Who Fits The Managing "Matrix" For The Sox?

'Matrix Man' Ben Cherington

Sometimes, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington seems to speak his own wonky dialect of English. Phrases like "multi-factorial" and "plus-defender" roll off his tongue like they were actual parts of the language. Well, he's at it again. Recently, he stated that the new Red Sox field manager will not meet some perfect iconic ideal. That's true enough. Rather, Ben said, the new guy will likely be "a matrix" of strengths and weaknesses.

Assuming he's not a fan of that series of wildly over-rated movies, he probably means that the next skipper will not be an experienced, respected, youthful, telegenic, sabermetric, and strategic package of perfection all rolled into one. That guy doesn't exist. So, it's good that BenCher lowers our expectations a little bit. We continue to believe that the best option is Hall Of Famer Ryne Sandberg (read our September 25th article here). He's got most of those "package of perfection" bases covered. If his recent appointment as Phillies third base coach makes him unobtainable, then Toronto bench coach Torey Lovullo would be our next choice. The Sox interviewed him last year before hiring Bobby V., and he is a well-respected manager-in-waiting by most of the MLB cognoscenti. He's kind of "Farrell Light"—minus the compensation headache. In any event, we need to get this show on the road and make the hire soon.