allowed to bring in his own people (or he chose to not bring in his own people because reasons?). Regardless, though, they started modernizing a lot of practices.

But I bet the Dodgers, Astros & Braves don't do things the exact same way as the Red Sox. Or the same way as the Rays. So let's learn from everyone & sort out the best practices. That was why my dream was Gomes or Byrnes as CBO with Sestanovich as GM. Bring in all the ideas & let the best ones rise to the top. Keeping everyone in house is fine & I like Eddie Romero & think he'd probably be fine...but I want better than that. & I don't want to give decision-making authority to a guy who is a manager with no real proof of aptitude whatsoever when it comes to personnel - which is a completely different profession than he is currently in.

This, to me, is exactly it! Bring in outside help whenever possible. Fresh eyes and ideas matter, especially in a highly competitive field.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Okay, so it’s Hazen and Daniels, both for perfectly legitimate reasons. Those two thanks-but-no-thankses are enough to build this silly sensational story that No one wants to be the next Red Sox CBO.

Who is saying that the story put out means that nobody wants the job other than you? It really isn't that hard to surmise that the past track record of this ownership getting rid of their PBO/CBO is going to make established executives pause and think twice about going for the Sox job. People that are looking for their first head job aren't going to be as worried about that because they want the head job, but a current head guy is going to have second thoughts.

 

[YTF]

Who is saying that the story put out means that nobody wants the job other than you? It really isn't that hard to surmise that the past track record of this ownership getting rid of their PBO/CBO is going to make established executives pause and think twice about going for the Sox job. People that are looking for their first head job aren't going to be as worried about that because they want the head job, but a current head guy is going to have second thoughts.

I'd even take it a step further. Looking at the semi recent past, some highly touted first timers who are confident that they will have multiple opportunities if they wait might pass. If so, then you're likely choosing an unknown who's a few rungs down the ladder from who you hoped for or a guy who's available and been passed over by other organizations for a reason. This of course is all contingent on the hire coming from the outside, but could also ultimately be the reason for hiring from within.

 

[Granite Sox]

Agree. If they're looking for a PBO from a similarly situated role with another team, that would be a lateral move, and why would someone who presumably has significant control over their team want to make a lateral move into a situation with very little control over the baseball ops staff and manager? Even for a first timer or someone looking for a promotion from another team, you're still coming in with handcuffs on to a certain extent (at least insofar as what has been reported).

JMO, but if Romero doesn't get the job, then I can see him moving on somewhere else. Arguably, he's the most impressive/valuable member of the EVP hydra (there are 13(!) EVPs on the masthead at present) as it relates to player acquisition, so you'd have an outsider taking over an in-place staff potentially minus its most important player acquisition executive.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Daniels declining is somewhat curious, esp. since he initially seemed interested, no? This would represent a pretty huge step up from what he’s doing now. I get the reasoning, I guess in his current role he doesn’t have to travel or be in Tampa at all, though?

 

[JM3]

I'm just glad he made this announcement before I wasted wayyyyy too much time digging into the merit of Daniels' candidacy.

I will note that he was fired by the Rangers after 6 straight losing seasons, though.

 

[JBJ_HOF]

– MLB vice president Michael Hill, the former president of the Miami Marlins, has no interest in leaving his position for the Boston Red Sox or any other team at this time.

– The Boston Red Sox have interviewed assistant GM Eddie Romero among their internal candidates to replace Chaim Bloom as their chief baseball officer, but Phillies GM Sam Fuld may still be the favorite.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2023/10/15/mlb-playoffs-league-championship-series-bracket/71191751007/