Ben Cherington: 2012 was 'hard on all of us'

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington stated that the 2012 regular season was difficult for everyone involved in the organization.

In a story published on the team's official website by Ian Browne of MLB.com, Cherington explained that he and the rest of the Red Sox organization took the team's disappointing performance in 2012 personally and that he was going to do everything in his power to restore the team to the standard that fans and ownership have come to expect.

"On a personal level, I've been here 14 years, and we've had some highs and some lows and this is certainly a low. I take it personally. We all take it personally. But as long as I'm here, I'll do whatever I possibly can to help restore the team to what our ownership and fans deserve. It's been hard -- hard on all of us."

Finishing 2012 with a record of 69-93, the Red Sox were dead last in the American League East and accumulated the third-worst record of any other team in the American League.

Entering the year after a tumultuous conclusion to 2011 (that included a collapse in the final month of the season), the team faltered under first-year manager Bobby Valentine.

With Valentine already out of the picture, the team will look to return to prominence in 2013 under new manager John Farrell.