John Farrell might not have been on the Boston Red Sox bench for the final month of the season, but make no mistake, it was still his team.
The Red Sox manager announced in August that he had been diagnosed with stage 1 lymphoma. The diagnosis called for an immediate leave of absence. The obvious choice to take over was bench coach Torey Lovullo.
All the while, though, Lovullo made it clear he was just keeping the seat warm until his long-time friend got healthy.
The Red Sox announced earlier this month that Farrell would return to the post in 2016, if healthy. On Wednesday, they announced his cancer was in remission, and on Thursday, Farrell indicated he was ready to get back to work.
Lovullo will be back, too, although no one would have blamed him if he found a way to parlay his 27-20 record as interim manager into a managerial job somewhere other than Boston.
“Some people have asked if this is going to be an awkward situation, and I would clearly say no, it’s not,” Farrell said Friday in a conference call with reporters. “He’s a trusted guy, he’s a talented guy, and in my mind and I’m sure in the minds of many, he’ll manage his own team when that right opportunity presents itself.
“The job that he did, the job the entire staff did, to maintain an environment and a positive working atmosphere, it was great to see take place.”
Farrell also appreciated the gestures, too, like Lovullo’s refusal to use Farrell’s manager’s office at Fenway Park or on the road.
“I think it just speaks volumes for Torey’s respect for the game, respect for others and the people he works with,” Farrell said. “He’s got a tremendous feel for given situations. His instincts will seemingly always guide him to do the right thing.
“I appreciate how he talked about the players, how he maintained an atmosphere in the clubhouse and certainly the decisions he made on the field. He’s a talented guy and I appreciate the way he handles himself and how he represents all of us here.”
Farrell and Lovullo have always been close. Their time together predates not their big league coaching stops, going all the way back to their playing days. It’s a relationship that’s obviously evolved through the years, but this sort of experience, Farrell says, brought them even closer together.
“When you have life situations force you or present a situation where you’re talking about life other than the game, I think it not only galvanizes what you have already but it deepens it,” Farrell said. “We talked about a lot of personal things that have not come up in the 20-something years I’ve known him. It grows even further and I can’t thank him enough for all the support he showed me.”
Thumbnail photo via Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
