I have no problem with any of Cherington's moves so far this offseason.
I'm a big fan of Valentine so I got no problem with him not getting his choice there.
I'm very happy that he didn't pay Papelbon or Madson the absurd amount of money they were asking for. No closer is worth that kind of money.
The Bailey trade was an absolute steal for the Sox. We gave the A's nothing for an all-star caliber closer. The Melancon trade was solid as well. Lowrie was dogshit for all but one month of last season, and he spends more time on the DL than he does on the field, and he's a well below average defensive shortstop. No brainer to trade him for bullpen help.
The Scutaro thing obviously is a straight up money thing. Let's be honest here. He's Marco Scutaro. He's not exactly the most irreplaceable player in Red Sox history here. He had an injury issue that's going to be a recurring thing, and has really limited him defensively. Obviously it's a downgrade going to Aviles/Punto but clearing up the payroll to sign Ross (which is now official) is a smart move.
Obviously, I'm not thrilled with the fact that we missed out on Kuroda, or any other free agent pitching for that matter, but we could have done a lot worse this off-season.