To be honest, I’ve missed the managerial speculation in Boston. Coming up with handfuls of potential managers for our beloved Red Sox is actually quite fun if you sit down and think about all of the possibilities. I’m not going to lie, sometimes, when I’m really bored, I look at all of the MLB teams who are seeking a new manager and figure out who would be the perfect replacement in an ideal world, looking at it from that team’s perspective.
The great thing about Boston’s current situation is that this is a job that most anyone in the baseball managerial and/or coaching industry would love to have. Think about it. This is an incredibly young team with so much potential. There are a few things that obviously need tweaking in Boston’s clubhouse; they’re a leader-less, young ballclub. Anyone in this business who even remotely wants to be a manager right now or some time down the road has to be looking at this situation and licking their chops. What the Red Sox need is a manager who will take the reins and piece this puzzle together.
There is an endless number of options out there for who the Red Sox could potentially crown their next manager. A year ago, I would have called you insane if you told me I would be saying that right now. The Red Sox literally had a plan in place to fire John Farrell around this time last year and replace him with Torey Lovullo. There’s a reason why Boston was paying him, basically, a manager’s salary, you know. The Red Sox subsequently balked and chose to stick with Johnny Steelcock and let Lovullo walk to Arizona, who had major success out west with his pretty, new team.
The Red Sox currently need a Torey Lovullo. I’d give so much if it meant Boston could pry him from the Diamondbacks, but, you now. That’s impossible. This club needs a young manager who can relate to this young team. They need someone who’s capable of getting this clubhouse together and organizing them in a way that allows them to play to their potential and finally succeed when it matters and get the most out of each of the twenty-five players. Farrell couldn’t do that in his five seasons here.
Someone who has at least somewhat of a sense of humor would be nice, too. Farrell’s no-nonsense approach probably scared most of this team into the collective fallback that the majority of the young corps endured in 2017. That plus an excellent communicator will only help propel this team to some postseason success. This team’s window to succeed closes in a couple of years. Dombrowski has a lot on his shoulders. He needs to pick the right man to manage this team and he knows that.
Who out there makes the most sense to have the honor of managing this ballclub, you ask? I’ve got a few names and the case for all of them to steer this team in the right direction, at last (in no particular order).
First off, an odd one, Brad Mills. Yes, Terry Francona’s long-time right-hand man. People forget that Millsy was Boston’s bench coach for five years from 2004-2009. I simply love this guy. He probably isn’t the perfect managerial fit in many instances for many ballclubs, but he did manage the Astros for two-and-a-half seasons a few years back. He’s seen it all when it comes to the game of baseball and if there was legitimate mutual interest, I’d be very happy with him getting the job here. I just don’t think he’s necessarily all that interested at this moment, understandably.
Next, Jason Varitek. Now, this one isn’t happening, to tell you the truth. Down the road, though, that’s a different story. If Varitek doesn’t manage the Boston Red Sox before I inevitably die, I’ll be shocked. Right now, though. He’s said on many occasions that he isn’t quite ready to re-commit to baseball full-time. The Captain has worked as a special assistant with the Red Sox since 2012, working under both Ben Cherington and of course Dave Dombrowski. I think we all know why he’s a good fit here in Boston.
If anyone knows what it’s like to play in Boston plus handle Boston, it’s this guy. Many have said they don’t even want him managing here because it’s such an incredibly scrutinized position and they don’t want his legacy tainted by having to go through hell and back as the manager. I agree with that to a degree, but I don’t think it’d take too much of a hit on him. He’s been scrutinized before a million times. He will always be loved here and anyone who would feel otherwise after a managerial tenure here isn’t a true fan. Not that he’d make any horrific decisions like that, anyway. He’s an extremely smart baseball mind and I would one day love to see that highlighted with the Boston Red Sox, front and center.
Gabe Kapler is up next. Kapler played four years in Boston and won a World Series with this organization way back when. He, too, knows what it’s like to play in Boston and how to handle Boston. Kapler is an extremely forward thinker and has a new-age, new-school mindset, which is exactly what this particular set of guys need. Kapler is a splendid communicator and is a collaborative guy who can dig himself out of messy situations gracefully. In layman’s terms, he’s the exact opposite of John Farrell.
He has the ability to cultivate this team, and not to mention, he’s a funny guy and is laidback when necessary, He isn’t uptight, unlike Farrell. Also unlike Farrell, Kapler publicly is a big David Price fan. He enjoys his “violent, passionate high-fives”. Who knows, maybe this pre-existing, healthy relationship between the two could help propel him to this particular manager position. Think about it. Price’s voice not only in the clubhouse but throughout this organization certainly echoes and everything he says and does is taken seriously. If the feeling between Price and Kapler is mutual, maybe, just maybe, Dombrowski will take that into consideration when making his decision.
Kapler currently works as a player development specialist with the Dodgers and notably loves the city of Boston. It isn’t a longshot, by any means, for those keeping score at home.
The legend himself Ron Gardenhire may already very well be a top candidate to win this manager position and for good reason. The current Diamondbacks bench coach managed the Twins for thirteen years, won six division titles and won manager of the year in 2010.
Dombrowski is no stranger to this guy, previously witnessing his success firsthand in Detroit. Gardenhire notably has terrific interpersonal skills and gets along with both young and veteran players, communicating with them correctly and efficiently. He’s exactly what this team needs. As we know, Farrell heavily preferred the veterans over the youngins. Which is problematic, because this Red Sox team primarily consists of younger players. Gardenhire won’t play favorites.
He has both a stern side and can relate to the younger players, which is exactly what you want in any professional sports coach. Gardenhire also apparently wants to become a manager again and have a more impactful role on a team than being just a bench coach. Who knows, maybe he’ll pull a reverse Torey Lovullo after being Torey Lovullo’s right-hand man for a season and head east for Boston?
Last but certainly not least, Alex Cora. If I had to pick a personal favorite to win this job, it’d be this guy right here. He seems to be a favorite of Dombrowski’s as well, as he is expected to interview Cora on Sunday in New York during the off day between games 2 and 3 of the ALCS, as he is Houston’s bench coach (for now). I’ve seen some folks on the interwebs wondering why in the hell he’s even getting this recognition in the first place. Mind you, the label as one of the smartest baseball minds in the last decade or even couple of decades isn’t used lightly. He was an extremely smart ballplayer and that’s transitioned nicely into the business of baseball for him, as well. His pure baseball strategy is second to none, and how cool would it be to watch that in the spotlight on a nightly basis?
It doesn’t stop there, either. Cora, of course, played in Boston and, again, knows what it’s like to be scrutinized every single day and he knows how to deal with it properly and like a man. That cannot be understated. His confidence puts himself above everyone else, as well. When he was a player, he literally invited the media to speak with him and question him after a bad game. If he went 0-4 and made a couple of errors in the field that night, he would stand at his locker facing the media, waiting for someone to ask him about what went wrong so he could explain himself to them, the organization and the fans. Not only that, but he encouraged his teammates to do the same, too. He pushed Eric Gagne to do the same after each time he blew a save.
Cora is young, a sneaky genius, can relate to anyone and everyone in a clubhouse, is a leader and is one of the smartest people out there. Throwing him into the fire and asking him to fix this team is a lot to ask for a rookie manager if he were to get the job, but if anyone can handle this, it’s him. He has all of the accolades needed to succeed here in Boston. Slowly but surely, he’s worked his way up the baseball ladder and is as ready as ever to finally fill a team’s managerial role.
Thus, that concludes my list. Note how I left Brad Ausmus off of here. That’s because I really don’t want much to do with him. Sorry. I simply don’t feel that he’s the right fit for this team in Boston. In a way, he reminds me of Farrell. Ausmus is sensitive and makes way too many bonehead in-game decisions. I completely understand the relationship between him and Dombrowski is an intriguing factor to this discussion, but I really don’t want Ausmus near this team. He isn’t the guy they need to turn things around, especially quickly. The Red Sox are in win-now mode, and Ausmus simply can’t right this particular ship in the clubhouse or from the dugout.
Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox have a plethora of fine men to choose from in this manager search. Dombrowski said during his end-of-the-season press conference that he prefers to have a guy with prior managerial experience for this job, which I understand, but I don’t want that tiny piece to bog him down in this quest. If he finds the right guy for this team in all respects but opts to turn him down simply because this would be his first managerial stint would be plain silly (IE Alex Cora). I trust Dombrowski because he’s been in this position a million times before, but I don’t want him to rush this, either. He said he wants to pick someone sooner rather than later, so I guess we’ll see what happens, well, sooner rather than later.
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