The Red Sox Worship at the Church of Farrell

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It was a matter of inches.

By simply moving his foot six inches toward first base, Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell helped Josh Beckett go from a good NL pitcher who had struggled in the AL (16-11, 5.01 ERA in 2006), to a bonafide American League ace (20-7, 3.27 ERA in 2007).

With that, Farrell made himself a deity in the lore of the Boston Red Sox.

In Farrell we trust.

But this wasn't the only masterstroke performed by the Red Sox pitching coach.

Farrell learned Japanese to help acclimatize a new $100 million pitcher from Japan to the American game. 

He helped to create the program that keeps closer Jonathan Papel-beast's shoulder together and makes him one of the most dominant closers in the game.

He helped Jon Lester recover from cancer treatment to become a guy who could be the Opening Day starter for 25 other major league teams.

He was one of the reasons (along with trainer and shoulder specialist Mike Reinold) that aces like Brad Penny and John Smoltz wanted to come to Boston and compete to be the fifth guy in the rotation.

In the fall of 2007, coming off a World Series victory over the Colorado Rockies, Farrell was a hot commodity with those major league clubs looking for a new manager.

He was courted by multiple teams and eventually offered the head post with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

While the allure of Pittsburgh—and the moribund Pirates franchise—is not what you'd call "sparkling," it was a shot at a big league managing job.

But Farrell turned it down, and Red Sox fans breathed a sigh of relief.

We had been struggling, fearful even,  with the thought of losing Farrell, who had helped former teammate Terry Francona lead the Sox  to a second World Series title in four years.

Why such apprehension over the loss of a pitching coach?

Farrell was never a great pitcher in the major leagues. In parts of seven big league seasons from 1987-1996 (missing the entire '91 and '92 seasons with injuries) he amassed a 36-46 record with a 4.56 ERA.

He spent time working as Director of Player Development for the Indians, with whom he built one of the best minor league systems in the earlier part of this decade.

But when he was brought in to be pitching coach (by former teammate Francona) for the Boston Red Sox, most people were perplexed.

One year later, we all were listening to whatever he had to say, trusting in his ideas, and generally regarding him as the manager of the Sox pitching staff.

Even this week, after the Wiggler's first start since returning from the WBC, it was Farrell, not Tito, that people turned to for the club's reaction.

For 13 consecutive years, from 1991 through 2005 (excluding the strike shortened season of 1994), I watched the Atlanta Braves win their division every year.

For 13 seasons, from 1995-2007, the New York Yankees made an appearance in the playoffs. Both of these clubs always had quality lineups, great managers, and owners who supported them, but it was something else that caused them to be so successful.

Keep listening guys.

Oh yeah, pitching.

Both of these teams had steady, strong, and very effective pitching staffs during those great stretches.

While much of the credit goes to the pitchers themselves, the continuity and excellence that came from their respective pitching coaches, even in the face of the constantly shifting rosters that come with the current era of free agency, can not be underrated.

Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone (with manager Bobby Cox) and Yankees pitching coach Mel Stottlmyre (with manager Joe Torre) both presided over pitching staffs that set records, won games, divisions, pennants, and World Series Championships

After the pictching coaches left their respective teams, both had their streaks snapped.

Just like these teams, the Red Sox have achance to create the kind of continuity that leads not only to one championship, but to many.

I know the Sox have great pitching this season, both in the bullpen and the rotation, that will deserve much of the credit for the team's successes, but the influence of the man to whom they turn cannot be discounted.

In Farrell we trust.

Go Sox.

Done.

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