Ben Cherington Stands By Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox' two high-priced free agents from the past offseason have not exactly been tearing it up this year in Boston.
Yes, Hanley Ramirez tied a franchise record with 10 home runs in April, but he cooled off considerably in May and his defense has been at times painful to watch.
Pablo Sandoval, meanwhile, is hitting 52 points below his career batting average, and he's now unable to hit from the right side of the plate. He's also made some crucial defensive errors that have cost the Red Sox games.
Despite the struggles, the general manager who gave Ramirez a four-year, $88 million contract and Sandoval a five-year, $95 million contract is standing behind his big acquisitions.
"He's in a little rut," Cherington said of Sandoval. "This is a guy who's played third base well and has been a good performer offensively for a long time, and he's right in the middle of his career, so I fully expect him to get out of it. I know that he's obviously not very happy himself, and it's just one of those ... players go through stretches like this. But he's too proven a performer to stay in it. He'll figure it out and get out of it."
As for Ramirez's defense, which reared its ugly head in the loss to Minnesota on Thursday, Cherington says he sees progress being made.
"We didn't know exactly how it would go. We felt some confidence that he would make some adjustments and figure it out," Cherington said of the former shortstop's transition to left field. "I think we're seeing some elements of his play that are improving. He's handling the wall better, he's moving left and right, certain plays he looks less comfortable with. All we can do is stick with him and continue to help him and challenge him to keep getting better."
When asked about defensive metrics that say Ramirez is the worst defensive player in all of baseball, Cherington discounted the data.
"Well, I know one thing about the defensive metrics is that two months is pretty meaningless when you think about defensive metrics," Cherington said. "I think we've got to give it a little more time."
Cherington also refuted the idea that Ramirez isn't putting in enough work to improve his play in the outfield.
"Actually it's a conversation we had over the winter, through spring training and the season, and that is that you've got to manage that workload. We knew that once the season started, there wouldn't be as much extra work as he was getting in spring training because you're playing games every day," Cherington said. "Every time he's asked to go out there, he's going out there. I understand why there are questions about it and focus on it. I also know that if enough other areas of the team are performing well, there's going to be less focus on that and there would be less focus on that.
"He's our left fielder. We'll continue to help him, challenge him to be the best he can be out there. As a team, my focus is just on the whole group, and ultimately that's my responsibility."Cherington also preached patience on Rusney Castillo, the $72 million man who's hitting .190 in his first 42 at-bats of the year.
"I just think we've got to give him more time," Cherington said. "Since we signed him last summer, he's done every single thing we've asked of him and really affirmed the reasons why we signed him. So I think we've got to give it some more time."
Cherington also took the heat off manager John Farrell, instead placing it on himself.
"I don't think it's John Farrell's fault. Ultimately, it's my responsibility," Cherington said of the last-place Red Sox. "I'm the GM. I'm at the top of the baseball operations department, at least. So the performance of the major league team is ultimately on me. So if it's not performing, it's my responsibility to try to make it better. And that's what we're trying to do."
