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Dave Dombrowski Contradicted His Own Comments On John Farrell

By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- When Dave Dombrowski announced in October that the Red Sox were bringing back John Farrell as manager, the president of baseball ops made an insightful comment about his philosophy on managers. Not everyone agrees with Dombrowski's assessment, which is that it's more important for managers to keep the team together and generally playing its best baseball than to master in-game intricacies.

However, Farrell has already won a World Series in spite of his shoddy in-game management, which he did in 2013. And he ostensibly kept the clubhouse together for most of the 2016 season, when the Red Sox won the AL East with the league's best offense before crashing and burning in the playoffs.

Here's what Dombrowski said in October:

"I do not feel that in-game strategy is the biggest thing as a manager. I think it's important, but there are other things that are probably more important. As I've often told managers, to me the most important thing for a manager is that the club plays up to their capabilities day in and day out, which means they're communicating with their players."

Fast forward to May 24, 2017 and the Red Sox sit at 23-21, a decidedly underwhelming record for a team that was expected to be one of the top contenders in the American League. For a team with their payroll and glut of high-end talent on the roster, they should be more than barely over .500.

Many of the Red Sox' healthy core players haven't played up to their usual standards so far in 2017. Combine that with reports that Farrell hasn't communicated very well with some of the players in the clubhouse, and as a result, his job could be in jeopardy.

So how could Dombrowski go on NESN's "Red Sox First Pitch" on Tuesday night and say this to Tom Caron?

"I think we're in a position where [Farrell's] managed well. He's managed divisional champions. I think we're in a position where we have a good club. We just need to get in a better flow of things. We just haven't really performed like we're capable of performing."

So the Red Sox aren't performing up to their capabilities, yet Farrell is doing a good job managing the team? Either Farrell is doing the one thing Dombrowski said is the most important thing for a manager to do, or he isn't. Can't have both.

Dave Dombrowski
Dave Dombrowski (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

But it sounds like that's precisely what Dombrowski wants. Possibly because he knows he'd be putting himself on the hot seat if he fired Farrell right now. He even went so far as to reveal that he backed Farrell in a closed-door meeting with Red Sox management that also included assistant GMs Brian O'Halloran and Eddie Romero and vice president of research and development Zack Scott.

To be fair, Farrell can't be blamed for the team that's been given to him. It's more on Dombrowski that David Price has yet to make it to the mound as he recovers from a left elbow strain, that the Red Sox have no viable backup plan at third base behind Pablo Sandoval, and that the bullpen has suffered significant blows on the injury front to players that he acquired.

But what about Hanley Ramirez, who seems like he's doing all he can to avoid playing first base and is disrupting the "flow" that Dombrowski repeatedly said the Red Sox haven't found? What about the lack of power from shortstop Xander Bogaerts (zero home runs)? Or the regressions of Rick Porcello (4.35 ERA), Drew Pomeranz (4.97 ERA), and Jackie Bradley Jr. (.200 batting average)?

The lack of "flow" that Dombrowski alluded to several times on NESN is palpable. At times, the Red Sox offense, defense, starting pitching, and bullpen have each performed well on their own, but the team has yet to put it all together for any appreciable stretch of time.

In other words, the Red Sox aren't playing "up to their capabilities day in and day out." And if you go by Dombrowski's own words, that means that Farrell isn't managing up to his capabilities, either.

Dombrowski could have avoided this clear contradiction if he put more of the onus on himself. He may have also drawn criticism if he blamed the injuries - but Price, especially, is no small piece to be missing at the top of a rotation that has struggled at the back end. Still, at least Dombrowski would have stayed consistent with his message.

Farrell may not be the No. 1 person to blame for the Red Sox' confounding malaise to start the season, but he's somewhere on the list. The team that he has right now is not performing up to their standards, or playing well together, and that has to go back to him eventually.

But at this point, it's becoming more and more clear that Dombrowski seems to know that much of the blame for the Red Sox' subpar season so far goes back to his decisions as president of baseball ops. He's now protecting Farrell and shielding himself to the point where he's directly contradicting his own comments.

The sooner that Dombrowski and the rest of Red Sox management stop engaging in doublespeak, the quicker they may be able to turn things around. Tuesday night was a step in the right direction, but it's just one win. Under the current management, it's hard to tell if they will ever find their flow.

Matt Dolloff is a writer/producer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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