2013 manager

[Therwil Flyer]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...o_gm_perf.html

1) The Sox apparently have not fixed their "information leak" that's been plaguing them for the last few seasons. They really need to fix that before it hurts them further.

How about they put LL on leave for a couple of months and see if the information leak magically disappears...

[Mike D.]

How about they put LL on leave for a couple of months and see if the information leak magically disappears...

It'd be a good test, for sure...and very interesting. I'd HOPE it's not the club president actively shooting them in the foot, but it wouldn't shock me.

[Joe Barrie]

It'd be a good test, for sure...and very interesting. I'd HOPE it's not the club president actively shooting them in the foot, but it wouldn't shock me.

I think Lucchino has been quite successful, and I don't understand the negative talk about him.

So now we have John Farrell, a "hero" for what reason other than his name is Farrell? His last two years in Toronto haven't exactly been glorious, but I suppose we could say that Francona didn't seem like a genius in Philadelphia.

My feeling is that the Red Sox will slip back to their usual also-ran mode, but Farrell will be loved by the press, sort of a copy of the career of Joe Cronin.

[Mike D.]

I think Lucchino has been quite successful, and I don't understand the negative talk about him.

He's been quite successful at making the Red Sox a model organization when it comes to making money, for sure. But it seems (and maybe this is just the media painting an incorrect picture) that he likes to dabble in baseball operations with bad results (see: Bobby V, Theo in a Gorilla Suit).

So now we have John Farrell, a "hero" for what reason other than his name is Farrell? His last two years in Toronto haven't exactly been glorious, but I suppose we could say that Francona didn't seem like a genius in Philadelphia.

I don't think anyone thinks that Farrell will turn the Sox around by himself...but he's all the things that Bobby V wasn't...someone the players, ownership, and front office are behind, a leader, not a showboat, etc. It sounds like he's a smart baseball guy,. and hopefully they'll give him the players he needs to be competitive.

My feeling is that the Red Sox will slip back to their usual also-ran mode, but Farrell will be loved by the press, sort of a copy of the career of Joe Cronin.

The Sox haven't been "also rans" on a regular basis in a very long time. Short stretches in the mid-90's, I guess...probably short stretch in early 80's.

The only reason to think they would suddenly become that for an extended period of time is that you either 1) think the ownership/front office that has had success for a decade suddenly got dumb (or was just lucky) or 2) You think the Red Sox won because Terry Francona was the manager. I don't think either are true.

[Boston Boxer]

I think Lucchino has been quite successful, and I don't understand the negative talk about him.

So now we have John Farrell, a "hero" for what reason other than his name is Farrell? His last two years in Toronto haven't exactly been glorious, but I suppose we could say that Francona didn't seem like a genius in Philadelphia.

My feeling is that the Red Sox will slip back to their usual also-ran mode, but Farrell will be loved by the press, sort of a copy of the career of Joe Cronin.

regardless of Larry's success, he is just unlikeable and a little shady. That is why we dont like him.

I really dont think you can guage his success as a manager on the two years in Toronto. The Bluejays suck! Look at what happened when Belicheck coached the Browns, they sucked as well. The love for Farrell is he is a familiar person in the organization and is not a bumbling idiot like Bobby V. He was a damn good pitching coach here and he has the respect of the players (from what i can tell). The success of this team will be how Ben puts this team together.

[Therwil Flyer]

I think Lucchino has been quite successful, and I don't understand the negative talk about him.

So now we have John Farrell, a "hero" for what reason other than his name is Farrell? His last two years in Toronto haven't exactly been glorious, but I suppose we could say that Francona didn't seem like a genius in Philadelphia.

My feeling is that the Red Sox will slip back to their usual also-ran mode, but Farrell will be loved by the press, sort of a copy of the career of Joe Cronin.

I think Mike D said it pretty well.
The thing to understand about Larry Lucchino is that he is (and has always been) a very successful businessman. What he isn't (and has never been) is a very good baseball ops guy. Unless you're actually working in the Sox FO it is impossible to know what decisions have been driven by him or by others, but under Theo's tenure as GM there have been quite a few reports about LL meddling with baseball decisions, that made him look very stupid. But we might as well turn the question around, what was it that made him look so successful in your eyes?

As for Farrell, I think why he is hailed as a savior (and I am not 100% sure that he can be, hence my endorsement of Tim Wallach, rather than Farrell) is that he is someone who shares the org philosophy. Basically, with Farrell they are in a situation again where everybody pulls in the same direction. ownership (including LL), the FO, manager (and hopefully the coaches), and players. Isn't it amazing that so many players came out praising the new manager on the day he was hired?
His record hasn't looked good in Toronto and there have been reports of him not handling everything or everyone well. But Francona had a losing record before he came to the Sox. Both managers in the hunt for the 2012 WS - Bochy and Leyland - had losing records with their former teams.

[Mike D.]

Wow, so in Bobby V's first interview after being canned....he keeps on being Bobby V. This time, he throws Ortiz (one of the few Sox vets who seemed to give him a chance) under the bus, claiming he could have played late in the year but "decided not to".

It really goes to show...you could almost pick someone at random off the street and have them be an upgrade at the manager position over B-Wrap. Farrell is going to have a pretty sizable "honeymoon period" simply because of who he replaced.

[Therwil Flyer]

Wow, so in Bobby V's first interview after being canned....he keeps on being Bobby V. This time, he throws Ortiz (one of the few Sox vets who seemed to give him a chance) under the bus, claiming he could have played late in the year but "decided not to".

It really goes to show...you could almost pick someone at random off the street and have them be an upgrade at the manager position over B-Wrap. Farrell is going to have a pretty sizable "honeymoon period" simply because of who he replaced.

Bobby Is an idiot and an embarrassment . The entire interview just shows once again that he was the worst possible choice as manager. But his tenure with the Red Sox is history. Let's not waste anymore web space on it. Time to move on!

[Mike D.]

Bobby Is an idiot and an embarrassment . The entire interview just shows once again that he was the worst possible choice as manager. But his tenure with the Red Sox is history. Let's not waste anymore web space on it. Time to move on!

I bring him up simply because 1) the absurdity of it all is mind-boggling and 2) to remind us why nobody will be calling for Farrell's head if the Sox are a .500 team in June 2013. Long honeymoon.