Should Dave Dombrowski get more blame for the Red Sox’ mediocre start?

Debate the answer with Chad Finn and Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.

Red Sox manager John Farrell (left) and team president Dave Dombrowski (right) were chatting in the dugout before a game in June 2016. Jim Davis/Globe staff

By Chad Finn

May 23, 2017

2 minutes to read

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I don’t think John Farrell is much of a manager even though he has a World Series ring, and I think most Red Sox fans would agree. He’s mediocre at best. But is it fair that we blame him for the Red Sox’ disappointing start? Dave Dombrowski put this team together, and a lot of the flaws are his doing. Is he skating here? I think he is. – Bring Back Ben

It seems to me he’s starting to get some heat, and it’s overdue. There hasn’t been a lot of nuance or creativity in what he has done. He has traded multiple big-time prospects to get stars (Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel) and thrown can’t-say-no cash at free agents (David Price). There’s not an executive in sports who couldn’t have pulled off those moves.

The Sale deal has worked beautifully, but that’s how a trade for an established superstar is supposed to work. Offer the most, get the player you want. It’s a keeper league fantasy baseball trade in real life. You could have made it. And I doubt the White Sox are disappointed given that Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech might rate as the best positional and pitching prospect in baseball at midseason.

Dombrowski has been somewhere between a disappointment and a disaster with the subtler moves. Carson Smith and Tyler Thornberg haven’t pitched three total innings between them in a Red Sox uniform. Third base is a debacle, and while I don’t believe Travis Shaw is much more than a replacement-level player with good power, you’d think Dombrowski would have had a decent Plan B for Pablo Sandoval. There is no organizational pitching depth — who were they trying to kid with Kyle Kendrick?

The Red Sox are a top-heavy team, much like many of Dombrowski’s Tigers teams. If the Red Sox continue to plod along, Farrell will be the first scapegoat. But the man who has the clout to fire him should not escape blame, either. This is Dombrowski’s team, and it’s not as good as it should be.

What do you guys say? Should Dave Dombrowski get more blame for the Red Sox’ mediocre start? I’ll see you in the comments.