Player Development - Part 2: Boston's now-bountiful farm system had gone fallow

Second of a six-part series

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."

Dodger's beat road-weary Sox

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz, a product of the Red Sox’ minor-league system, deals against the Los Angeles Dodgers in an exhibition game yesterday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers won, 8-0. (AP)

►Player Development - Part 1: Productive farm system allows Sox flexibility (1)
►Dodgers beat road-weary Red Sox

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.

The development was puzzling in many respects. As general manager of the Montreal Expos in the early-1990s, Duquette had helped to create a staggeringly productive farm system that fed constant talent to the majors.

He realized some similar gains in his early years in Boston, most notably in the drafting of star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. Yet Duquette and Harrington employed minor leaguers to different ends towards the end of their Sox tenure.

"You can use the farm system to put players on your team or you can use it to make trades to acquire better players," Duquette observed, noting that some of the players developed during his tenure were used to acquire Curt Schilling in 2003 and Josh Beckett in 2005. "The Red Sox leveraged the player talent in the minors that was there to make some of the trades that brought them the players they needed to be a contending team year-in, year-out."

Yet when the new owners assumed control of the club in 2002, they resisted that either/or characterization. The Sox pronounced their hope of creating a farm system that would produce both big leaguers and tradable assets.

In the summer of 2002, Henry suggested that he would like to see the Sox become "the Oakland A's with a $100 million payroll." While the Sox have now, in many respects, achieved that ambition to great effect, those statements prompted skepticism in Boston at the time.

All three members of the ownership group, after all, came from small-market backgrounds. Werner had presided over a fire sale in San Diego in the early 1990s. Henry came to Boston after owning the Florida Marlins, a team whose big-league payroll in 2001 was just $38 million, fifth lowest in the majors -- and one spot behind a Padres team for whom Lucchino had served as CEO.

Skeptics in the team's fan and media base wondered whether the team's admiration for the A's signalled an intention to trim -- or even gut -- the major-league payroll. Yet such concerns dramatically misread the intentions of the ownership group.

Even before Theo Epstein pronounced his interest in creating a "scouting and player development machine" at the time of his hiring as general manager, the owners had embraced the notion. They did so not in hopes of bringing the Red Sox payroll back to the pack, but rather in hopes of liberating more resources to reinvest in big-ticket items.

"There was a clear commitment, both philosophically and financially, that was made to scouting and player development," said Red Sox VP of Player Personnel Ben Cherington. "That started, really, when John Henry and Tom and Larry bought the team, and was emphasized not just in what Theo said when he got the job.

"(Through the process of) hiring Theo, it was emphasized. That commitment has never wavered. It's just been reinforced every year."

Whereas the Sox sought to draft players on the cheap earlier this decade, the team is now characterized by aggressive investment in amateur players while maintaining the second highest big-league payroll.

The Sox have consistently operated that the principle that they should acquire the best talent available. The team drafted high schooler Lars Anderson in the 18th round of the 2006 draft and gave him an $825,000 bonus. The first baseman is already viewed as one of the top power-hitting prospects in the game.

"Since I've been here," said scouting director Jason McLeod, "we've had such a commitment and support from our ownership group, Larry and Theo to go and sign the best players."

Those investments paid off handsomely last autumn. The clinching game of the World Series featured the homegrown ensemble of starter Jon Lester, Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and closer Jonathan Papelbon.

"That's a spectacular year for a farm system right there. You have a kid (like Clay Buchholz) come up, throw a no-hitter when your team is in the pennant race, and then another kid who's the Rookie of the Year," noted Duquette. "Those guys who they brought up made a significant impact on the team. Really, the job the Red Sox have done in their player development operation has been the difference between them and the Yankees the last couple of years."

With a raft of more young talent under that surface, the Sox seem to have accomplished goals that once seemed elusive. The system has the sort of depth that permits it to use some prospects as contributors in Boston, and others who can be spun to other clubs. It is a success that reflects widely on the organization, starting at the top.

"We can talk all day long about player development philosophy, about scouting philosophy, and the importance of having good people," said Cherington. "You can't build a farm system without those things, but you also can't build it without the support of Theo and ownership. That's really where it all starts."

Alex Speier covers the Red Sox for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News.