Player Development

This post will highlight a series that ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader this week. I believe the series has run its full course, however if it hasn't additions to this post will be added at a later time.

Part 1: Productive farm system allows Sox flexibility
At the time of his introduction as general manager in 2002, Theo Epstein offered a vision of a Red Sox "scouting and player development machine." He made clear that the team would commit to the creation of a productive farm system that would feed a steady flow of prospects to the majors.

It is one thing to articulate such a blueprint, quite another to stick to it. Many general managers have announced similar intentions, but their principles wavered when confronted with an opportunity to reshape their major-league roster.

The Sox faced precisely such a crossroads this offseason in the person of Johan Santana. The Twins, faced with the prospect of losing their two-time Cy Young winner as a free agent following the 2008 season, made available a pitcher who has been baseball's best over the past four years.

From 2004-07, Santana claimed pitching's triple crown, leading all starters (minimum: 162 innings per year) in wins (70), strikeouts (983) and ERA (2.89). Moreover, the pitcher--who turned 29 this month--ranked among the most durable in baseball, having led the American League with an average of 228 innings a season.

Santana's credentials were impeccable. The Sox, fueled by visions of a dynasty anchored by Santana and incumbent ace Josh Beckett, found the prospect of acquiring him in a trade undeniably compelling.

Full Article from UnionLeader.com


Part 2: Boston's now-bountiful farm system had gone fallow
THE RED SOX are now characterized by a robust minor-league system capable of sustaining a pipeline of big-league talent. Just six years ago, however, such a phenomenon seemed like little more than a pipe dream.

When the ownership group of John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino took control of the Sox in 2002, a now-fertile farm system was characterized by very different terms. The farm system was widely described as barren in the final years under Yawkey Trust CEO John Harrington.

The development was, at least in part, one by design. Once Harrington committed to the sale of the team following the 2000 season, the organization adopted a clear "win now" mandate.

As many organizational resources as possible were to be poured into the major-league club. This was done in an attempt to drive up the sale price of the team and to win a single championship after more than six decades of Yawkey governance.

"The team was for sale," said former Sox GM Dan Duquette. "The Yawkey ownership was not interested in the organization beyond their control of the team. That's the way any business goes when it's for sale."

All the same, practices employed by the club at that time came under significant scrutiny. Stories spread about the team's tight-fisted approach to the draft, where the club would select college seniors over more talented juniors simply because the older players lacked the leverage of being able to re-enter the draft. The infrequency with which minor leaguers reached Fenway Park also came under fire.

Full Article at UnionLeader.com


Part 3: Sox aimed at consistent approach
THE RED SOX' overhaul of their farm system started as an idea. It had to.

The farm system the current Sox owners inherited in 2002 suffered from a lack of defined vision. The result was a system that at times seemed to feature as many philosophies as it did coaches.

Former Sox General Manager Dan Duquette was helping with plans for a new ballpark and the sale of the club. His attention was drawn away from the farm system, and confusion filled the vacuum.

"People were trying to do the right things developmentally that they thought Dan would want done. But with his responsibilities at the major-league level, it didn't afford him the time to focus on the developmental system," suggested Mike Port, Duquette's assistant GM, who served as interim general manager in 2002. "At times, people well-intendedly tried to do their best, but they may not have hit their mark."

After the club changed hands, the Sox thus sought an almost complete rebuilding of the farm system from the top down. The team wanted to create standards and defined instructional philosophies.

None of this qualified as a reinvention of the wheel. But it did represent a significant departure from the way things had run.

"We had a vision for a system that we wanted in place," said Sox GM Theo Epstein. "It wasn't all that dissimilar from what other organizations had in place. It was just a matter of getting people in leadership positions who could take some time, instill those systems and get buy-in with staff."

The Sox turned to Ben Cherington to transform theory into reality. The team named him assistant director of player development during the 2002 season, and then promoted the Meriden native to director of player development following the season.

Full article at UnionLeader.com


Part 4: Boston scouting for success
BEFORE THE Red Sox changed hands, the team's approach to the amateur draft puzzled competitors. A team with a $100 million major-league payroll seemed indifferent to the opportunity to acquire high-school and college talent for far smaller sums.

The team prioritized, at times, the selection of New Englanders (such as 1999 first-round bust Rick Asadoorian, out of Massachusetts) at the expense of more talented products from elsewhere. Even when the team identified talent, tight draft budgets led to frequently contentious negotiations under former scouting director Wayne Britton.

Numerous players refused to sign with the Sox, in no small part because of what they described as hostile interactions with the club. Most notably, even though the Sox found common ground with ninth-round pick Mark Teixeira in 1998 on a $1.5 million signing bonus, he was so put off by the negotiations that he opted to go to Georgia Tech. There, he emerged as one of the best hitters in the country, was selected in the first round of the 2001 draft and signed a four-year $12.5 million contract.

The Teixeira incident wasn't isolated. In 1999, the team signed just 19 of its 50 draft picks.

“Wayne Britton was an excellent scout,” recalled Mike Port, who served the Sox as assistant general manager under Dan Duquette then became interim G.M. in 2002. “Wayne knows players and ability. But sometimes, in his honesty, he would tell people things they did not want to hear. That might not have been the best negotiating tactic.”

It thus came as little surprise when the Sox started overhauling their scouting structure as soon as the current club owners took control of the team in March 2002. The Sox intended to invest as aggressively in acquiring amateur talent as they did in their big-league product.

In order to do so, they wanted to rework the top-to-bottom systems employed in their scouting department. Britton was fired the day after Duquette, and replaced by David Chadd.

Full article at UnionLeader.com


Part 5: Sox preparing the way
IT IS one thing to produce a stable of talented minor leaguers. It is quite another to have prospects come to the big leagues and thrive amidst pennant-race pressures.

It is difficult to overstate that challenge. One Red Sox official compared the task to drinking water through a fire hose: Most are blasted backwards by the impact.

The Sox are trying to defy those physics. While building a productive farm system, the team has also focused on smoothing the progression of players from the minors to the majors.

"We try to do a lot to speed that development," said Sox VP of Player Personnel Ben Cherington. "We don't expect players to go to the big-league level and be stars. What we want is confidence that they'll go to the big-league level and be able to compete."

The Sox have taken a systematic approach to that goal. As much as possible, the Sox try to make the major-league environment a comfortable one for prospects even before they get there, thereby allowing players to perform to their capabilities once called up.

The team's two-week Rookie Development program every winter -- believed to be just one of a handful in baseball -- is an important part of that process. Players who might reach the majors within 18 months live with host families, sign autographs for fans, meet members of the media and learn how to navigate one-way streets around Fenway Park.

They also spend time with strength and conditioning coaches, major-league coaching staff, front office members and team owners to learn of the expectations -- whether from fans or teammates -- that await a promotion to the majors.

"We look at it to ease the transition to the major leagues," said farm director Mike Hazen.

"There are no surprises for these guys when they come up to the major league level and we ask them to perform."

Full article at UnionLeader.com


Part 6: '05 draft was key to success
The champagne had not yet dried by the time the Red Sox began dismantling their 2004 championship team. The franchise's first World Series title in 86 years would not usher in an era of rank sentimentality in the decisions of the front office.

Less than two months after the triumph, key contributors Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Orlando Cabrera had all left in free agency. The Sox seemed almost empty-handed in their wake.

Nothing could have been further from the case. The players brought in to replace that trio -- Edgar Renteria, Matt Clement and David Wells -- did little to erase the memories of their predecessors' accomplishments. But a new generation of Red Sox talent may now be in the process of doing so.

The Sox received a pair of draft picks as compensation for each of the departing free agents. A team that had vowed to construct a loaded minor-league system suddenly had a means of doing so in the form of five of the first 47 picks in the 2005 draft.

"We gave up a lot to get those picks," said one team official. "We didn't sign key guys. We took a lot of (grief) for not signing those guys. So we really wanted to convert those picks into promising prospects."

The timing could not have been better for such a mission. The 2005 draft featured an historic ensemble of talent, the best since the 1985 class that featured a number of potential Hall of Famers including Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Barry Larkin and Rafael Palmeiro.

Eight of the first 10 picks in the 2005 draft have already reached the majors, with one player (Ryan Braun) having won a Rookie of the Year Award, and two others (Ryan Zimmerman and Troy Tulowitzki) having claimed second. Others, such as top overall pick Justin Upton, seem destined for greatness.

For Jason McLeod, who took over as the director of the team's amateur scouting department following the World Series triumph, the draft was filled with both promise and peril.

Full article at UnionLeader.com


Boston sees future contributors at all levels of their system
There was a time when Red Sox farm teams bordered on unwatchable. The cellar proved a common dwelling for an organization where blue-chip prospects were sorely lacking.

In 2001 and 2002, the Sox affiliates finished a combined 108 games below .500. A defeatist attitude prevailed below the major-league surface.

"Some of the guys here joke about how bad the minor-league teams used to be," noted Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

For those who were brought up in those circumstances, it is difficult to fathom the current state of the organization. The Sox find potential big-league contributors at every level of their farm system.

A year ago, as Jon Lester made stops at three different levels of the minor leagues while working his way back to health, he was struck by what he observed. The memories of his entry into the farm system in 2002 and 2003 seemed distant.

"When I played, coming up through A-ball, we weren't competitive. Now, it seems that every team is full of prospects and they're competitive and want to win," Lester said this spring. "We've got a lot of depth. You look in the big leagues and in Triple-A and Double-A, guys who should be in Triple-A this year might be in Double-A just because we've got so many pitchers.

"That's a tribute to (general manager) Theo (Epstein) and the organization for scouting. They want guys to win and to get used to winning. If you get that ingrained in people's heads, when they get up (to the majors) it makes it easier for them."

According to Baseball America, the Sox feature the second best minor-league system in baseball. That lofty place reflects impressive top-to-bottom talent that could impact the big-league club in both the near and long terms.

Full article at UnionLeader.com

The above articles were written by New Hampshire Union Leader sports writer Alex Speier.