As of now, the Red Sox are on pace to have a record of 73 and 89 come season's end. If that actually happens, the Sox will almost surely finish in the bottom half of the division missing the playoffs and unfortunately assuring fans that their 2013 season of drama and magic took a perfect storm of luck to pull off and may never be repeated with the same group. However, in a season that as of now (I urge you not to give up on them just yet) is just a few wins better than the famed 2012 season, the media perception and public opinion as it pertains to this team is slightly different. Guys who were not catching as much flack back then such as Dustin Pedroia or David Ortiz are getting crushed by the media while some guys like John Lackey who were absolutely hated that year are praised as lonely bright in the dark listless night that is this 2014 Red Sox team.
But while those differences are noticeable they are nothing compared to the differences in hatred directed at those filling the managerial positions in these two different seasons.
After the Sox September collapse in 2011 resulted in the firing of manager Terry Francona and resignation of Theo Epsteen as GM, the Sox appointed Ben Cherrington as their new GM and Cherrington soon hired former Rangers and Mets manager Bobby Valentine as manager of the club. As Sox fans soon learned, Valentine was a flamboyant manager who lacked a backbone much less any control over his team. Though there were no calls similar in badness to the chicken and beer scandal of 2011, there was anger in the clubhouse that spiraled into general bad mouthing of the team from within. There was a blatant hatred of Valentine by players like Dustin Pedroia and a two way feud that exploded mid-season between Kevin Youkolis and Valentine. The battle between the manager and his 3rd basemen ultimately resulted in Youkolis' being traded to the White Sox. By the time Kevin was sent packing on June 24th, 2012, the Sox were actually above 500 in the winning percentage column and Valentine was still yet to hit rock bottom. Nevertheless he was still hated in Red Sox nation.
But rock bottom did eventually come. In late August of the 2012 season, with his team teetering on the line of mathematical elimination, Bobby V had some choice words for WEEI's Glen Ordway when the host asked him on LIVE radio if he had checked out on the season.
"What an embarrassing thing to say," said Valentine. "If I were there right now, I'd punch you right in the mouth. Ha. How's that sound? Is that like I checked out? What an embarrassing thing."
Over the next 5 minutes, Ordway and fellow host Michael Holley shot back at Valentine who continued to spout excuses, diminish the skill of his team and punctuate the true idiocy of his reign as the head honcho of one of the most famous franchises in sports.
Because of his inability to interact with the media, to motivate his team and to put in the hours needed to prepare for a professional baseball game, Bobby Valentine was fired within 24 hours of the conclusion of the season. His replacement was a welcome breath of fresh air into a Red Sox nation still stunned by the disaster that was 2012.
Since he was signed on October 20th, 2012, John Farrell has managed his starting pitchers and bull pen personal with a level of precision that is almost artistic. Though he never had much expertise in regards to batting (Farrell was a pitching coach in Toronto), it was he who put together the gritty middle part of the lineup in David Ortiz and Mike Napoli that at least in 2013 worked wonders for Boston's run production. But as many would wisely point out, many of the managerial decisions that Farrell has implicated this season have not worked nearly as well as they did last season. However, one Farrell quality that has carried over from last season to the present one is the professionalism practiced in the clubhouse.
Farrell fosters camaraderie and team accountability. But at the same time, when his team messes up, he stands by them, trusting the guys he pays and trying to remedy a problem using tools he already has. In the worst and best of times, Farrell works the morale of his team using diagnostic comments to the team and a scrupulous ethic regarding what he says and does not say to the media.
As 2014 begins to look like a lost season, we begin to see the real makeup of the manager the Red Sox signed 2 seasons ago. We see that he is a smart man lacking the arrogance of his predecessor and worshiping the codes of baseball both written and unwritten. He stands by his team, never makes excuses and keeps his head on straight in even the worst of times.
If the Red Sox do not turn things around in the second half of the season there will be huge questions asked about what went wrong. It will be easy to blame the manager because unfortunately, that is simply what happens in baseball. But hear me out, John Farrell is not to blame for this 2014 debacle. In fact, as bad as things are right now, Farrell is the kind of guy who could turn things around and get this team to sneak into the wild card game. Why? Because unlike Valentine in 2012, he will make sure his team does let their mindset eliminate them, before the math does.
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