It was a just a matter of time before we heard from Boston Red Sox’ brass. On Tuesday afternoon, before the series opener against the Twins, principal owner John Henry addressed about 30 media members. The gist? Manager John Farrell and general manager Ben Cherington’s jobs are safe.
Henry’s comments come on the heels of a 1-6 road trip that ended with a three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers. Despite being seven games under .500 the Red Sox are just 4.5 games behind first place in the wide-open and mediocre AL East. Henry referred to their 22-29 start as “unacceptable,” but made the caveat that, “You can’t blame the manager for this.”
Henry did not tip-toe around any questions and voiced his support for both Farell and Cherington. On his GM, Henry said, “The general manager will be the general manager for a very long time.” He also said that he doesn’t foresee any drastic changes happening. “I don’t think we need a shakeup. Just as we made adjustments on pitching side, we’ll make adjustments on hitting side.”
The majority owner admits that this team has been tough to watch. He added that he sympathizes with the fans. “I wouldn’t be supportive if I was a fan watching these games,” he said. “Some of these games have been abysmal. We have played like bleep.”
Surprisingly, Henry appeared to focus a lot on the offense. He believes that Red Sox’ batters just haven’t been as aggressive as they need to be and is looking forward to a shift in how they approach at bats. He also mentioned that the starting rotation is currently third on their list of priorities behind offensive production and defense. This seems to fall in line with the Red Sox’ offseason that saw the signing of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez before shoring up the pitching rotation.
There is no reason to believe Henry is not being honest about how he feels regarding his current team and coaching staff. However, as he put it, “The decisions made by management will be proven right or wrong on the field.” He appeared earnest when he said, “This is the right team. We just need to perform better.”
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