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Five local sports celebrities figured it was just a matter of time before Boston Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette fired manager Jimy Williams, with whom he had an adversarial relationship.
But the concensus was the timing was a bit strange.
Williams was fired Thursday in the midst of a 1-6 tailspin. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan was named the manager and he signed a two-year deal.
The Red Sox had 43 games left entering Thursday night’s game against Seattle. They went into the game 21/2 games behind Oakland in the American League wild-card chase and 51/2 behind New York in the battle for the Eastern Division title.
“I was surprised to see it happen now,” said Husson College assistant baseball coach and former University of Maine head coach John Winkin. “I thought it would happen at the end of the year.”
“Why wait so long to do this?,” asked current University of Maine baseball coach Paul Kostacopoulos. “If they were going to fire him, they should have fired him a long time ago. When your manager says ‘Go ahead and fire me if you don’t like [my managing],’ something he did at the end of last year, that’s when they should have taken care of it.”
George Wildey, the president of the New England School of Communications and a staunch Yankees fan, said, “I thought they should have made the move at the All-Star break or let him finish the year.”
Husson baseball coach John Kolasinski thought they should have let Williams stay on for the rest of the season but former Bangor High School baseball coach Bob Kelley disagreed.
“It had reached a point where it was time for a change,” said Kelley. “Boston had lost six of its last seven. What better time to make a move than when it appears the Red Sox are fading out of contention. Duquette won’t have to take the heat for it. He figured it was the perfect time to do it.”
All five men praised Williams for the job he did in keeping the Red Sox in the playoff hunt despite injuries to the game’s best pitcher (Pedro Martinez), two-time AL batting champ and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, catcher Jason Varitek, center fielder Carl Everett and pitcher Frank Castillo.
“Jimy is a good baseball person and he did an outstanding job getting them to this point and keeping them in contention despite all the injuries,” said Kolasinski.
Wildey agreed, saying, “I don’t know of anybody who could have put them in a better position with the problems they’ve had this year.”
But Kostacopoulos said it is imperative in this era for the general manager and manager to have a cooperative co-existence.
“They have to be cut out of the same cloth. They have to be on the same page,” said Kostacopoulos. “There is so much money involved in signing free agents and filling needs. The salaries are huge. You can’t sign somebody for $25 million and not use him. The general manager and manager have to believe in the same things. They didn’t. They’ve never been on the same page.
“The Red Sox went out and got [Montreal closer Ugueth] Urbina and they haven’t even used him as a closer. Two weeks ago, Derek Lowe said he didn’t want to be the closer any more. You can see it in his eyes now. After every pitch, he holds his breath,” said the Bear boss, who pointed out that former Expos manager Felipe Alou was Duquette’s first choice to replace Williams but didn’t want the job.
Wildey said “the writing was on the wall over a year ago. Duquette was looking for a way to get rid of Williams.”
He also said it was difficult for the Red Sox players because they had “two bosses” instead of just one.
Kostacopoulos maintains Williams was an effective manager although he feels he became stubborn in recent weeks when it came to making a pitching decision.
He also thinks Duquette is in a “little trouble now” with the Red Sox getting new ownership in the near future.
Kerrigan has promised to stabilize the top five spots in the lineup and that is a good move according to the quintet. Williams went with a variety of lineups and made sure everybody got playing time.
“You’ve got to have some stability. It was very rare for them to have the same lineup two days in a row,” said Kelley, who also saw the other side of the coin.
“You’ve got 15 to 16 guys who are used to being full-time starters and he tried to get all of them some playing time. You want to have some harmony on your club. But it didn’t work,” said Kelley.
The five men respect Kerrigan and consider him among the game’s best pitching coaches.
“I have high regards for him as a pitching coach but I don’t know about his ability to handle the total game. It’s a big jump,” said Winkin.
“Kerrigan’s a solid baseball man,” observed Kelley.
But Wildey feels the slide will continue.
“I’d be surprised if they play .525 [winning percentage] baseball the rest of the way,” said Wildey.
Kolasinski said, “I know they’re trying to jumpstart the club. But they’ve already accomplished a lot with Williams at the helm. A new person isn’t going to make a difference.”
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