Stewart: John Farrell's Contract Extension A Mistake For Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) -- I was 900 words into this story on Friday in which the headline was to read, "Stewart: Fire Farrell NOW!"
We all know that the Red Sox were not going to fire John Farrell before the season, but I do believe with only one winning season in four attempts between the Blue Jays and Red Sox, it would have been in the best interest of the Boston Red Sox to remove Farrell from the corner office of the Red Sox clubhouse.
Then, Saturday morning announcement of his contract extension happened.
I have many problems with the job that John Farrell has done as manager of the Boston Red Sox and as skipper of the Blue Jays. My bottom line for the 2015 season: John Farrell should have had to earn this contract extension.
One real and objective question I have is, and I believe this is likely the reason why the Sox extended him before the season began, did the Red Sox have to wait until the end of this season to pick up the option on John Farrell for 2016? The way Terry Francona's contract was written, the Red Sox couldn't pick up his options until after 2011 season.
I have three main concerns with John Farrell:
1. Player Development
The most important item on the Red Sox agenda is to develop the next core. We're not sure when the clock is going to strike midnight on David Ortiz and Dustin Pedrioa, but the last few years have shown decline. The next core projects are to be some combination of Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Henry Owens, Blake Swihart and Brian Johnson. Bogaerts did not have a productive first full season in the majors, Will Middlebrooks was given the third base job, and he's now in San Diego. Mookie Betts showed promise in his first few months in the big leagues but "If Shane Victorio is healthy, he's our starting right fielder."
History would show us that John Farrell has struggled with player development. Remember Omar Vizquel's quotes from the Toronto Sun?
"I think the coaching staff has a big responsibility to kind of get in there and tie things up a little, have a bit more communication with their players and try to make this thing happen the right way," Vizquel said in 2012. "Look, I think a lot of mistakes were let go because it's young guys. You expect mistakes from young guys. It needs to be talked about. It shouldn't just be let go and say, 'Ah, we have another day.' You have to get on it. You have to say, 'I didn't like that play' and let's try and do something different. You have to talk it over and over again and how do you call it, be on top of that."
Let's take a closer look at some of the young players that Farrell had on his watch while with the Blue Jays in 2011 and 2012, as well as with the Red Sox in 2013.
Will Middlebrooks, infielder, rookie year to second year:
2012 – 75 G, 286 PA, .288 BA, .325 OBP, .835 OPS
2013 – 94 G, 374 PA, .227 BA, .271 OBP, .696 OPS
J.P. Arencibia, catcher:
Pre-2011 Baseball Prospectus No. 38-ranked prospect
Minors 2010 --104 games, 459PA, .301 BA, .359 OBP, .986 OPS
Majors 2011 -- 129 Games, 486PA, .219 BA, .282 OBP, .720 OPS
Kyle Drabek, pitcher (top pitcher acquired in Roy Holladay deal):
Pre-2011 Baseball Prospectus No. 14-ranked prospect
Pre 2011 Baseball America No. 29 Prospect
Minors 2010 --27 GS, 14-9, 2.94 ERA, 162 IP, 126 H, 53 ER, 68 BB, 132 K
Majors 2011 -- 18 G, 14 GS, 4-5, 6.06 ERA, 78 2/3 IP, 87 H, 53 ER, 55 BB, 51 K
Brett Lawrie, infielder:
Pre 2011 Baseball Prospectus No. 57-ranked prospect
Pre 2011 Baseball America No. 40 prospect
Minors 2011 -- 73 G, 340 PA, .347 BA, .414 OBP, 1.060 OPS
Majors 2012 -- 125 G, 536 PA, .273 BA, .324 OBP, .729 OPS
Yan Gomes, catcher:
Pre-2011 Baseball Prospectus No. 14-ranked prospect
Pre-2011 Baseball America No. 29 Prospect
Minors 2011 -- 83 G, 324 PA, .248 BA, .315 OBP, .770 OPS
Majors 2012 -- 43 G, 111 PA, .204 BA, .264 OBP, .631 OPS
Majors 2013 in Cleveland with Terry Francona --88 G, 322 PA, .294 BA, .345 OBP, .826 OPS
2. In-Game Management
"I think you guys know there's a lot that goes into a manager's job in Boston. What happens between innings one and nine is just a very small part of it."
--Ben Cherrington, Feb. 21, 2015
We can never forget Game 3 of the World Series, when Brandon Workman came to the plate in the top of the 9th inning, with one out and the score tied 4-4.
Rather than try to remember what happened during the 2013 postseason when you were all actually watching the Red Sox, I thought I'd share with you some show notes at the time:
Series against Tampa, Craig Breslow for three pitches, Junichi Tazawa for 11. And then Franklin Morales gets the eighth? Backwards, in my opinion. Farrell loves him some Franklin Morales. Not sure why.
I actually don't have a huge problem with Farrell allowing Stephen Drew to bat, but I hated his explanation. Jake McGee does not have "reverse splits" in the true sense. He's pretty balanced. Felt like Farrell manipulated the facts there. Shouldn't Mike Carp have hit for Daniel Nava and NOT Jonny Gomes against McGee? Or have Nava hit from the left side?
Farrell was too slow getting Jake Peavy out of the game. The 5-0 deficit happened fast. But 7-0 is way too long.
Franklin Morales in the sixth inning of a 1-0 game with the AL championship at stake? Good God. I thought Farrell had learned from Tampa.
Game 3 of the World Series was another mess: Workman hits in the top of the ninth, then after giving up a no-doubles defense single gets pulled from the game in the bottom of the ninth.
With runners on second and third with one out, Farrell lets Koji Uehara pitch to John Jay rather than walk Jay, load the bases and pitch to the eighth hitter, Pete Kozma. Cards had no one left on the bench to use as a pinch hitter.
Game 4 of the World Series: I thought on Saturday night Farrell was out-National Leagued. He was too aggressive/inconsistent with his pinch-hitting and pitching changes. I didn't understand why Farrell was using Middlebrooks and Gomes with no one on base in the seventh. Let Felix Doubront hit and then pitch a third inning.
3. How Does He Actually Handle His Clubhouse?
"Best attribute #RedSox had last season was unerring devotion to play well that day. That's been sporadic this season."
Pete Abraham on Twitter, Boston Globe Red Sox beat reporter, April 24, 2014
Were players held accountable in 2014? I don't believe they were. They won in 2013, so we all assume they were. This was the season that we'll really find out. The 2015 will be the tie-breaking season. We don't know how driven this team is to win a championship. Everything is awesome after the first few days of players showing up. That is a good sign, but after three losses in a row in April, how will this team respond? They didn't respond well last year.
"I see the job, especially in Boston, as one that is multifaceted. Yes, you have to make decisions during a game, but you've got to be able to communicate with all sorts of different people, players, staff, front office, ownership and external to the organization, too. You've got to be able to handle difficult situations with honesty, with integrity. You've got to be accountable."
--Ben Cherrington, Feb. 21, 2015
The Red Sox have financially loaded up for this upcoming season but that doesn't mean they've actually loaded up with good talent.
The lineup has the potential to score over 900 runs and the pitching staff has the potential to give up 900 runs.
"This is a very special place," Farrell said this past weekend. "To be able to be here for at least the number of years that are in place, we don't take for granted one moment what the expectations are and how we have to deliver on those expectations. To the coaching staff we have, the dedication they have, it's a great group to work with and particularly when you look at the roster we have in place, this is setting up, I think, to be another special year."
I hope so, John. I hope this is a special year for the Red Sox.
My projected Red Sox 25 man roster for April 5:
1. RF Shane Victorino
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia
3. DH David Ortiz
4. LF Hanley Ramirez
5. 3B Pablo Sandoval
6. 1B Mike Napoli
7. SS Xander Bogaerts
8. CF Rusney Castillo
9. C Christian Vazquez
Bench
C Ryan Hanigan
1B/LF Allen Craig
Utility Brock Holt
1B/OF Daniel Nava
Starting Rotation
1. Rick Porcello
2. Wade Miley
3. Joe Kelly
4. Justin Masterson
5. Clay Buchholz
Bullpen
Brandon Workman
Edward Mujica
Mitchell Boggs
Junichi Tazawa
Alexi Ogando
Craig Breslow
Koji Uehara (closer)
The only real change I would make is having Mookie Betts lead off and be the starting right fielder -- everything else is truly paint by number. John Farrell has said that Victorino, if healthy, will be the starting right fielder. I'd DFA Victorino; I'm not a fan. Castillo has too big of a contract to be sent to Pawtucket while Betts has the option to be sent to Pawtucket. I don't believe Betts will be in Pawtucket long but I believe he'll start the season there.
The pitching staff could be a mess. It has an Oakland A's type feel to it -- built for the regular season but won't win any games in the ALCS. I love the catching combo in Ryan Hanigan and Christian Vazquez, as both were in the top 10 of pitch framing.
My prediction: Red Sox are hosting the Wild Card play-in game and lose because Wade Miley can't get out of the second inning.
WWE Fast Lane Recap
The main event of Roman Reigns beating Daniel Bryan to secure his main event spot at Wrestlemania in San Francisco was the match of the night. That is likely the best match you'll see Reigns have. I really enjoyed Daniel Bryan working as a villain throughout the match.
Fast Lane overall was good in spots but they had a massive problem with finishes last night.
The broadcast team needed to do a better job of saying that John Cena never gave up to Rusev, he was knocked out. Rusev looks strong heading to San Francisco as the US Champion with this win over John Cena.
The back and forth between Sting and Triple H almost put me to sleep. This would have been a cool match 15 years ago but now I feel like both are being wasted fighting each other. Justin LaBar of the Pittsburgh Tribune had a great idea of having a Sting vs Seth Rollins match. That is a matchup I'd buy into!
I loved the fact Tyson Kidd and Cesaro won the Tag Team Championship last night. The ceiling is high on Cesaro and I hope this is the start of him going back up to the top of the card.
As of Monday Morning when this is posted, I'd say the Wrestlemania 31 card is set. I project it will look something like this.
WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar (WWE Champion) defending against Roman Reigns
US Championship
Rusev (c) vs. John Cena
Singles match for the WWE United States Championship
Intercontinental Championship
Bad News Barrett (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt
Sting vs Triple H
Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton
Goldust vs. Stardust
Daniel Bryan vs Dolph Ziggler
Other wrestling quickies
The best pro wrestling show on TV in Boston is New Japan Pro Wrestling, Fridays at 9 p.m. on AXS TV.
The best pro wrestling show on the internet is Ring of Honor. How they are not on TV in the Boston market is beyond dumb. The talent from the New England area and the in-ring product is top-notch. The best feud in wrestling is the Kingdom vs the Briscoes.
If you have not had the chance to watch Ring of Honor, check them out, live on Pay Per View, this Sunday, March 1, as they celebrate their 13th anniversary.
Shameless plugs
I'll be at the Boston Wrestling Marathon on Friday night, March 6, and on Saturday, March 7. The Sports Hub Street Teamers will join me.
Brutal Bob Evans, Matt Taven, Michael Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Ken Dyksta will all be wrestling on Friday night. Eddie Edwards will also be signing autographs on March 6.
Get your tickets to all three shows on March 6, 7 and 8 here.
If you're the first and second person to tweet me (and follow if you don't already) @IAmJamesStewart with the answer to one of these two trivia questions, you'll win two tickets to the respective show:
Friday Night: Who was the first ROH Television Champion?
Saturday Afternoon: Justin Credible and Lance Storm were two-time ECW Tag Team champions, what was the name of their team?
Kowloon Komedy on Saturday night will be hosted by NE Patriots Champion, Jonas Gray!
If you love cookies (and who doesn't?) check out Top Shelf Cookies. They're a game changer. You'll never be able to eat another cookie that comes out of a box.
If you live in the Roslindale, West Roxbury, South Brookline and Jamaica Plain area I highlight suggest you check out Seven Star Street Bistro.
"... But the cream will rise to the top, ooh yeah. Macho Madness, Mean Gene Okerlund you know that I'm the cream of the crop!"
--Soon to be WWE Hall of Famer, Randy "Macho Man" Savage
James Stewart is the executive producer of the Felger and Massarotti Show, which airs 2-6 p.m. on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Find him on Twitter @IAmJamesStewart.
