Farrell Deserves Credit

Thank goodness the all-star game is over for another year. Sports reporters need to find topics for their shows during the break & John Farrell's name came up as one topic. Some say he has been OK or standard since anyone had to be better than Bobby Valentine. I believe that Farrell has done a very good job. If you have ever coached a team, you know it's unpopular & very hard to take out a veteran & insert a rookie. But that's exactly what Farrell did by playing Iglesias over Drew & Middlebrooks. He also took a no-nonsense approach to Alfredo Aceves who is now in limbo with his team. Farrell makes decisions to put the best players on the field & to win. Unlike his good friend Terry Francona, who got into trouble by looking the other way too many times, Farrell manages with discipline as well. He is not concerned with number of appearances by Uehara & Tazawa since there are more arms in Pawtucket or via an addition or two that can be made at the trade deadline. Bailey & Thornton should be able to pick up more innings in the 2nd half. We may see less of Mike Napoli & more of Mike Carp in the 2nd half if Napoli can't get his offense going again. All good things as players realize that competition is alive & Farrell will play the best man. I've been on teams where the coach plays favorites & does not act in the best interest of the team. I've also been that Francona-type coach that let a few things slide & I got burned for it. So I appreciate the job that John Farrell has done to date. In my mind he gets a lot of credit for where the Sox are at the break.