Red Sox hire Ruben Amaro Jr. as first base coach (actually)

The Red Sox are reportedly hiring Ruben Amaro Jr. as their first base coach.

No, seriously. The former Philadelphia general manager. Here's the tweet:

It appears former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr will become Red Sox first base coach.

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) October 24, 2015

I have checked multiple times. That is the real Nick Cafardo account. It's now...90 minutes and counting, and there's no retraction, no refutation. This is, apparently, actually happening.

It's hard to put into words just how bizarre this is. When a GM is fired, there's usually a position waiting for them somewhere. Maybe another shot in charge, maybe an assistant role, maybe the director of scouting or some other department.

That position isn't usually on the field. Going from general manager to manager is one thing (ask Dan Jennings), weird in its own right. But swinging all the way from the top of the executive totem pole to the bottom of the coaching one is something else entirely. He's like some 15th century European noble fallen from grace at court and sent into exile to farm his lands.

So...this is happening. Ruben Amaro Jr. will be standing at first base and telling players whether or not they should try for second. That seems a less complicated job than his last, but when you sign Ryan Howard to that extension you kinda lose the benefit of the doubt even in this. Oh well, so long as they keep him at least 100 feet away from Dave Dombrowski at all times, he can only do so much harm.