Roche: Comparing Cherington and Theo
BOSTON (CBS) - People have been asking me the past few days what I think of new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington. Here goes...
First off, he's a good human being. What you saw at his introductory press conference on Tuesday is exactly how he is every day. He's confident, direct, loyal, and hard working. He has a sarcastic sense of humor. Has a good demeanor with owners, front office folks, and the players. He's a likable guy.
Difference between Ben and Theo Epstein?
"I can't play guitar. I thought maybe someday I'd learn, but I can't yet," Cherington joked at his introductory press conference on Tuesday. "I don't have a gorilla suit, although I don't think Theo did, either.
Read: Dan Roche's Sports Blog
"Our general philosophy of putting our team together," said Cherington. "We both believe in having many well-rounded position players on the team. We both believe in the importance of a core group of young players and investing in scouting and development."
"The basic principles are largely the same. I'm a different person, my managing style's different," he added.
So in the end; not much. They've been together for so long that they sound a lot alike. Like brothers.
And as Cherington pointed out, both have a lot of the same philosophies.
The one difference to me is that Ben is maybe a bit more of a baseball guy through and through.
Theo didn't play the game in college. Theo got a law degree from Yale, did some sports writing, and then got his start in Major League Baseball in PR. He shifted to scouting and the baseball side after that.
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And, by the way, became not just a good GM but a great GM.
Ben played the game in High School (Lebanon, NH) and college (Amherst). He then started in scouting and worked his way up through that route. He is through and through, a baseball guy.
Not a big difference, but something that may turn out to be the one thing that separates the two on the GM level.
Follow WBZ-TV's Dan Roche on Twitter @RochieWBZ
