"At the end it wasn't that difficult," Cherington said. "We came into camp with the thinking 'Let's give Mike [Aviles] a chance to prove he can do it. Let's watch Jose and the progress he makes.'
"Both things happened, but based on where we were at the start, and the conversations over the last couple of days, it became clear to the staff and Bobby and myself that the best thing for this team was to let Jose have a little more time in Triple-A and let Mike have the job to start the season. This gives us the best chance to get the most out of both of them."
Sometimes, the goals of the front office are different than the goals of the manager's office. Valentine, like any other manager, is worried about winning the next game. It's the view from the trenches, where each game brings a new battle. The GM must take a longer view.
Cherington said the exchange of opinions he's had with Valentine has strengthened the organization — even when the two men don't share the same view on something.
"What [the exchange of ideas] can do in the best way is that they push against each other," Cherington said. "There's an on-field perspective which tends to be more about right now and about what's in front of you. In a place like Boston that's pretty important.
"Then there's the long-term perspective that sometimes factors in other things, like control of players, payroll, things like that which can also be important. Those two perspectives need to push on each other. I think that's how you find the right happy medium."
If Iglesias was a case study, the system is working.
There's a clear belief that Iglesias is ready defensively, but needs to work on his hitting. He was hitting .200 (.566 OPS) at the time of the demotion, with just one extra base hit in 25 at-bats. Aviles, meanwhile, is hitting a robust .343 (.968 OPS), and while he might not have the range of Iglesias, he hasn't been bad in the field.
"Jose had a great camp," Cherington said. "He's a better player now than he was at this time last year and he's a better player now than he was six weeks ago. He's putting himself in a better position to hit. He's good defensively. He's had a lot of energy."
In the end, Iglesias' work with the glove wasn't enough to make up for the gap between his bat and Aviles'.
"Mike Aviles has done everything well in spring training," Cherington said. "We just felt like going into the season Mike was the right guy to be our everyday shortstop on April 5."
As for the much-discussed relationship between Cherington and Valentine?
"We've agreed on a lot of things, and disagreed on some," Cherington said. "We need to do that. We need to have healthy debate. We wanted a manager who was confident in his opinion and had conviction. It's the same when there's a tough decision. He helps the front office understand the dynamic on the field, and he's really open minded about info we've given him.
"It's a good working dynamic and it's been a good relationship so far."
In the end, the manager is doing his best to get the Red Sox ready to play in Detroit next Thursday. The GM wants to build a team that's winning far beyond that.
"Let's face it," Cherington said. "In Boston we're expected to win in April and we're also expected to win in September and also in 2013 and '14 and '15. If we push on each other in that way I think we have the best chance of finding those middle-ground answers."
