Red Sox Depart From Farrell
After a disappointing end to the 2017 season within the ALDS, a series in which Boston lost in a mere four games to the Houston Astros, the team officially announced on Wednesday that manager John Farrell will not be returning in 2018.
Leading up to the season, the Red Sox had a particularly busy off-season, acquiring players like Chris Sale, and it seemed to pay off in a big way. Finishing with a regular season record of 93-69, Boston finished third overall in the American League, and went on to take away the AL East division title.
In his five seasons with the team, Farrell contained a managing record of 432- 378 over 810 games, a playoff record of 11-10, and won the AL East on three occasions during his tenure. In 2013, the Red Sox even went on to defeat the St Louis Cardinals for the World Series.
During Farrell’s debut year in Boston, it started out amazing, as Boston finished with a staggering regular season record of 97-66. In the playoffs, the team continued their winning ways, which led to a World Series reign.
Just one year after winning the World Series, the Red Sox then finished 71-91 in 2014, which resulted in the franchise missing the playoffs for the first time under Farrell. From that point forward, there has been no real reason to believe the Red Sox could remain competitive with the top postseason franchises.
Although the Red Sox brought enough pieces together to be considered contenders in 2016, the team once again fell short in the postseason, this time to the Cleveland Indians in a three game set. With that, the shortcomings in 2017 was evidently the last straw for Boston’s front office. After yet another exit within the ALDS, the Red Sox elected to move on from Farrell in a headline that has shocked most of the MLB universe.
Rightfully so, as the Boston sports marketing is very demanding for success, and without success, the region will likely call for your firing. At the end of the day, this was not the right move to fire Farrell, simply because outside of the 2013-14 seasons, Farrell has done an amazing job with the Red Sox. On the contrary, after two exits within the ALDS, and in a market as demanding as Boston, I can eventually picture why the firing of Farrell needed to occur.
With a number of potential teams looking for new managers this off-season, it will not take long before Farrell finds himself a new position. I would look at a team such as the Philadelphia Phillies, who may wind up getting rid of Pete Mackanin as manager in the off-season, as a potential suitor.
Photo Credit Charles Krupa/Associated Press
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