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...
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.
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.
afraid guys opportunity people push ready spring sure training
All those guys will have an opportunity in spring training to show what they can do. We're not afraid to push people to Portland. We want to make sure they're ready for it.
bat became clear mound notion point progress putting talked waiting
It became clear that his bat was not going to progress to the point where it would take him to the big leagues. We talked about the notion of putting him on the mound for a long time. Ultimately, we were waiting for him to really want to do it.
continue effort talk
We continue to talk to him in an effort to try to appease some of his concerns.
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.
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.
announced clear early forward looking next opportunity welcome work
The day that Jed and I were announced as co-general managers, I made it clear that I would welcome the opportunity to work with Theo again. That day will come early next week, and I am looking forward to it.
add arm aware close commitment felt leagues opportunity premium took type
We had an opportunity to add a high-end premium arm to the system. We felt he was close enough to the big leagues to warrant that type of contract. We were well aware of what type of commitment it would take before we took him.
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.
faces
We may see some of the same faces back this season.
best hottest pitcher
He was our hottest pitcher and we had a real need. We thought it was the best thing we could do for the major-league team.
good kid last league mediocre numbers overall pitchers starting youngest
He was one of the youngest starting pitchers in the International League last year. He had some really, really good starts, and some mediocre ones. But for the overall numbers for a kid that young in Triple-A, it was a pretty good year.
closer opportunity spring training
He'll go into spring training as the closer and he'll have every opportunity to be the closer for 2006.