Balanced approach a big deal with Sox

But there have been reports this offseason that some in the organization (like owner John Henry, who deflected questions for this story to Epstein) are more interested in winning now than are others (like Epstein). But the general manager mostly has been able to hold on to his own vision and long-term plan, despite outside influences. Asked whether the organization sometimes tends to lean more toward the future than it should, Epstein didn’t agree.

He did, however, admit that the “future part is more emotional. Like when we traded for Jason Bay, giving up Manny Ramirez was the easy part. The really annoying part was having to throw in two decent pieces [Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen] that could add more value to the Red Sox.

“I think that’s why we’ve made a conscious effort to ignore the media, ignore the next day’s headlines, ignore anything that focuses on the short term. Because I think baseball is best enjoyed day-to-day, moment-to-moment, but best understood year-to-year, from 10,000 feet up. So you can make an argument that the Red Sox for 86 years were too focused on the next day’s headlines and too focused on what the fans in the stands thought on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis.

“It is important to take a step back and remove the organization from the narrative that surrounds the team and focus on delivering a healthy, long-term foundation and then trusting that foundation will lead to success. When you come off the disappointing years, it’s always harder. That shiny toy looks shinier.

“But in the end you have to realize you’re not going to win every single year, you’re not going to win 95 games every year, you’re not going to make the playoffs every year, you’re certainly not going to win the World Series every year. You have to always do what’s in the best long-term interest of your organization.’’

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com.