Red Sox hire former Tigers GM Dombrowski

One team’s failure becomes another team’s fortune. Later, he molded two more World Series teams. “I expressed to John and Tom that Boston would be my absolute top choice and am honored to have the chance to serve Red Sox Nation”.

And he will spend money. 2014 and 2015 have both been last place, and eventual last place finishes. And given Dombrowski’s strengths (acquiring impact players in trades and retaining them) and the Red Sox financial restrictions (relatively few) the future of the Red Sox will likely look very different next year than it otherwise would have. “A lot of GM’s will take that home run”. At shortstop and third base will be Xander Bogaerts and Pablo Sandoval, and the outfield will feature Hanley Ramirez, Mookie Betts, and Rusney Castillo.

The Oakland A’s may have popularized baseball analytics-or, anyway, a book Michael Lewis wrote about their approach did-but it has always made sense that smart numbers, used in a smart and balanced way, could have as much to say in building a championship ball club as scouting.

When the decision to hire Dombrowski and give him full decision-making power of baseball operations was made, it signaled the end for Cherington. Cherington declined, and on Tuesday night it was announced that he would be leaving after sticking around to help with the transition.

“I have known Dave very well for a long time”, Henry said. Dombrowski was the GM.

It has to be a twist of the knife that, as mad as many Tigers fans remain about Dombrowski’s terrible construction of the Tigers’ bullpen, the Red Sox are ecstatic that they’ve got one of the best negotiators in the business.

The hope is that Dombrowski will spend Henry’s money well. He was classy and respectful, thanked the Red Sox for hiring him 19 years ago, understood that “there has to be some sort of change after two years of this”, and then he told his side of the story. Dombrowski tried to build a winner through trades.

This lead multiplied in the second inning, as Sandoval and Shaw lead off the stanza with consecutive singled before a Swihart walk with one out loaded the bases. Perhaps it was time to move on, and perhaps Dombrowski is the right person for the job.

In 1997, Dombrowski got the go-ahead to spend.

The Marlins won the World Series. It may have been Dombrowski’s most creative time, since he did not have a big payroll. In his tenure, Boston finished last in the AL East every year, except for 2013 when they won the World Series.

I’ll admit, I’d rather keep Alex than add Dombrowski or some other big name who would take the president job and push Alex out.

Dombrowski never stinted on saying how generous an owner he was working with in Ilitch, and it was true. Victor Martinez and Prince Fielder came over as free agents. Gose is batting.257/.670. Cueto has done his part, earning a quality start in all four of his appearances with the Royals, while owning a spectacular 1.80 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.

Boston’s homers all came off Corey Kluber (8-13), last season’s AL Cy Young Award winner. “But I think the message that we’re trying to get across is that we have a job to do”.

Cherington was criticized for not obtaining an ace for the rotation (although it was Henry who initially low-balled Jon Lester, who eventually opted for free agency and the Cubs). The guy above you will be running things. While the man who brought the Detroit Tigers from obscurity to perennial dominance is not going to be the general manager of the Boston Red Sox, he is going to run the show.

But Boston needs more production.