I see it more being about determination, preparation and having a better line of communication with coaches. These guys were in spring training weeks early and working hard to get everything right.
Is Buchholz performing any worse than he did the second half of last year? He was lights out in the second half last year, and he's just building off of it. I also think that most of baseball had seen Lester's mechanics and knew there was a problem-- but the coaching staff was such a mess last year that nothing got done with it.
That being said, as someone who NEVER liked Farrell here as a pitching coach, he was the right pick for manager here