It’s time for the Red Sox to fire manager John Farrell. Sure, I’m guessing if you were to ask anyone if they’d be satisfied with the Sox being 11 games above .500 and just three games out of first place days before the July trading deadline back in March they’d be pretty satisfied with that, but the fact is that this team is under-performing and the pitching staff in particular poorly managed by Farrell pretty much from the start. One can only guess where the team would be were it not for the sheer “luck” of Eduardo Rodriguez’s knee injury in spring training forcing knuckleballer Steven Wright into the rotation – I mean, Lord knows where they’d be!
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it’s hard to believe that Farrell was a one-heralded pitching coach. Let’s face it, folks: with the exception of Wright and Rick Porcello, the Sox pitching staff has pretty much under-performed from top to bottom, and it’s starting to get worse. Sure, the injuries to Carson Smith and Craig Kimbrel have hurt, but that doesn’t mean Farrell’s use of the bullpen hasn’t been horrendous from the very start. And while I’m no fan of Clay Buchholz, I believe Farrell has destroyed whatever confidence the fragile Buchholz might ever have had during Farrell’s tenure. And while it’s true the team’s offensive strength this year has come on the heels of its “Killer Bs” – the young trio of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr, and Xavier Bogearts – I have a sense that Farrell really doesn’t know young ballplayers, how to relate to them, and how to get the most out of them.
With some serious talent lying just below the major league level and about to show their faces in the upcoming September call-ups, it’s time to replace Farrell with bench coach Tory Lovullo, who replaced Farrell last year while Farrell was undergoing cancer treatment and did a great job getting performances out a team that, truthfully, didn’t have the same level of talent this year’s team does. Not only am I confident he can get more out of the talent that there already is, but as the team further integrates its major league roster with new and younger blood that will be regulars as early as next year, having Lovullo at the helm will make sure this process is handled correctly. I’m also certain Lovullo will do a much better job at ensuring the pitching staff gets straightened out and performs closer to their abilities.
John Farrell must go.
