John Farrell went 97-65 in his first season with the Boston Red Sox and won the World Series back in 2013. It has been much different for the club since the beginning of the 2014 season. Is it possible he could be on the hot seat if the losing continues?
The Red Sox are last in the AL East and trail the first-place New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays by four games. It doesn't sound that bad, but it has certainly looked that bad. Farrell and the Sox are 93-120 since winning the World Series, which includes a 71-91 record with a last-place finish in the AL East last year.
Boston is 22-29 through the first two months of the season and ranks 27th in ERA (4.53) and 21st in runs scored (195). They lost three out of four to the Texas Rangers this weekend, including Saturday's game where they were no-hit through five innings against rookie pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez and made three errors in an 8-0 blowout.
"Red Sox players like their manager, but if they want him to be around for a long time they'd better start playing better," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
"John Farrell seems to be taking the heat for his underperforming millionaires on social media and talk shows. Who knows how ownership feels about it?
"While Farrell could easily point to the fact that his team is still in the hunt, he didn't shy away from the fact that while every team in the division is mediocre, he has to turn around the fortunes of his own team."
He started that turnaround on Sunday by holding another meeting with veterans David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Napoli and Pablo Sandoval before the series finale against the Rangers. However, the Red Sox lost 4-3 after Josh Hamilton launched a pinch-hit two-run double off of closer Koji Uehara in the bottom of the ninth.
"There was a group of guys that I had in to talk about a number of things," Farrell told John Tomase of WEEI.com. "I guess the short version of it would be for us to play with some aggressiveness and some smarts inside the game situation. Without getting too detailed. But it was an opportunity to meet with our veteran group, to reemphasize the importance of the role that they provide to the younger players and how they go about and execute inside the game."
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe weighed in on Farrell's handling of the team's veterans last week before the manager held the meeting.
"Farrell must take a firmer hand with even his veteran players. The Sox are much too comfortable for a team playing so poorly. That Dustin Pedroia is the only position player genuinely ripped when the Sox lose is a bad sign.
"When he was the pitching coach, Farrell was a forceful presence who made it clear he expected performance. He should channel some of that into his managing."
At first the blame fell on the starting rotation. In the month of April they ranked last in the MLB in ERA while the offense ranked third. Now the offense is struggling and the rotation hasn't seen enough improvement to help take advantage of the lack of run scoring. If everything is becoming an issue, that falls on the manger and the general manager because the two are responsible for constructing and directing the team.
But ownership isn't likely to be hasty in making a change this season. John Henry is a very involved owner and reiterated in early May that he's confident with the club that was assembled in the offseason.
"We'll be patient," Henry said, via Ricky Doyle of NESN.com. "We'll look to make moves that are appropriate. Overall, we feel this is the right team."
That's certainly believable because there's plenty of time to turn it around. The Red Sox really do have a new team that could be taking longer than expected to develop chemistry and get in a rhythm, so Henry knows it's prudent to give the experiment some time before making a drastic decision.
"Dispense with the idea that general manager Ben Cherington and/or manager John Farrell will get fired any time soon," Abraham added. "That's not going to happen. The Red Sox have not fired a manager mid-season since Jimy Williams in 2001 and have never fired a GM during the season."
The Red Sox aren't the banana republic Marlins of Jeffrey Loria. But if they want their jobs come October, something has to change."
An overhaul could be on the way if the Red Sox experience a repeat of 2014, but as of right now don't expect big changes in Boston.
