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John Farrell will be fired by Red Sox because of player entitlement: Danny Picard – Metro US

John Farrell will be fired by Red Sox because of player entitlement: Danny Picard

John Farrell, fired, Red Sox

If entitlement wins out — and it usually does — then John Farrell won’t be manager of the Boston Red Sox for much longer.

 

That’s the vibe coming from Ken Rosenthal’s column on FOX Sports earlier this week, which had a headline that read: “Trying times for John Farrell as Boston Red Sox manager.”

 

Trying times indeed, if Red Sox players are trying to force Farrell out of town, which it sounds like they’re doing in Rosenthal’s piece.

 

To be fair, Rosenthal has no idea if Farrell will be fired or not. But this story was only written because of the frustration expressed to him by anonymous “sources” which I assume are from inside the organization.

 

Here’s an example of the juicy stuff: “Some players, but not all, believe that [Farrell] does not stand up for them strongly enough to the media when the team is struggling, sources say. Some also question Farrell’s game management, talk that exists in virtually every clubhouse, some more than others.”

 

Rosenthal wrote this just after the Red Sox lost three-of-four in Oakland this past weekend. The Athletics are one of the worst teams in baseball, and the Sox came out of that series hovering around .500. He spends most of the column pointing out all the things that Boston’s had to endure to this point.

 

But outside of Rosenthal’s sources who bash Farrell, there really isn’t anything in the story that we didn’t already know.

 

In fact, it seems to me that if you’re going to diagram the Red Sox’ woes in 2017, then you should probably respond with a little praise for the manager who kept the ship afloat throughout it all.

 

The team is still in the race for the AL East crown. And according to Las Vegas, the Red Sox are still favorites to win the division, and have the fourth-best odds to win the World Series.

 

I’m not telling you this Red Sox team is going to win the whole damn thing. I just feel like the sky isn’t falling the way Rosenthal might be portraying. And make no mistake about it, he wouldn’t be writing this column had there been no “sources” telling him that Farrell wasn’t a clubhouse favorite.

 

Rosenthal took the bait. In the process, he buried the lead. The issue here isn’t the manager. It’s the spoiled professional ballplayers who always need to have it their way. And it sounds like that sense of entitlement is rearing its ugly head once again in the Red Sox clubhouse.

 

He might never admit it, but Rosenthal’s sources are clearly Red Sox players. To that, I say to those players: shut up and do your job.

 

You know, like Chris Sale, who doesn’t let his feelings for a manager or teammates get in the way of his on-field production. Given how dominant Sale is, perhaps that’s not the best example. Not everybody is as talented as him. But you get the point.

 

Rosenthal talked to a few Red Sox players who don’t like Farrell. He then turned it into a borderline hit-piece on the manager. 

 

He’s speaking for someone. And so the real story here shouldn’t be about the manager. It should be about the players who aren’t on the same page, and how it’s time for the Red Sox to start moving on from guys who have it so bad under Farrell that they just can’t possibly play another day for a playoff contender without anonymously crying about it to a national reporter.

 

My empathy for those players is sarcastic, of course. Unfortunately, their entitlement is real.

 

Given the way baseball usually works, Farrell’s days are probably — and unfairly — numbered because of it.

 

 

Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com, iTunes, Google Play, and on the PodcastOne network. Danny can also be heard weekends on WEEI 93.7 FM. Follow him on Twitter @DannyPicard.