Manager John Farrell has his critics after the Blue Jays followed up an 81-win season in 2011 with a 73-89 mark. That's a .451 win percentage and ranks as the seventh-worst mark in the franchise’s 36-year history. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
Canadians will spend part of this weekend giving thanks for what they have in their lives.
Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos might take some time to assess what he has in John Farrell and whether he’s the man to manage the team going forward.
Farrell has one year left on his three-year contract, but for much of the second half of this season has had his name associated with the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was pitching coach prior to arriving in Toronto.
On Thursday, the Boston Globe reported Farrell is the Red Sox’s No. 1 target after the team fired Bobby Valentine earlier in the day following a 69-93 campaign. Farrell has his critics, too, after the Jays followed up an 81-win season in 2011 with a 73-89 mark. That’s a .451 win percentage and ranks as the seventh-worst mark in the franchise’s 36-year history.
Some fans aren’t big on his love for playing small ball, others point to his players’ repeated mistakes on the basepaths and veteran Jays infielder Omar Vizquel knocked the manager recently for running a lax clubhouse.
Is that enough for Anthopoulos to grant permission to the Red Sox to talk to Farrell? Is he OK letting a division rival attempt to lure the man he hired in hopes of ending a playoff drought that now stands at 19 years in return for, say, a AAA prospect?
Are you, the fan, OK with this? Please vote in the poll below and comment on whether Farrell is the right manager for the Jays or is it time to bring in Terry Francona or Sandy Alomar Jr.
