Days Running Out On John Farrell

Dec 6, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell answers questions during a press conference at the MLB winter meetings at Hilton Anatole. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIREWe now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for an important announcement:

There is still no update on the John Farrell to Boston Red Sox situation. That is all.

That’s right, after weeks of speculation, we are exactly where we were with two weeks remaining on the 2012 regular season. Despite all of the assumptions and reports of “sources saying things are close”, we still know exactly nothing. John Farrell is still the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and there has been no change to that.

However, there is a limited window of opportunity left for things to get done at this stage. The Red Sox have already interviewed Tim Wallach, DeMarlo Hale, Brad Ausmus, and Tony Pena for the position and they are ready to move forward with making a decision. With the departure of Dave Magadan to Texas, the Red Sox need to get to work on their coaching staff so that they can hit the ground running when free agency opens up. The hiring of Bobby Valentine strung out until the end of November 2011 and the Red Sox don’t want to take that long this time around.

That said, to make this happen, Toronto and Boston will need to get this settled before the onset of the World Series. Bud Selig is uber-protective of the World Series and does not like it when other things distract from the events on the field. Remember when Scott Boras announced that Alex Rodriguez was opting out of his contract with the Yankees in 2007? Yeah, Bud was not too happy about that and he will not be bitten by that snake again.

Reports are rampant about the Blue Jays and Red Sox being close on a deal, with the Red Sox recently asking for permission to speak directly to Farrell himself. There is talk about the Blue Jays asking for Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard being the player changing hands. But again, it is still all just talk. Both teams need this to be resolved now, permanently.

Then we can all move on to what is important this offseason, fixing the rosters. And there will be much rejoicing.