before the Indians hired Acta to manage they asked Ferrall to come in for an interview. Farrell said thanks, but he was happy as a pitching coach in Boston. The next year he signed to manage the Jays.

No one is knocking a wall down to come to Cleveland to serve or play in any capacity with the Cleveland Indians. Terry Francona sure has something strange going on.

He sold his Cleveland Browns NFL team so he can concentrate on his soccer team.

That being said, I am not one of those who thinks that Farrell is the answer to the Sox woes. Personally, I think they should have left Farrell with Toronto and gone with someone like Ausmus, Alomar, or Torey Lovullo. However, it appears that Farrell is more on the same page with the Cherington, so maybe a better relationship with the GM will mean a better chance that Farrell can blossom at Fenway. I think that there are more than a few Sox fans who hope this will be the case.

Farrell was a pretty decent pitching coach in Boston.

Not sure what exactly miracles Jays fans were expecting Farrell to perform in Toronto, but at least he got some managing experience under his belt.

Look, let’s just state the obvious: a team stacked with talent can win with an average manager.

I don’t think that either Joe Torre or Terry Francona qualify as brilliant in-game strategists like, say, Tony LaRussa. They made their reputations managing amazingly-talented teams.

They were both known for their sense of calm and their ability to manage egos in the clubhouse and in massive sports media markets.

Now, a REALLY bad manager can flat-out lose games for a good team, but a team loaded with talent is going to find ways to win even with a so-so manager at the helm.

And Valentine isn’t a good case of a manager screwing up a talented team, because the situation in Boston this year was almost unprecedented:

A clubhouse that was in complete chaos going back to the end of last year, and the Sox went and hired the ONE GUY in MLB who was capable of making the situation even worse.

Now if they stop trying to build a team with Royals and Athletics castoffs MAYBE they won’t have to hire their 4th manager in a year or two.

Doing something a long time doesn’t mean you are good at it or even understand it…it just means you have done it a long time. There are plenty of lifelong baseball people that regularly make the same mistakes they’ve been making for decades.

To me, the biggest question about this hire is the apparent reason for it. Cherrington was apparently more comfortable with Farrell than the other candidates, not more impressed by him….he didn’t even interview, they are just assuming he would make a good manager and has some plan/vision moving forward based on their personal history with him….plus being familiar with and liking someone doesn’t exactly make you less biased in their favor. This has “I hired a friend and it didn’t work out so well” written all over it.

A struggling organisation that needs new ideas/view point will die a slow death employing dinosaurs continuously.

I hope for the best for Boston every season, but until the approach is changed in hiring staff it’s going to be a never ending cycle.