Tech came up with a stout defensive effort | Forum
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Sep 17 '18
BALTIMORE -- Dave Dombrowski was chatting with a reporter in the left-field grandstand at Fenway Park before a recent game when a fan in a tour group stopped to thank him for putting together a likable Boston Red Sox team that, oh by the way, is contending for a playoff spot. White Womens Adidas Ultra Boost 2018 .Dombrowski says he gets that a lot. Thursday marks one year since he was hired to run the Red Soxs baseball operations, and apparently, the honeymoon is not over. He claims to not look at Twitter or listen to talk radio, the outlets that give a voice, if not a name, to the loudest critics. But when he stops for his morning coffee or goes for a jog, he insists the reaction he gets has been largely positive.Its not that everything Dombrowski has touched has turned to gold. Far from it. He persuaded principal owner John Henry to spend $217 million on free-agent left-hander?David Price, and Price has a 4.29 ERA that ranks only slightly better than the league average of 4.47. He traded four prospects for closer Craig Kimbrel, who is having the worst statistical season of his career. And he drew criticism last month for dealing touted 18-year-old pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the San Diego Padres for largely unproven lefty Drew Pomeranz.But with a group of young All-Stars -- shortstop Xander Bogaerts, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and MVP candidate right fielder Mookie Betts -- who were drafted or signed mostly by former general manager Theo Epstein and developed under his successor, Ben Cherington, the Red Sox are enjoyable to watch again. And Dombrowskis moves have put them in position to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2013 World Series championship.People are usually pretty friendly, Dombrowski said. Somebody might say, This guys a bum. Why did you get him? But most people are welcoming. They say, Hey, I really like the club. Appreciate what youve done. Thats more the comments.Dombrowski, 60, brought strong credentials with him to the Red Sox. He built winning teams in Montreal in the late-1980s, took over the expansion Florida Marlins in 1992 and led them to a World Series title in only their fifth year in existence and turned the Detroit Tigers from a 106-loss laughingstock in 2002 to a five-time playoff team and a two-time AL pennant winner.It didnt take long, though, for Dombrowski to realize that Boston is unlike any place he has worked. The Red Sox are an institution, a passion and a soap opera rolled into one. It has been said that the Sox dont play a 162-game season so much as they play 162 one-game seasons. The daily scrutiny heightens what already is an unforgiving eight-month grind from the beginning of spring training through the season finale.I think probably the daily aspect that goes into every game that you play is somewhat unique here, Dombrowski said. Its very emotional. If you win, youre the greatest. If you lose, youre not really good. And I think you really have to work on keeping an even-keel perspective in some ways. Youre not going to change that emotion, but when you work with the team, you need to realize that if a guy has a bad outing, it doesnt mean hes a bad pitcher. If a guys in a 1-for-27 slump, it doesnt mean hes never going to hit again.It can be grueling in every market, but it gets more attention here. I think thats been the biggest difference for me.Indeed, it can take time to get comfortable in Boston. And if Dombrowski feels that way, he can only imagine what it must be like for the players.Take Price, who hasnt pitched to his or anyones expectations. Despite leading the league in innings (163?) and ranking third in strikeouts (167) when the week began, he also has allowed at least five earned runs in six starts, and the Red Sox are only 12-13 when he takes the ball.But leave it to agent Scott Boras, who doesnt represent Price, to put the aces struggles into perspective. During a recent series at Angel Stadium, Boras remarked to Dombrowski that Price looked like himself the night before in shutting out the Los Angeles Angels for eight innings of an eventual 2-1 loss.He was saying, Gee, Dave, Price was great. His changeup was fantastic, Dombrowski recalled. I said, Yeah, hes finally starting to find it. And he says, Dave, remember -- now, this is Scott saying this -- those first three, four months for a free agent, a big name, is tough. A lot of times they dont find their ground right away.I do think that happens, and maybe even a little more so here [in Boston].Several months ago, Dombrowski and his wife, Karie, bought a six-bedroom house in Brookline, Massachusetts (Epsteins hometown, coincidentally). But with their son and daughter going to school in Michigan, they didnt move in until mid-July, leaving Dombrowski to live in a hotel a few blocks from Fenway.The solitude gave him a chance to immerse himself in his work. Initially, that meant getting acquainted with as many people as possible in the front office. Dombrowski promoted Mike Hazen to general manager, retained embattled manager John Farrell after his battle with cancer and kept most of the baseball operations staff that worked under Cherington, decisions that fostered continuity. He also enlisted longtime aide Frank Wren to work at his side again.In building the roster, Dombrowski acted swiftly and decisively. Last winter, he identified three primary needs -- an ace starter, power-armed late-inning reliever and reserve outfielder -- and acquired Price, Kimbrel and Chris Young during a 25-day span in November and December. Last month, he made three trades in eight days, beefing up the bench with righty-hitting infielder Aaron Hill, the bullpen with right-hander Brad Ziegler,?and the starting rotation with Pomeranz.Dombrowski could have gone for broke, too, in the final season for retiring franchise icon David Ortiz. But contrary to his reputation for tearing apart a farm system in the interest of winning now, he stuck with top prospect Yoan Moncada, prized pitcher Michael Kopech, touted third baseman Rafael Devers and 2015 first-round pick Andrew Benintendi, who has emerged as the everyday left fielder after getting called up two weeks ago.I have the utmost respect for David Ortiz, but you wouldnt do something to hurt your franchise in the long run if you didnt think it was the right thing to do. You just wouldnt do that, Dombrowski said. And [Ortiz] wouldnt ask you to do that. He wants to win, but its also within reason.A couple of times when we talked, he would say, What about this guy? And I said, Well, this is what they want, and he said, Oh, I would never make that trade. That type of thing.Perhaps most significant, Dombrowski established a culture of accountability by empowering Farrell to make lineup decisions based on merit, not contracts. After being outplayed in spring training, $95 million third baseman Pablo Sandoval and $72.5 million outfielder Rusney Castillo began the season on the bench. Castillo later was outrighted off the 40-man roster and buried in Triple-A.Now, though, with the non-waiver trade deadline having passed, Dombrowskis heaviest lifting is finished. It will be up to the players to emerge from a three-way fight with the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East crown or a wild-card berth. And generally speaking, Dombrowski said he is satisfied that the moves he has made will put them in position to do so.I think so, he said. People forget, we didnt have winning records the last couple of years. Were in a whole different spot. Were in a pennant race. Now, I dont know if were going to win or not. But were in the race, and thats what you try to do every year. I like our club. I think we have a real shot.But I think when you say that, the results of how we perform on the field is how other people will look at what weve done. Weve got a good team. How good well be will be determined.For now, the lions share of the criticism has centered on Farrell, whose job security is a daily topic of conversation. But if the Red Sox prove to not be good enough, Dombrowski knows he will hear it, too. Some of the biggest admirers in his neighborhood coffee shop are liable to become less friendly.I think its great. I love the passion, Dombrowski said. This is what baseballs all about. Its a daily passion here. Its a very enjoyable experience and for somebody whos spent their whole life in baseball.This is what you strive to be part of. Mens Adidas Ultra Boost 2018 .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Cheap Adidas Ultra Boost China . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. http://www.cheapultraboostshop.com/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech has already locked up its spot in a bowl game.Thats not enough for the Yellow Jackets.Coming off an upset at Virginia Tech, coach Paul Johnsons team is eager to keep pushing toward a nine-win season. The Jackets (6-4, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) will need to win out to accomplish that goal, beginning with Saturdays game against Virginia.Johnson noted that Georgia Tech has reached nine wins only seven times in the last three decades.I dont think anybody on our team wanted to be 6-6 when the season started, he said. You have goals and you try to play for them. My job as a coach is when it looks like those initial goals are gone, try to find a carrot to stick in front of them to say, `Hey, heres what were trying to do now.Virginia (2-8, 1-5) doesnt have much left to play for except pride. The Cavaliers are mired in a five-game losing streak under first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall.These kids are resilient and theyre tough, said Mendenhall, who is assured of his first losing season in 12 years as a head coach. The outcome and the record at this point doesnt show. But my internal day-to-day with these guys is really, really enjoyable. I think theres a super foundation being laid at least in terms of expectation.---Some other things to watch for when Georgia Tech hosts Virginia at Bobby Dodd Stadium:NEW QUARTERBACK: Virginia is going back to a familiar name at quarterback. Fifth-year senior Matt Johns is getting a chance to close out his up-and-down career as the starter, taking over for struggling Kurt Benkert. Johns started 15 games the past two years but had not played any quarterback this season until he took over for Benkert in last weeks loss to Miami. This is a little bit different experience, because I havent played all year, Johns said. But I think having the experience from the past couple years is beneficial going into this situation, in terms of knowing how to attack a game plan and move forward to be successful on Saturday.THOMAS RETURNS: Justin Thomas is set to return at quarterback for Georgia Tech after sitting out last weeks game with an injury. Thomas ranks second on the team in ruushing with 561 yards and five touchdowns, and hes thrown for 1,168 yards with seven TDs and only one interception. Black Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0. While backup Matthew Jordan did a brilliant job running the offense against Virginia Tech, rushing for 121 yards and two scores, Thomas is the teams unquestioned offensive leader and provides more of a threat in the passing game.MENDENHALL VS. TRIPLE OPTION: The Virginia coach is familiar with Georgia Techs unique triple-option offense, having coached against it twice -- and easily winning both meetings -- in his previous post at Brigham Young. Also while at BYU, he had plenty of experience facing a similar scheme at Air Force, going 5-1 against the Falcons. Hes proven that he knows what hes doing stopping the option offense, Cavaliers linebacker Zach Bradshaw said. Im sure whatever we do this week, if we execute it like were supposed to, will work.IMPROVED DEFENSE: After getting torched for 1,195 yards and 83 points in its two previous games, Georgia Tech came up with a stout defensive effort against Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets forced four turnovers and shut down the Hokies until giving up meaningless touchdowns on their final two possessions. We got a little juice going. I hope we can carry it over, Johnson said. Im sure they were tired of hearing about their struggles.JOHNSONS FUTURE: There has been speculation about Johnsons future, especially with Georgia Tech bringing on a new athletic director, Todd Stansbury. The Yellow Jackets went 3-9 a year ago, and a three-game losing streak knocked them out of contention for the ACC title this season. Johnson said hes proud of his record in nine years at Georgia Tech and doesnt worry about his job security. If they think they can get somebody better, they ought to go get `em, he said. Thats certainly their right.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more college football coverage: www.collegefootball.ap.orgCheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys From China White NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Jerseys NFL Cheap Cheap NFL Hoodies NFL T-shirts From China Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys ' ' '
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