Lucchio was the catalyst to running everyone out of town, plain and simple
Well, the 2012-2013 offseason was one of the best in Sox history, and it seems like the credit goes to Cherington...some luck involved there, too. I spent months anxiously seeing the ticker read it seemed like every day, "1B Mike Napoli has not received any new offers from anyone in MLB..." I knew we needed him badly, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he finally got here. We needed him for his bat and clubhouse leadership, and it all worked out.
Then, in '14, it was mostly blown up for no good reason.
Time for my rant:
Right here in Boston, the local pro sports teams consistently ignore the example set for building and sustaining success, by Red Auerbach. This is especially galling with regard to the Celtics. They care about their stupid, idiotic, guaranteed-to-lose agenda, and NOT about winning.
The Bruins winning one Cup and nearly another with a team mostly built by Mike O'Connell, did not make them smart.
After losing the '07 lottery, Danny Ainge magically acquired the Midas touch for seven months; then when they had the foundation for at least 2-3 more titles he immediately refuses to keep James Posey, who was integral-necessary-to protect the team's chemistry and on court success. No more titles.
Bob Kraft's media guide profile is littered with on field accomplishments, in an attempt to piggyback him onto what's clearly attributable to Brady. Nothing before Tom was any improvement over the team's past history. Securing their future and building the stadium remain monumental successes; otherwise, he's gone along with dressing the players up like Arena League castoffs and let his team, coach and quarterback be raked over the coals by people he persists in retaining unwarranted respect for.
All that makes John Henry look...well, good.