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Dave Dombrowski, hired as president of baseball operations by the Red Sox on August 18, 2015, in a manner as abrupt and obtuse as his dismissal Sunday night, did not survive four full seasons in the role.
Yet, during his three full seasons, the Red Sox have finished in first place three times in the fierce American League of East. And last season, they won a franchise record of 108 games, and then faced three great teams – the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers – to win the World Series with just three losses in the playoffs.
Ten months after doing exactly what he was brought here, Dombrowski is unemployed, sacked on a Sunday night as the faded Red Sox play against the Yankees in the opening game of the Patriots' season on Sunday night.
And we thought that the Bruins 'dismissal of Claude Julien in February 2017, when the Patriots' champions were making their way into Boylston Street on duck boats, was a clumsy attempt at a garbage dump.
The reason for the dismissal of Dombrowski has been exposed with great clarity elsewhere on this site and in this journal. He was recruited to do a specific job: take the young talent that his predecessor, Ben Cherington, had developed and (appropriately) protected, add the good upscale and high-priced talent, whether it's by the way. intermediary of free agencies or traders, and win a world series.
Mission accomplished. He traded against Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel, signed David Price and J.D. Martinez, and built a Red Sox team that for a single year was probably the best ball club of all time.
After a career spanning more than 30 years and done enough to lead him to Cooperstown, Dombrowski has earned a reputation for special skills, including the ability to recruit top talent.
I do not think it tells its whole story; He developed and acquired several great young players with the Marlins and Expos, and he stole Max Scherzer and Martinez, among others, during his time with the Tigers. But it's his representative – the rented gun, the closest, executive who can build a monster a season but fails in building a flourishing organization – and that's a goal he's not going to shake for the moment.
When it comes to firing him, I understand why. This season has been a disaster by the modern standards of the Red Sox. (That would have looked good on Butch Hobson's resume, though.) They have the highest baseball payroll (about $ 236 million) and play meaningless games (for them, anyway) against a Yankees team leading them by 17½ games in the division. They also follow Tampa Bay in eastern LA and the Rays pay their players with old Zayre gift cards.
Huge bills are coming up and a couple – starting with Sale, at $ 145 million – that they should never have agreed to pay in the first place. It is a relative mess and the worst result of something excellent since "Caddyshack II".
What I do not understand is the "why now?" Aspect. Why did they do it just after midnight on Sunday, when no one was paying attention? The team of Dombrowski gathered this year was missing pieces. Are there any missing pieces in the story of why this was to happen now?
And then, no press conference to explain this, leaving Alex Cora and players answer all the questions about why a de facto GM whose team is the defending champion will not reach next October. They seek direction, as if they were trying to avoid something.
It would not be too difficult for them to justify, after all. And it's worth it to look beyond Foxborough to know that Boston sports fans can get involved with ruthlessly when they have to. The Red Sox leadership dropped Cherington, who oversaw the 2013 champions, in part because he was too conservative in building the lineup. Dombrowski was more daring, and this approach also brought a championship.
The current view is that Dombrowski was not the right choice for the next phase of Red Sox alignment construction. It is clear that there will be payroll cuts and that part of his decision-making could lead, according to colleague Alex Speier, to the Red Sox "to possibly separate from JD Martinez, Mookie Betts or even both this winter. & # 39; & # 39;
The possibility of losing one of these players, let alone both, stinks. Martinez filled the void of David Ortiz and no one needs to recall how big this emptiness was. Betts tends to become one of the best players in the history of franchising. The Red Sox should be able to retain these elite talents – especially Betts – to partner with Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers for the foreseeable future.
But paying too much for the less talented – the $ 68 million committed for Nate Eovaldi is a harsh lesson on the dangers of sentimentality – could prevent it. Will probably prevent it. It's less the cost of doing business than the fact that Dombrowski knows well the combination of the safe when money does not need to be spent.
Perhaps it would not have been the right choice to move forward. Maybe management did the right thing. Perhaps Eddie Romero, who has been part of the organization since the time of Theo Epstein, or one of the other lieutenants (Brian O'Halloran, Zack Scott, Racquel Ferreira) who would help direct the ship into the interval, would it be a good permanent choice.
But less than a year after the easiest championship to win by the Red Sox, they had a difficult and tumultuous time. They plan to hire their fourth CEO in 10 years and those who make it up will make immediate and crucial decisions for the future of Martinez and Betts during the rebuilding of the agricultural system. And if you lose it, well, you could find yourself out of work after a random Sunday night game without further explanation.
No, it might not have been a job for Dombrowski. But I'm not sure it's a concert for a novice at GM, either, given the stakes.
This seems like a task for an experienced director with a proven eye for young talent.
Say, does everyone know how to reach Ben Cherington? It corresponds to the latest parameters and requirements. And at least he knew what he was getting into.
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