Ben Cherington Quotations

Last year's team was a pretty young team. There were guys who got to Double-A for the first time and they held their own. We may feel, by the end of March, they could benefit from a little more time in Double-A.

More than anything, I think he wants to stay in the Northeast, with his family living in Westchester County (N.Y.).

Personally, it's been a distraction. It's been an interesting couple months. We've been short staffed, we've all been wearing a lot of different hats and there's a lot of gray area that we've never had in the past. Of course it's hard to focus on our farm system through that.

I don't think it was much of challenge. When Jed and I were asked to take on that role, we both knew this was an arrangement we were going to try and we were going to see how it works. We were going to do that because we felt that was the best solution for the Red Sox.

He was a shortstop in high school and for whatever reason got into the lineup at Stanford first as a second baseman. He could always go back there, but we feel he has a chance to play short and he really wanted to do it.

He'll go into spring training as the closer and he'll have every opportunity to be the closer for 2006.

We've been trying to build a deeper bullpen. One that is more versatile, one that allows our manager and our staff a little more flexibility.

He's a big, strong, athletic kid. He's got a good fastball with excellent movement and good sink. He's got a major-league slider. Obviously, the stuff is there and the ability is there. He needs to pitch a little bit more and get consistent outings.

He's got on-base skills and the ability to be a plus defensive center fielder.

We may see some of the same faces back this season.

He was our hottest pitcher and we had a real need. We thought it was the best thing we could do for the major-league team.

He was one of the youngest starting pitchers in the International League last year. He had some really, really good starts, and some mediocre ones. But for the overall numbers for a kid that young in Triple-A, it was a pretty good year.

It became clear that his bat was not going to progress to the point where it would take him to the big leagues. We talked about the notion of putting him on the mound for a long time. Ultimately, we were waiting for him to really want to do it.

That's up to Theo and Tito. It's hard for me to say after only seeing him in one outing. Obviously he has ability and there's a reason why he's here. There's a reason why he had the kind of success in college. There's a reason we made the level of commitment that we made to him. He's going to be a good major-league pitcher. When that happens, I honestly don't know.

We continue to talk to him in an effort to try to appease some of his concerns.

We have to remember that this guy was pitching against Boston College and West Virginia this year, not Oakland and the Yankees.

We had an opportunity to add a high-end premium arm to the system. We felt he was close enough to the big leagues to warrant that type of contract. We were well aware of what type of commitment it would take before we took him.

The day that Jed and I were announced as co-general managers, I made it clear that I would welcome the opportunity to work with Theo again. That day will come early next week, and I am looking forward to it.

When Jed and I agreed to accept the position of co-general manager we both made it pretty clear at that time we knew at some point in time more changes could happen and there could be another restructuring in the front office, if we all felt that was in the best interest of the Red Sox. That would mean Theo's return. So we see this as a successful outcome. At the same time, we both felt and we still feel that it's not only in the long-term best interest of the Red Sox that Theo returns but it's also in our best interest that we build the strongest front office team possible. We benefit from that, too.

We believe physically he is doing pretty well. He had his knee cleaned out after the season and he's been in Phoenix rehabbing and working out. We've been in touch with him. The mental part is harder to answer. Obviously, he struggled last year. It's important to remember that he struggled at another point of his career and bounced back and had a string of success and had dominant years as a closer after he struggled. He's done that before and we're optimistic he can do it again.

The word prospect means absolutely nothing to us. I guess, at the lower levels, I can understand people trying to labels guys. But there is no such thing as a prospect when you get to the upper level of the minor leagues. You either play well or you don't. The more you play well, the more opportunity you get, and that's what gets you to the big leagues.

It's a challenge because we all love winning. We're trying to find the balance between doing something that will make us happy today but could hurt us in the future. It's not necessarily true that making a move to help the team this season won't benefit us later.

It's good for them (young players) to see that.

David had a strong finish to 2005 and made a good impression in big-league camp. We simply believe that there are still things for him to accomplish at the Double-A level. . . . He's got a very bright future.

In the long run, I don't think (being called up last year) will hurt him. Did it have a short-term impact? I'm sure it did to some degree. But he's got incredible makeup, toughness. He's going to be a good major-league pitcher.

For Murphy and Moss, there is no specific adjustment that we are looking for. More ABs against good competition will hasten their development. For Delgado, this is an opportunity to have him pitch in a more controlled environment than he would with a team in Venezuela, and gets him under our supervision.

A lot can happen in 3 1/2 months. We've got a lot of holes to fill, and there's a lot of ways to fill it.

All I can say is we're actively looking for a center fielder.

All those guys will have an opportunity in spring training to show what they can do. We're not afraid to push people to Portland. We want to make sure they're ready for it.