Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has been employed to clean up a bit of a mess after the team collapsed down the stretch and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. "We've let our fans down in some important ways recently," Cherington said. "The last few weeks have been painful, difficult. But what I'm left with is the conviction that the Red Sox will be the most successful organization in baseball moving forward." In addition to watching previous general manager Theo Epstein leave for the Cubs, Boston parted ways with manager Terry Francona and has dealt with a clubhouse drinking saga. "He's very organized," Epstein said of Cherington. "I prefer more of a free form of ideas -- more of a boiler room, think-tank-type atmosphere. There are small differences. We spent 10 years together; he's a great friend and colleague, and I'd like to think he's ready."