The amount of big league voices to come out in support of John Farrell speak volumes to the man.
Day 1 of the John Farrell era arrived with much anticipation after word of him being Alex Anthopoulos' choice started to leak out over the weekend. Based upon what others were saying about Farrell, it seems that the Blue Jays have done good -- as Irene Ryan would have put it.
While Farrell's name only started to surface after the season ended, Anthopoulos hinted during the media conference to introduce the 48-year-old former Red Sox pitching coach as the 12th full-time manager in franchise history was on his radar quite early in the process, when they had a close to three hour first chat over the phone. When the Blue Jays played its final visit to Fenway Park, Sportsnet analyst Pat Tabler had spoken with Farrell, a former teammate of his with the Indians (1987-88), and came away with the strong belief that Farrell wanted the Blue Jays job. That works right along with the timeline that Farrell was a strong candidate from the beginning.
"John and I were teammates … and I also had a chance to work for him in the Indians farm system when he was the Farm Director," Tabler said after being informed of Farrell's hiring. "He will bring a wealth of knowledge to the Blue Jays. He is very organized and competitive. I think his background as a former pitcher and pitching coach will help bring the young staff to another level. Congratulations to the Blue Jays on a great hire."
The one thing that I came away from what Anthopoulos had to say about the process was that he wasn't willing to just make a good hire, that making a great hire was paramount. That should play very well with the wait-and-see Toronto sporting public who embraced the solid final season of the Cito Gaston era, just not at the box office, where average attendance fell below 20,000 for the first time 1982 and the only time since moving into the SkyDome/Rogers Centre in 1989. Television ratings have remained solid, and were on the rise this season, which tells me that the interest in this sport remains there.
Another thing that should make Jays' fans happy, based upon what I've read in the many e-mails directed my way, is that pitching coach Bruce Walton and third base coach Brian Butterfield, rumoured to be one of the finalists for the manager's job, have already signed on to continue their roles, and that conversations with hitting coach Dwayne Murphy and the remaining members of the staff are on-going. Based upon the way the team played this season, with the impressive home run totals and solid pitching rotation, there was no reason to believe that the coaching staff under Gaston wouldn't return. A new manager bringing in his own people wouldn't have been a shock, though. This news, for the time being, means the majority of the coaches will return.
Word from around baseball, especially out of Boston, has also been heavily weighted in the Blue Jays favour. His former boss, Red Sox manager Terry Francona, speaking to ESPNBoston.com, seemed almost resigned to the fact that his own team was just weakened.
"[The Blue Jays] just got better...if they win it's going to be at our expense."
Former Red Sox starter Curt Schilling called Farrell's signing with the Jays an "enormous loss." Red Sox owner John Henry weighed in with "He will be an effective, excellent manager."
Strong words from baseball people with solid reputations.
Sportsnet play-by-play announcer and former Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez is positive that the Blue Jays have made a solid hire moving forward, especially with the solid young pitching that the team currently has under their control.
"John Farrell is a top notch managerial hire for several reasons. He was a pitcher that had to work hard for his time on the mound. I think that helps him to understand how tough it is to have success in the big leagues. He worked in player development with the Indians. That gives him understanding of how that link needs to work. Maybe the most important is that the Jays are getting a guy that knows how important pitching and defence are in the game we are seeing today. Finally he comes from a winner and that's where the Jays need to go."
Sure sounds good to me.
