So far, Farrell has been a mediocre manager. But truth be told, he had to deal with a lot of injuries last season where over half of the starting pitching staff was lost for the most part of the season.
But many decisions he took throughout the season left many people (and players) scratching their heads. I remember one game where he pinch-hit for J.P. Arencibia in favor of Omar Visqel. The decision not only backfired, but it incensed Arencibia who was hot at the time. But that was only one questionable decision of many.
But his biggest fault was when it comes to discipline & player accountability. It was as bad as the days of chicken & beer in the Red Sox clubhouse during games. Players regularly committed the same mistakes/errors & did as they pleased (e.g. the Yunel Escobar incident) since the chances of being disciplined by the manager were low. A few players improved, but others regressed (Ricky Romero, Brett Lawrie, etc) under this manager. I could name so many negatives. But John Farrell is a very nice guy. However, i'm not sure he's cut out to be a MLB manager....especially one consistently put under the microscope in a city like Boston.
When news of Farrell's trade to Boston leaked out, reports from various media people were that Adam Lind was the player headed to Boston. It made sense for the Jays, since he has a big contract & still has a few years left to go on his contract. They don't really have room for him on the roster since Edwin Encarnacion has played extremely well at first base for most of the season, and David Cooper could easily replace him & for cheaper. My guess is that Boston must have balked at picking up Lind's contract & history of chronic back problems.
