Red Sox hire Farrell as manager

[ThomasTomasz]

The Boston Red Sox scheduled an interview for next week with Brad Ausmus, who is the third known candidate to replace fired manager Bobby Valentine.

The Red Sox are scheduled to interview Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach and have shown interest in Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell. Farrell has one year remaining on his contract and the Red Sox aren't inclined to haggle with the Blue Jays over player compensation or financial considerations as they did when general manager Theo Epstein left to be president of the Chicago Cubs last offseason.

The Boston Herald reported Ausmus, 43, was on the team's short list. He has never been a manager in the big leagues but did briefly manage the World Baseball Classic team from Isreal. He's a former big league catcher who spent most of his career with the Astros.

Wallach was the manager for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in 2009 and 2010 and played 17 seasons, including multiple All-Star campaigns with the Montreal Expos.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/report-red-sox-talk-ausmus-143007856--mlb.html

Ausmus would be a good choice. Pick a good bench coach, and you have little worry about his inexperience as a manager- as a catcher he understands a lot of in-game strategy anyway. Would be a better choice than Farrell when you bring up compensation.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Looks like they aren't going with Farrell, then, otherwise they wouldn't be expanding their interviews. I am not very familiar with Wallach, but the other three names are all guys who will likely be "player" managers, so interesting to see that is what the Red Sox are looking for.

The Boston Red Sox are set to interview New York Yankees bench coach Tony Pena for their managerial vacancy on Monday, a team spokesperson confirmed.

Pena will be the second candidate to interview for the position left open when the team fired Bobby Valentine the day after the season. Los Angeles Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach talked to the club about the job on Friday in Boston.

Baltimore Orioles third-base coach DeMarlo Hale will interview with the Red Sox on Thursday, the team confirmed. San Diego Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus also is scheduled to interview this week, according to a report on WEEI.com.

The Yankees, who are down 0-2 to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series, are off Monday, which freed up Pena for the interview. The 55-year-old former catcher played 18 seasons in the majors, including four in Boston, and managed the Kansas City Royals from 2002-2005. In 2003, he was named AL Manager of the Year. He resigned midway through the 2005 season after his team started 8-25.

Pena joined the Yankees' staff in 2006 and interviewed for their managerial opening after Joe Torre's departure. The team named Joe Girardi as skipper, and Pena has been on his staff since, serving as first-base coach and in his current role as bench coach.

Hale, 51, who was on Terry Francona's staff in Boston from 2006-2011, was not granted an interview by the Red Sox in their managerial search last winter and was not retained on Valentine's staff. He joined the Orioles shortly thereafter.

It's not yet known on which day Ausmus, 43, will interview for the job. He spent 18 years as a catcher in the majors before joining the Padres in 2010 as an assistant.

Wallach met with the Red Sox on Friday, had dinner with general manager Ben Cherington and his staff, and flew back to his home on the West Coast on Saturday.

"I thought it went well," said Wallach, a five-time All-Star as a third baseman who twice before has interviewed for big league managing jobs. His first was in 2006 with the Padres, and the second was in 2010 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Wallach also said he doesn't know why the Red Sox did not ask to interview him last year before Valentine was hired.

"And I didn't ask them about it," he said.

The man widely considered the team's preferred candidate, Toronto manager John Farrell, is under contract with the Blue Jays for another year. As of Monday morning, Farrell had not been contacted regarding the Red Sox job, according to a baseball source.

Wallach said he was confident the Red Sox viewed him as a serious candidate for the job.

"I don't think they would have brought me here unless they were serious," he said. "But I understand the process that has to be gone through. I honestly believe they wouldn't waste their time."

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...a-interview-boston-red-sox-managerial-opening

 

[Rudi]

It's going to be weird over the next 10-15 years when the players I grew up watching all start becoming managers i.e. Ausmus.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

It's going to be weird over the next 10-15 years when the players I grew up watching all start becoming managers i.e. Ausmus.

It already is weird just hearing about them, especially the obscure names (at least obscure to the average fan) like Ausmus, Bogar and Tony Pena.

Hell, I went back to my copy of Ken Griffey Jr Presents MLB and both Ausmus and Bogar were on the team that I drafted years ago, and I played with them.

 

[Woy]

It's going to be weird over the next 10-15 years when the players I grew up watching all start becoming managers i.e. Ausmus.

 

[Lanteri]

As long as I stop seeing the name DeMarlo fucking Hale come up in conversations I almost don't care who they pick. Guy couldn't even coach third base, much less manage a team.

But seriously, Ausmus would be a good choice. I'd be happy with him or Pena.

 

[NAHSTE]

It's going to be weird over the next 10-15 years when the players I grew up watching all start becoming managers i.e. Ausmus.

:girardi:

Already happened/is happening.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays remained in negotiations Friday to send manager John Farrell to Boston to be the team's manager, according to baseball sources.

"If they had this thing and it was that cut-and-dry easy for Toronto to pick somebody and the Red Sox were ready to give somebody up, this would have happened already," one source said. "I don't think it's that difficult of a decision."

The source guessed it would take a player or players of "substantial value" for the Jays to allow Farrell to go to a division rival, though the source did not have direct knowledge of the negotiations, which are taking place on multiple levels of each organization.

The Red Sox have formally interviewed four candidates -- Los Angeles Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach, New York Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, San Diego Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus and Baltimore Orioles third-base coach DeMarlo Hale -- to replace Bobby Valentine, but Farrell has been "at the top of their list" from the start, a team source told ESPNBoston.com earlier this month.

The Red Sox were "impressed with all of the candidates interviewed," a team source said, but were particularly captivated by Ausmus, according to multiple baseball sources. However, Farrell remains the top choice because of the current management's comfort level with him, according to a league source.

Farrell served as the Red Sox's pitching coach from 2006-10.

The Red Sox attempted to acquire Farrell a year ago, but they weren't willing to bow to Toronto's asking price of what was rumored to be pitchers Clay Buchholz and/or Daniel Bard.

The Red Sox eventually hired Valentine, then fired him the day after finishing their worst season (69-93) in more than four decades.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...ox-toronto-blue-jays-negotiating-john-farrell

Must not be impressed with the rest of the candidates. The fact that Toronto is even considering this would actually shy me away from this move, despite Farrell's familiarity with Boston.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The Boston Red Sox have hired John Farrell as their next manager, a source confirmed to ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald on Saturday night.

The sides agreed to a multiyear deal, the source told McDonald.

Farrell, the Red Sox' former pitching coach, had one year remaining on his contract as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. There was no word on the compensation the Red Sox gave to the Blue Jays to obtain Farrell.

One source earlier this week guessed it would take a player or players of "substantial value," though he did not have direct knowledge of the secretive negotiations between the teams, which began earlier this week.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...boston-red-sox-hire-john-farrell-next-manager

 

[Swarley]

Supposedly it's an infielder who played on the MLB club this season, and it's not Middlebrooks (and obviously not Pedroia either). My guess would be Ciriaco. I doubt they want Aviles.


EDIT: It's Mike Aviles.

 

[Lanteri]

Pretty disappointed with this move. Feels like another step backwards. I like Farrell, but I just feel like the team should be moving in a different direction. Really wanted Ausmus.

 

[killgod]

Tampering!

 

[PP]

lol Sox got a manager AND got rid of aviles. Ben Cherrington getting it done :smug:

 

[Slateman]

Red Sox also get Adam Lind

 

[Obst]

Despite speculation to the contrary, the Red Sox won't take on Adam Lind as part of the deal, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.

 

[NAHSTE]

I can't believe this is the best they could do. Farrell is kind of terrible, not to mention you have to give up a player for him. Weird move.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I can't believe this is the best they could do. Farrell is kind of terrible, not to mention you have to give up a player for him. Weird move.

Yep, and apparently they had a great interview with Ausmus, and then you have Lanteri here wanting him as well. Hey, as an Oriole fan, I'm not going to complain as I don't think Farrell is the right choice either, because if they were really going to move on from everything that's happened over the past 1.5 years, you don't add Francona's old pitching coach.

 

[kyhadley]

I don't think the manager really matters that much, so I'm fine with them getting a guy that the knows the team and will be respected(/accepted) by the clubhouse.

 

[Youk]

I don't think the manager really matters that much, so I'm fine with them getting a guy that the knows the team and will be respected(/accepted) by the clubhouse.

You want him to be respected and accepted by that clubhouse?

 

[Lanteri]

I'd just like to reiterate that I hate hate hate this the more I think about it. Such a lateral move at best. Probably more of a step back. I know he wasn't with the team during that collapse last September and as such wasn't really implicated in that particular team's psyche, but I still feel like going back to a familiar face is the wrong move. I would have loved to have Ausmus, someone that can grow with the team, rather than a caretaker type like Farrell that's just going to do what he does, and is kind of just MEH all around.