Rosenthal: Wouldn't Be Surprised If Red Sox Fire John Farrell This Week
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox managed to avoid a four-game sweep on Sunday, but it may already be too late to save manager John Farrell's job.
With the Red Sox spending most of the year hovering around .500, the team could pull the trigger on firing Farrell. And according to Ken Rosenthal, it could happen very soon.
"I don't know where this is going," Rosenthal said Sunday night on MLB Network. "It's an interesting question. If he was fired this week, would I be surprised? No. If he managed the rest of the season and they won the division, would I be surprised? Also no."
Rosenthal pointed to two particular instances -- Dustin Pedroia detaching himself from his manager and his teammates after Manny Machado got thrown at, and Drew Pomeranz fighting with Farrell in the dugout after getting taken out of Saturday's game -- as evidence that something is not quite right with the ecosystem in the Sox clubhouse.
"This kind of move happens every day in the game. You don't always see that," Rosenthal said of the Pomeranz-Farrell spat. "And that to me, along with the Pedroia thing, signals -- I don't want to say a lack of respect, but maybe a lack of control. And that is disturbing."
Rosenthal noted that the Red Sox picked up Farrell's option in the offseason, so the manager is signed through 2018. However, "that's not going to stop the Red Sox if they want to make a move."
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While Rosenthal was not sure who Farrell's replacement might be (perhaps Gary DiSarcina) and was not pointing a finger of blame at Farrell for all of the Red Sox' woes, he did say the team could justify a managerial change at this point in time.
"Have they played to their potential? They have not played to their potential," Rosenthal said. "And if you wanted them to make a change, you probably could justify it."
