Day 205: Red Sox Manager, John Farrell, Named Sporting News' Manager of the Year

First year Red Sox manager, John Farrell, was named Sporting News' Manager of the Year on Tuesday. Is this a precursor to the real Manager of the Year Award? It would seem he's headed that way.

As we all unfortunately know, the Red Sox won just 69 games under the leadership of one whack job, Bobby Valentine, in 2012. They were in desperate need of some serious changes. And while they managed to unload a few of the bad apples in a historic trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last August, the work was still far from done. The Sox still needed a skipper that could pull the team together, to make them act and play like a team. With the disarray Valentine left behind, this would not be an easy task.

Boston's front office was finally able to make a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays and hire John Farrell as their new manager on October 21, 2012—exactly a year ago yesterday. The whole organization breathed a sigh of relief as they were able to complete a deal that seemed impossible just a year earlier when the Blue Jays made demands for players the Sox weren't willing to give up.

"We are thrilled to name John Farrell as our new manager," Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. "John has been a major league pitcher, front office executive, coach, and manager. His broad set of experiences, and exceptional leadership skills, make him the ideal person to lead our team. I have known him in various capacities throughout my career, and I hold him in the highest regard as a baseball man and as a person."

Who knew Farrell would complete not only one of the greatest turn arounds during the regular season, leading the Red Sox to the best record in the American League (97-65), but also make it to the World Series. Hell, I picked the Sox to finish with 82 wins so clearly my expectations were low. So congratulations to Mr. Farrell for his Sporting News' Manager of the Year award... and here's to finishing off this wickedly amazing season with a Championship ring.