Ben Cherington was formally introduced to the Boston media on Tuesday afternoon as the Boston Red Sox announced him as the club's new general manager. During his press conference, Cherington assured the media and fans that the team has a list of candidates to replace Terry Francona as the team's next manager.
"We've done a lot of due diligence over the last couple of weeks," Cherington said. "That was one of the benefits behind the uncertainty is we could work behind the scenes and do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions of potential candidates. We've narrowed a list down to a probable first group of interviews. I'm not prepared to say who they are because we haven't asked permission for anyone yet. Certainly, we're not going to go into the process with any preconceived notions about who's the favorite or any bias in any direction. But we expect we'll start the interview process soon and we do have a short list of candidates. There will be several." (via WEEI)
Cherington also said that he and the Red Sox are looking for someone with a "strong voice" and "someone who cares about players, but is also willing and ready to have tough conversations with them." Cherington also stressed the importance of having a manager who is willing to work with the front office but still make an argument for their beliefs.
But most importantly, Cherington said he wanted "someone who has a passion for the game."
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