Keeping the faith

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

As a fan, when your team is 2-9 in the last 11 games, it’s hard not to think, “Trade them all!” Then, you remember that the team actually has people in charge of doing that, and that’s probably what they’re thinking as well in bad times. But obviously they don’t do it. In fact, John Farrell didn’t even change the batting order for the Red Sox. Now that, my friends, is dedication.

Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus accused Farrell of hitting the panic button when things were rough in Toronto. Apparently Farrell has learned a thing or two because he’s been nothing but cool, calm, and collected for the Sox. And last night showed everyone just how well that can work out.

Last night in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Sox scored eight runs in the third inning alone in their 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. They looked more like the lineup that started the season 20-8.

“I mean, you had the same lineup that you won all the games with,” Stephen Drew, who hit a grand slam last night, said according to this Boston Herald article. “It’s one of those things. It’s there.”

Drew is right. There is something there. They’re not going to be perfect every game, but they already showed that the lineup works. With a start as strong as they had, it’s important to stick with them through the good and the bad. John Farrell said he considered changing the lineup, but ultimately decided against it.

“The one thing I don’t want to create in (the clubhouse) is more uncertainty and I think at a time when you could understand if some frustration starts to filter in,” Farrell said according to that same Herald article. “I want there to be some stability and some continuity to the work we’re doing. That includes (the players) understanding that there’s a lot of belief and trust in them. We didn’t go 20-8 at one point with a completely different set of players. We’re not going to run from them.”




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