Dan Roche With Toucher & Rich: What Will Cherington Do Different?
It's now all official, the Chicago Cubs introduced Theo Epstein as their new President of Baseball Operations and the Red Sox introduced Ben Cherington as their new general manager.
WBZ-TV's Dan Roche joined Toucher & Rich to discuss Cherington, the news that John Lackey will undergo Tommy John surgery and ownership's view of Epstein.
Epstein and Cherington have worked together since Epstein arrived in Boston in 2001. What differences will we see from Cherington as GM?
"I think Ben is a little bit more from the scouting side of things. He will take the statistical analysis and use that heavily, but I think Ben has more of that type of background baseball wise having played the game at Amherst and having come through that way, the scouting side of things," Roche said.
Roche: Comparing Ben and Theo
During his press conference Cherington dropped some news about starting pitcher John Lackey that caught most by surprise. He announced that Red Sox right-hander will have Tommy John surgery in the offseason and miss the whole 2012 season. What are the Sox going to do about the hole left in their pitching rotation?
"I think they're going to try to do, and Ben alluded it a little bit yesterday with the Alfredo Aceves signing, I think they're going to try and gather as many arms as they can in spring training. I know Theo did that a lot, I think Ben may even try to get some younger guys per se and try and bring them through the ranks as starters," were Roche's thoughts.
Is there any chance that this Lackey injury is just an excuse to give him some time off after the season that he had?
"No, I think when they signed him they knew his arm was not a 100% by any means," Roche said.
They went on to discuss Cherington's style dealing with free agents and dealing with his own players. Is it like Theo, is it more aggressive or is he more of a players guy?
"I think he's a lot like Theo," said Roche. "I think it's a little more laid back than Theo. Ben is a very strong willed guy, but at the same time he's got a very nice demeanor to him."
They also discussed some of the comments made by Larry Lucchino in the press conference. How does the ownership view Theo now that everything is done?
All this and so much more with WBZ-TV's Dan Roche.
