Jays' Farrell To Valentine: "I Feel Your Pain"
BOSTON (AP) — Toronto manager John Farrell feels for Boston manager Bobby Valentine in a disappointing season for both injury-filled teams.
Amid speculation that he could be considered to take over the Red Sox if Valentine is let go, the Blue Jays skipper said Friday night he's concentrating on his current job.
"I don't look at other situations because my focus is here," said Farrell, Boston's pitching coach from 2006-10. "We've got a lot of challenges ourselves with getting guys back on the field. So I can tell you this. Knowing what the Red Sox have gone through, the amount of players that they've lost to injury, I can empathize with Bobby."
Toronto began the day in last place in the AL East with a 61-75 record, 15 1-2 games out of first. The Red Sox were one spot ahead of the Blue Jays at 63-75.
Boston was interested in Farrell after Terry Francona was let go as manager after last season, but hiring him would have required compensation to Toronto. That's still the case, with Farrell having one year left on his three-year contract. Valentine is in the first year of a two-year deal and has had disagreements with several players.
Farrell is aware of speculation that he might be a candidate in Boston.
"As I said last week in Toronto, I'm the manager of the Blue Jays," he said. "I can understand the natural connection because I've worked here in the past, but my focus is clearly with the Blue Jays.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
