Who's To Blame?

Yesterday, it seemed like everyone had an opinion on whether or not Valentine would be fired. He had a meeting with ownership, and some people speculated that that was it. There were rumors going around that a change in coaching was going to happen soon. Instead, the ownership made it public that they were behind Valentine.

Valentine made a comment that he “played for his job every game,” or something to that extent (sorry, saw the comment on television and didn’t write it down). John Henry emailed Red Sox beat writers to explain that he and the rest of the ownership group were behind Valentine, and Cherington as well. He said the blame should not be on the management, as they sometimes get too much credit and too much blame.

If the management isn’t to blame, then who is?

The players?

Yes, some players are under performing. Pedroia hasn’t gotten on a roll all season. Saltalamacchia has been sliding as of late. Aceves is a heart-attack-waiting-to-happen when he closes half the time. The entire starting rotation has been bad at points to most of the season.

Some may say Gonzalez is under performing because he only has 11 home runs, but he has 30 doubles, a .307 batting average, and has only grounded into 8 double plays (he grounded into 28 last year). I’m sure there are others who say that Crawford is under performing, but realize that he’s been hurt most of the season. In 19 games, he has a .292 batting average, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 3 stolen bases, and 13 RBIs. Not too shabby.

But, there have been players that have seemed to blossom this year: Middlebrooks, Aviles to an extent, Morales, and a case can be made for Shoppach even. We’ve seen Podsednik flourish before he was hurt, Sweeney lead the league in doubles before he was hurt the first time, and Nava crawling back into the Majors.

Is the pitching coach, Bob McClure, to blame? In terms of ERA, Boston is below the League Average of 4.08; they have an ERA of 4.29. Boston’s WHIP is 1.306, while the League Average is 1.310. So, to say that the pitching coach is to blame, I’d say no. While the rotation has been lacking; overall, the bullpen has done a good job.

Is it the hitting coach, Dave Magadan? The Sox are in 4th place in the league for batting average, with .268. They are above the league average of 120 home runs with 126. They are second in the league with 512 RBIs, only to Texas’s 532 RBIs. They lead the league in doubles with 243.

Is it General Manager Ben Cherington’s fault? Cherington didn’t make too many moves at the All-Star Break. The “big” moves he made during the offseason are questionable. Josh Reddick to the A’s for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney? Who would’ve thought Reddick would’ve flourished in Oakland? Bailey should be returning soon, and Sweeney is probably done the rest of the season after breaking a knuckle. Jed Lowrie to the Diamondbacks for Mark Melancon? Let’s call this a wash. Trading away Marco Scutaro and making Mike Aviles the everyday shortstop? I think this might have been the best thing Cherington did in the offseason, even if I was critical of his choice when it
happened.

Are the injuries to blame? Well, of course they are. When you have players like Pedroia, Ross, Ortiz, Bailey, Crawford, and Ellsbury all spending significant time on the disabled list, of course injuries are to blame. However, the Yankees have significant players always going on the disabled list, and they are still in first place… by a large margin. I don’t want to compare the Sox to the Yankees, but
obviously the Yankees are doing something right.

Personally, I think there is plenty of blame to go around. The players seem to be playing in neutral these days, Valentine doesn’t seem as animated on the bench as he did in the booth, the ownership doesn’t seem as visual as they claim they are, and Cherington, I feel, could have done more. Yes, these people needed to “fix” the mistake that Epstein, and in some cases Francona, created, but they have to tools to do it. Maybe they all just need to do some big PR stuff to get the fans to have some faith in them? Remember, faith is rewarded.