John Farrell is optimistic about the Boston Red Sox' chances in 2013, saying that his team has the talent to make it to the postseason in his first season with the club.
Boston's new manager had good things to say about his new squad, saying that despite the team's catastrophic performance under Bobby Valentine that saw the team finish in last place in the division, they have the talent to make the playoffs next year.
"With the roster that's there now, there's a core group there that you can build around," Farrell said. "I think a couple of things will need to happen [to contend in 2013]. Certain players return to the form and the performance that they’ve established for themselves, and not just a one-year situation -- guys who have estabilished a cereer path and a career recod of being above average and get the guys back who were taken out because of injury, to get them back fully healthy and then whatever additions are brought forward into this group, I think this has got an opportunity to be a fairly quick turnaournd and get to the point of contending next year."
The Red Sox made the playoffs all but one season between 2003 and 2009, famously winning the World Series in 2004 and 2007, but haven't been back since 2009. The team hoped Valentine would right the ship after collapsing to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row in 2011, but that backfired horribly, as the 2012 Red Sox finished in fifth place in the AL East for the first time since 1994, with their 69-93 record their worst performance winning percentage-wise since 1965.
Farrell's teams didn't make the postseason in either of his two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.