John Farrell’s harsh critique of Major League Baseball’s new replay system will make his wallet a bit lighter.
Joe Torre, MLB’s executive vice president of baseball operations, told the New York Daily News on Monday that the Boston Red Sox manager will be fined for comments he made after Sunday’s loss to the New York Yankees.
“I’m not going to suspend him. It will be a fine,” Torre said. “I’m sorry about what he said. What I try to do in whatever I do in this job that the commissioner has imported me to do is basically never forget what it’s like to be a player or a manager. Part of that never forgetting are the feelings, especially when you’re dealing with Red Sox-Yankees games. There is nothing that is insignificant about anything that happens in those games.”
Torre also echoed the sentiments of Tony LaRussa, who urged managers Monday to give the system time before passing judgment.
“This (replay system) is a three-year rollout,” Torre said. “It’s probably going to take that long where you get it to where you want it to be. And the only way we’re going to find that out is to do what we’re doing. It’s not perfect.
“I’m not sure it’s ever going to be perfect. We feel for the most part, it’s going to get a lot of the plays right that are going to be game-changers. That could be two-out, nobody on, ground ball to first base. There’s nothing insignificant about any play because it could turn into something.”
Farrell’s comments — most notably that “it’s hard to have any faith in the (replay) system” — came after controversial replay decisions went the Yankees’ way in consecutive games.
