John Farrell isn’t a very well-liked guy in Toronto these days, and that will be abundantly clear throughout the Red Sox’ weekend series with the Blue Jays.
Farrell, who spent two seasons as Toronto’s skipper before arriving in Boston, is likely to hear boos throughout the series at Rogers Centre, as some Jays fans have gone as far as to label the Red Sox manager a “scoundrel” for the way he left the organization. Farrell doesn’t seem too concerned, though. Instead, he’s focused on the task at hand.
“Villain or the bad guy, whatever it might be, I can only say we’re looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead of us,” Farrell told reporters on Thursday. “People are going to have their own opinions, and I respect that. It goes along with the heightened interest in the Blue Jays and a lot of the changes they’ve made. There’s a lot of excitement there. In this case, with how things unfolded, the unique set of circumstances that surround both the change in Toronto and here in Boston, I can fully appreciate that they might have those feelings. What might come out of it, we’ll see starting [Friday]. But we’re looking forward to going up there and competing against them.”
The Red Sox and Blue Jays figure to have some heated American League East battles this season, so the drama is already there. A little extra animosity never hurt anyone, though.
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