For five years, John Farrell has been the manager of the Red Sox. In the 2014 season the Sox went 71-91, and in 2015 they went 76-84. These were both horrible seasons for the Sox. Luckily in 2016, the Sox went back into the playoffs by winning the American League East title. But even then, they did not make it far, after being taken out in a three-game sweep by the Cleveland Indians in the American League division series.

In that game, it should be noted, they were up against Terry Francona, who was the previous Red Sox manager.

In 2015, Farrell was going through chemotherapy for lymphoma. Even still, he was determined to visit Fenway Park every day. It’s clear that he respects the players, and the players respect him. Overall, I think Farrell is a strong and determined man, despite all of the criticism he has been receiving as of late.

Once Farrell ended his time in the major league, he worked as a coach, and more specifically a pitching coach, at Oklahoma State University. He also was the pitching coach for the Sox between 2007 and 2010. He was the manager for the Blue Jays for the 2011-2012 season. And from there, he went on to become the manager for the Sox in 2013. There is no doubt; he clearly has experience.

One of the keys for being a manager is communication. And Farrell is able to do that a lot. He’s honest with his players, and gives them straightforward answers.

Of course it can be extremely frustrating to see a manager make decisions that you’re not a fan of, but that does not mean that the manager should automatically be criticized. Sometimes I feel like people do not give him enough credit for the 2013 season, since 2011 and 2012 did not go so well for him with the Blue Jays. Farrell has a really calm demeanor, and supports his players. He is known for even supporting his players if things do not go as planned.

Francona was an amazing coach, and a lot of people appreciated him from 2004-2011. It’s hard to find another coach like Francona, but Farrell is not that bad. From 2013-2016, as manager he had 339 wins and 309 losses. And who knows? Maybe this season Farrell will bring Boston to another World Series.

As stated by chairman Tom Werner in an interview this previous February, “He’s an outstanding leader. There’s a lot of facets to being a great manager and I think he fits all of that.”

Farrell is in ninth when compared with other Red Sox managers. And he states that external factors won’t affect his decisions or overall performance. He wants to keep moving forward, and his main focus is bringing in wins. This why I think the Red Sox should not fire John Farrell. There are just a variety of factors that contribute to why the Red Sox did not do so well in previous years. These issues include things like injuries, players not performing well, etc.
Sometimes I think Red Sox fans need to look at the bigger picture. Let’s just give him a chance this season; I think it’s good to have a coach who is motivated and is kind to his team.