The Red Sox formally introduced John Farrell as their 46th manager in team history yesterday, and if there was one takeaway from the day – including the press conference and the numerous on-air and print interviews Farrell did – it is that he couldn’t be more unlike his immediate predecessor.

Speaking of which, Bobby Valentine appeared on Costas Tonight on the NBC Sports Network to give his first extended interview since being fired by the Red Sox the day after the season ended. In the interview, Valentine was critical of one of the only players to actually defend him this season, David Ortiz, saying that the DH essentially quit on the team. Rob Bradford says that Valentine needs to check his facts on many things he said.

I had to laugh yesterday afternoon when Glenn Ordway, attempting to throw a wet blanket on any good feelings about the hire, stated that the fans all loved the hiring of Valentine last season and were excited after his introduction as well. I know Glenn doesn’t leave the comfort of his state of the art home theater all that much, but he couldn’t be more out of touch on that one. To his credit, Michael Holley jumped on the statement immediately, quipping that the hire was only popular in the Lucchino household.

Mike Mutnansky and Lou Merloni did a nice job with their interview with Farrell, which was the first on-air one after the press conference. They asked him about Terry Francona, and Farrell said that he had been in contact with his former boss, who gave him his “blessing” to take the job.

John Farrell has big plans for Red Sox – Peter Abraham has Farrell coming in knowing that there is work to be done.

When pressed, John Farrell has answers – Chad Finn looks at the responses Farrell gave to many questions yesterday, and how different it was from what we saw a year ago.

John Farrell quick to credit 1st big league manager – Steve Buckley looks at how the 1988 Indians were a breeding ground for future managers under Doc Edwards.

Farrell should be the fix Sox organization needs – Sean McAdam says that Farrell’s background as both a pitching coach and a farm director will help the Red Sox.

Common ground – Christopher Smith says that Farrell’s experience will make for a smooth relationship with the front office.

Tall task ahead for Farrell – Jon Couture says that Farrell will not matter if the quality of the players on the roster is not improved.

Red Sox looking for turnaround – Gordon Edes has the Red Sox thinking they can content in 2013, but realize they have a lot of work to do.

Experience should help John Farrell – John Tomase says that two years in Toronto, regardless of results, were a learning experience that Farrell can draw on.

Check all the Patriots coverage today at PatriotsLinks.com.

Adam Pellerin, Jamie Erdahl to Join NESN as On-Air Anchor-Reporters – NESN announced two hires yesterday.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

8 thoughts on “John Farrell Impresses In Introduction, Now Has Plenty Of Work To Get To”

  1. Thanks for not linking Dan Shaugnessy today – rips the Patriots right out of the box in a column about why you should watch the World Series. I heard the Ordway thing live and laughed out.

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  3. Saying Lucchino was on an island when it came to supporting the Valentine hire is revisionist history. While it didn’t necessarily receive a standing ovation from the fanbase, the reaction was far more optimistic than all the recent Monday morning quarterbacking would suggest. Good luck finding anyone in attendance at last year’s “Christmas at Fenway” or spring training “truck day” who had something negative to say about Valentine .

    In fact, I recall the earliest skeptics of the Valentine move being mocked and ridiculed in these parts. Curt Schilling (an apparent “hypocrite” of the highest order based on what was written a little over 6 months ago) was ripped from pillar to post for days on end for merely suggesting that “this is not going well” (later proven to be 100% correct). If you go back and read some of those articles and comments now, you’ll quickly realize how silly an overraction that was.

    Hell, up until the early days of September you STILL had people calling up EEI on a daily basis ready to defend Bobby to the death. It wasn’t too long ago when every other caller had their own ludicrous trade proposal to ship Pedroia out of town for a bucket of balls, or would try to suggest the quarter billion dollar salary dump was made to ensure a clean slate for Valentine next season. Now Bobby V’s original supporters may not have been quite as numerous as Ordway wants us to believe, but there’s no doubt they existed in droves early on, quickly began to dwindle during the summer months, and have finally (fingers crossed) been driven to the point of extinction following that laughable Costas interview.

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    1. There were quite a few early dissenters – at least among fans – but that was overwhelmed by the team’s PR offensive. Remember the Globe’s Red Sox preview section, which featured nearly every story on Bobby V (this is no exaggeration, there were at least 10 stories on BV on different and tortured angles; i can’t find online)? Remember the “Fenway Legends” commercial with hologram Bobby V, who had managed a handful of games at the park, next to actual Red Sox greats? The Red Sox PR apparatus (read: Lucchino) anointed Bobby V as the star of the team and the media were happy to oblige. By spring training most fans had generally come to accept it and hope for the best, while most in the media were pushing Bobby 24/7.

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  4. Pitching coaches do not make good managers. This will prove to be another mistake from the 3 stooges. The 3 stooges made such a big deal about getting this guy there is no way he can live up to the hype. The last few days have been very telling to see who in the media have been bought and paid for by the Sox. All the excuse making and comparisons to Belichick in Cleveland are nauseating to say the least.

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    1. I think this pick officially puts them on the clock for being lined-up for the watershed moment in ownership decision-making. It works? “you guys knew how to turn it around”-type media coverage from the Peter Gammons. This turns out to not work for whatever reason? It *should* finally get the rest of the BBWAA to stop pushing the “John Henry and ownership is so smart, they’ve already patented 3 different cures/vaccines for cancer” stuff.

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