Red Sox Hire John Farrell

[Bellhorn04]

As a friend put it elsewhere ""It's always 'send Fredo to do this; send Fredo to do that.' I'm smart. I can do things." That's Ben.

 

And you'd like Larry to invite him out for a little boat ride.

[mvp 78]

Who the f*** cares about Mike Aviles?

 

He was a 1.8 WAR player. Without him, they would have only won 67 games!

[Elktonnick]

And you'd like Larry to invite him out for a little boat ride.

 

I'd make him an offer that he couldn't refuse.

[Behindenemylines]

It was obvious with no playing time in September that Aviles had no future in Boston and could get the manager the FO wanted. The move opens up a spot on the 40 man roster which will be needed when the Hot Stove starts. If Ciriaco is the utility infielder next season Aviles fills no need.

[jacksonianmarch]

Ciriaco is due for a major, major reversal of fortune. He has no patience and cannot hit a breaking ball.

[Elktonnick]

Ciriaco is due for a major, major reversal of fortune. He has no patience and cannot hit a breaking ball.

 

Ciriaco is a utility player at best. Although, you have to admire his gusto. The reason he made such an impression with sox fans, he was one of the few positive and exciting things going on after he was called up.

[jacksonianmarch]

I do admire his gusto. He also had a flair for killing the Yankees, so you guys love him.

[a700hitter]

Completely different scenario. Theo was getting promoted in his new role in the cubs, while Farrell was lateraling. Its convention that bench coaches for example are allowed to freely interview for manager positions since that is viewed as a promotion, why wouldn't that more or less apply to GM -> President?

 

Why can't the Red Sox find the best current manager in baseball under contract and take him from that team for nothing? Because teams want compensation. If a team wants to keep a bench coach from being manager of another team, then you have two options. Make him the manager or let him go, that isn't the case here.

Farrell is the best manager under contract? He stinks. If the Sox hadn't been tipping their hand with their open lusting for Farrell since late July, he'd probably have gotten fired this off season.

 

I continue to be shocked by the defense by Red Sox fans of Cherries who dragged the team to last place and it's worst record in almost 50 years. Until he starts to prove himself to be part of the solution, I will consider him to be part of the problem.

[KCBRUIN]

I would say horrible pitching drug this team to last place.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Ciriaco is due for a major, major reversal of fortune. He has no patience and cannot hit a breaking ball.

 

True, but Aviles had zero patience and couldn't hit a breaking ball either. At least Ciriaco has good speed and can bunt for base hits and create massive havoc on the basepaths. Plus he's got enough speed where he can play the corner OF's and make up for bad reads off the bat with his speed.

 

Ciriaco is essentially Aviles, less power, more speed. And speed will create more base hits. Given, Ciriaco is all smoke and mirrors, he still puts pressure on the defense on even routine groundouts.

 

He's certainly not a starter, but he's as good of a bench player as Aviles is.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Farrell is the best manager under contract? He stinks. If the Sox hadn't been tipping their hand with their open lusting for Farrell since late July, he'd probably have gotten fired this off season.

 

I continue to be shocked by the defense by Red Sox fans of Cherries who dragged the team to last place and it's worst record in almost 50 years. Until he starts to prove himself to be part of the solution, I will consider him to be part of the problem.

 

I don't understand why Farrell stinks. Because the Jays had a bad record??

 

Francona was horrific in Philadelphia.

 

The Rays were horrific under Maddon in 06 and 07.

 

A teams record is not an indication of a manager. I don't understand your basis as to why Farrell is going to be a bad manager.

[jung]

Myself I am not sure I can so far as to say that Ferrell stinks but he has not proven to be the exception to the rule that pitchers rarely make good managers and I still think whatever "process" the Sox went through to arrive at Farrell was a facade. They have lusted for Ferrell from the beginning. As usual with the Sox once they get it into their heads that they want something, it does not matter what other information might contradict that desire.

 

So now they got the guy they wanted and it may well work out but I am more just exhausted by the way this Sox organization does things. No longer even seems like an organization that really has a process for doing anything. Nothing seems to change down there on Yawkee Way.

 

While "the trade" worked out as far as ridding the Sox of a whole bunch of rotten decisions in one deal, that was totally instigated by the Dodgers desire to be stupid. I am not even sure that it would have worked out so well were it not for the fact that Henry was running it from the Sox end with the Dodgers whispering the magic word CRAWFORD, in Henry's ear. Henry's third leg probably sprung to attention and he tossed out his viagra right on the spot.

[BornToRun]

I would say horrible pitching drug this team to last place.

 

That and bobby valentine. But hey, f*** it, let's just blame the GM so we don't have to change the narrative

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I didn't want Farrell, but I can live with him as manager. Seems to have already caused some energy with the players, so that has to be something. We will see what happens.

[redsoxfan3]

It looks like their are mixed feelings about hiring Farrell and the compensation. Let me start off by saying that I would have preferred another manager. However, I am starting to like the idea of Farrell more and more everyday. I like that the players support him. I have not heard anything negative about him coming from any of our players. It seems that the players respect him already more than they ever respected Bobby V. I also like the fact that he was our pitching coach. He knows a lot about this team. I think he will be able to help Buchholz and Lester. Hopefully we can see a turnaround for those two next season. I know that with Toronto that he did not have a successful campaign as manger. I also am confident that there is more talent in Boston than there is in Toronto, especially with some good offseason moves. I think he can help this team and lead this team to back to one of the premiere teams in baseball. It might take a couple of years, but I think if anyone can do it, John can. He also said that this is his dream job, so that gives me the confidence in knowing that he is going to do his absolute best as the manager of the Red Sox.

 

I did not really like sending Aviles for Farrell. The thing is, what can we do about it? What is done is done. Aviles was an okay starting SS for us last season. He was nothing great and really should not be much more than a utility player on a contending team. The positive is that we did not have to give up a good prospect or another MLB player that is a big part of this team's future. I do feel like the FO sent more compensation than we should have. We got Chris Carpenter back for Epstein, but yet we had to give up a Major League ready player for Farrell. It just doesn't make much since. We got another lousy Carpenter in return for sending Aviles.

 

The other good thing is that we now have the flexibility to leave Ciriaco as our utility player. I think he is just as effective as Aviles as a utility infielder. With Aviles gone, I hope we go out and try to get a decent starting SS. I am fine with Iglesias competing for the job, but I hope we can at least add a decent SS to compete for the job. The FA market is thin, so this is where we might have to get creative with a trade.

 

Lovullo is also an interesting option for our bench coach. He managed the Paw Sox in 2010 and also was a managerial candidate for us last year. He would compliment Farrell nicely in my opinion. I know some people are still against the Farrell hiring, but look at the positives and know that we cannot do worse than we did last season. If Farrell really blows it this year, then BC is probably out the door and we can finally move on past John Farrell. This is the guy that the FO has wanted for the last couple of years. He is finally here. It is his time. Don't let Red Sox Nation down, I don't think there are too many people that will be able to handle another let down.

[jung]

Well like I said in a few posts earlier, there is much to be said for a manager in baseball or a coach in football making his mistakes someplace and going to his next team already having stepped in a few land mines. Hopefully he has learned something about being a manager instead of being a pitching coach.

 

These players have s*** the bed so bad that I no longer know whether universal happiness with the choice of Farrell is something I want to revel in.

 

It does not look like anybody in Toronto is bemoaning Farrell's departure, more or less happy to see him go. You would have to believe that since he is going to a team in their division.

 

I did not remember this until reminded this morning but Farrell did run the Jays into tons of outs, running them in all sorts of places where the result was just running right out of innings. Hopefully he will not make that mistake here as this is a tough yard to do that in. If he was punished for it in Toronto he will really be punished for it here.

 

If he can bring some stability to and get performance out of the pitchers, that would be big.

 

Lets hope for the best and see what kind of team they put around him.

[redsoxfan3]

Well like I said in a few posts earlier, there is much to be said for a manager in baseball or a coach in football making his mistakes someplace and going to his next team already having stepped in a few land mines. Hopefully he has learned something about being a manager instead of being a pitching coach.

 

These players have s*** the bed so bad that I no longer know whether universal happiness with the choice of Farrell is something I want to revel in.

 

It does not look like anybody in Toronto is bemoaning Farrell's departure, more or less happy to see him go which you would have to believe anyway cause he is going to a team in their division.

 

I did not remember this until reminded this morning but Farrell did run the Jays into tons of outs, running them in all sorts of places where the result was just running right out of innings. Hopefully he will not make that mistake here as this is a tough yard to do that in. If he was punished for it in Toronto he will really be punished for it here.

 

If he can bring some stability to and get performance out of the pitchers, that would be big.

 

Lets hope for the best and see what kind of team they put around him.

 

Well said. I agree, especially with the last two sentences. There is really not much we can do. Let's hope that BC gives him a competitive roster by making some good offseason moves. If he can get some better performance out of Lester and Buchholz, that will be huge.

[redsoxfan3]

Did anyone watch the John Farrell introduction?

[RedSoxNC84]

Not really 100% sure how I feel about this.. but I think I like it better than the Bobby V signing.

[jung]

Atila the Hun would have been a better hire than V, probably knew more about when to employ the hit and run as well.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Did anyone watch the John Farrell introduction?

 

How was it?

[ibot2much]

I saw part of it. I do not know if the three owners were there..I just saw Ben doing his intrduction..boring as usual.

 

The owners may have come in at some point, but I was surprisedf to see that the three of them and Ben were not spread across the podium

[VA Sox Fan]

If this deal isn't further confirmation that Ben is GM in name only, then nothing will be. Henry et al merely want an errand boy. Someone elsewhere called Ben, "Fredo" from the Godfather. Kind of fits don't you think?

 

Not at all. Fredo was not bright and weak. LL wanted BV and Ben did not. Ben wanted Farrell last year. Good try though Elton, a stretch, but a nice effort. LL needs to step the hell back, quit being Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder and the Boss.

[VA Sox Fan]

I saw part of it. I do not know if the three owners were there..I just saw Ben doing his intrduction..boring as usual.

 

The owners may have come in at some point, but I was surprisedf to see that the three of them and Ben were not spread across the podium

 

It was just Ben and LL. Unknown where JH and TW were, probably NASCAR or Liverpool stuff

[Behindenemylines]

Listening to the press conference it comes off that Farrell is BC's guy. Its important that the manager and GM are on the same page in regards to the roster. If this is going to work the Sox have to fix the starting pitching and Farrell is a small step in the right direction. Now he has to bring in a pitching coach that he can work with. Last year there was a lack of communication and the starters struggled the whole season.

[a700hitter]

I don't understand why Farrell stinks. Because the Jays had a bad record??

 

Francona was horrific in Philadelphia.

 

The Rays were horrific under Maddon in 06 and 07.

 

A teams record is not an indication of a manager. I don't understand your basis as to why Farrell is going to be a bad manager.

I don't say that he stinks because of the Jays record. I say that he stinks, because in two years, his teams have been atrocious at executing the fundamentals and they ran the bases recklessly. I don't think he taught them anything.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I don't say that he stinks because of the Jays record. I say that he stinks, because in two years, his teams have been atrocious at executing the fundamentals and they ran the bases recklessly. I don't think he taught them anything.

 

In 2011, the Blue Jays had the 3rd best baserunning in the MLB at an 11.1 BsR per Fangraphs. The Red Sox were in last place at -17.6.

 

In 2012, the Jays had a 5.1 BsR. The Sox had a 2.7 BsR.

 

There's a difference between a few isolated incidences of recklessness on a team that is aggressive on the basepaths and being a reckless team. Farrell managed his baserunning well for the most part.

 

Being aggressive on the basepaths is how you stop losing 1-0 and 2-1 games. It's forcing the other teams to make the throw from RF to 3B. Putting pressure on the pitcher in a tight game by stealing. Noticing longer than normal deliveries by the pitcher or noticing a catcher who is going through a stint where he's having a hard time transferring the ball on stolen base attempts.

 

Sometimes aggressiveness is going to come back and bite you, but I'd rather see a guy thrown out trying to go 1st to 3rd in a tie game with 1 out than to watch us strand runner after runner at 2nd base.

[a700hitter]

In 2011, the Blue Jays had the 3rd best baserunning in the MLB at an 11.1 BsR per Fangraphs. The Red Sox were in last place at -17.6.

 

In 2012, the Jays had a 5.1 BsR. The Sox had a 2.7 BsR.

 

There's a difference between a few isolated incidences of recklessness on a team that is aggressive on the basepaths and being a reckless team. Farrell managed his baserunning well for the most part.

 

Being aggressive on the basepaths is how you stop losing 1-0 and 2-1 games. It's forcing the other teams to make the throw from RF to 3B. Putting pressure on the pitcher in a tight game by stealing. Noticing longer than normal deliveries by the pitcher or noticing a catcher who is going through a stint where he's having a hard time transferring the ball on stolen base attempts.

 

Sometimes aggressiveness is going to come back and bite you, but I'd rather see a guy thrown out trying to go 1st to 3rd in a tie game with 1 out than to watch us strand runner after runner at 2nd base.

They very often ran themselves out of innings, making 1st or 3rd outs at 3rd base or at home with less than 2 outs. That's not aggressiveness. It's poor fundamentals.

[SoxFanForsyth]

They very often ran themselves out of innings, making 1st or 3rd outs at 3rd base or at home with less than 2 outs. That's not aggressiveness. It's poor fundamentals.

 

Do you have any stats to back this up?

 

Nothing against you, we have our disagreements, but this time it just seems like you are just not a Farrell fan overall and it stems much farther back than his Blue Jays days.

[a700hitter]

Do you have any stats to back this up?

 

Nothing against you, we have our disagreements, but this time it just seems like you are just not a Farrell fan overall and it stems much farther back than his Blue Jays days.

Let's get one thing off the table. I have no like or dislike of John Farrell. I liked Farrell as our pitching coach. I watched a lot of Jays games over the last two seasons and observed many of these poor decisions. Their base running was consistently reckless. I have heard the Yankee announcers and Sox announcers question the way the Jays executed their running game. Also, Omar Vizquel openly questioned/criticized the coaching with regard to the running game. That is a powerful indictment. Hopefully, Farrrell will not continue the same approach with the Red Sox. Hopefully, he will instill fundamentals.

 

Like or dislike of Farrell is not an issue. Claiming that he was "the best manager currently under contract" as posted earlier by another poster just seems to me to be a huge overstatement.