Mr. Right (For Now)

Shank says many nice things about current Red Sox manager John Farrell and his positive influence on the 2013 Red Sox.

OAKLAND, Calif. — It was late morning on a splendid Sunday in northern California and John Farrell was holding court in the first base dugout at O.co Coliseum.

He was asked if he might name his starting rotation for next weekend’s big series with the Yankees at Fenway Park when the Sox return from the All-Star break.

“We’ll announce that as soon as we tell the guys who are making starts for us,’’ Farrell said politely.

There you go. More boredom from the top. More keeping things in-house. More respect for the major league ballplayers.

Naturally, Shank needs to remind you how bad the previous manager was:

A year ago the manager of the Red Sox might have spilled the beans, or ripped one of his pitchers, or asked “who cares?’’ or answered his cellphone before answering the question. He certainly wouldn’t have told his pitching coach who was starting against the Yankees.

That was then. This is now. Chaos and calamity have been displaced by peace and tranquility. Speaking in tongues has ceded to actual communication. Last place has become first place.

Which keeps with traditional Shank themes - say lots of nice things about the manager until the first big losing streak, then it's time for the manager to walk the proverbial plank and get run out of town.