John Farrell - Time to Say Goodbye

So, after 5 years of John Farrell, the Boston Red Sox have decided to move in a different direction. Cue Andrea Bocelli.......

Shocked? No. Not even surprised, and no one should be. In 5 years (that in all truth, felt like 20) that have brought relative success to Beantown, I will take a look back at Farrell's reign in this here article.

If we are talking about an organization such as, say, the Rays, the success that Farrell has brought to Boston has been good. 2013 World Champions. Just coming off back to back Division titles. Bringing through a young team that does seem to be on the up. Guys like Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts will become stars in this game, but can we really say the man who brought them into the League has really been in their best interests? The Red Sox, lets be frank, should be contending for the Pennant every season. No question. Since 2004, the organization has won three World Series rings. Getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs with a young, hungry, organization twice in a row isn't a complete disaster, but at the same time, it is not good.

Where are the veteran guys, who helped make the successes in 2004, 2007 and 2013 possible? The big bats at the big moments? What was indicative of the failings of a certain Mr John Farrell, can be shown very clearly in game 4 vs the Astros. Getting thrown out of the game to "save" Pedroia is inexcusable. If anything, Pedroia getting thrown out of that game would have not only helped the Red Sox (Pedroia ended up hitting 0 for 4 in that game), but Pedroia himself who is battling serious knee ailments that require surgery. The fact Pedroia was playing, in my humble opinion, shows why Farrell had already lost that team.

A 432-378 (.533) record, again, isn't totally terrible. He led the team to 3 Division titles. Again, pretty decent. But that's what Farrell's run as Manager has been in a nutshell. Not terrible. Is that good enough for a team as big as the Red Sox. Not even close. NESN numbers show ratings for the Red Sox are slipping. 15 percent lower than last season in fact. Add to that, has anyone seen a Red Sox postseason that felt as flat as that? I mean, there were moments of inspiration from the team, and the fans, but as a whole it felt like both games at Fenway were mid-July games. It simply did not feel like the playoffs, and while I can hear you ask, how is Farrell responsible for that, I answer with. How is he not?  Ranking lowest in the Majors in homers, in an age of instant gratification, will do that to a team.

In all truth, Farrell lost the faith of the fans, the organization and also the players. Since returning in 2015, I don't believe that he has had control of the players. Shown by David Price's total lack of respect for the great Dennis Eckersley, the ejection in Game 4 of the NLDS to save his Captain figure, and other incidents, as pleasant a guy John Farrell seems, it is time to go. When it's time, it's time.

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