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AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS v RED SOXOctober 4, 2013John FarrellBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game One Tampa Bay Rays - 2 Boston Red Sox - 12 Q.  Yesterday when you were asked about how you thought the series would go, I'll quote you directly here: You said, "And there's going to be a play, a defensive play, inside of the game that will be a swing moment." I think that happened today. JOHN FARRELL: Yeah, we were fortunate to catch a break on what was ruled David's double in that 4th inning, and we were able to bunch some hits after that. So instead of one man on with an additional out for them, we were in the second and third, no one out, and it ends up turning into five runs. Inside that same inning, Stephen Drew beating out that infield base hit and Jonny Gomes with a heads‑up baserunning maneuver to score on that infield base hit. And then a quirky carom off the wall on Middlebrooks' double, and we're able to put together a big inning. So it pretty much started and a big contribution in that inning was the fly ball that ended up bouncing up for the ground‑rule the double. Q. Throughout the entire season, it seems like Gomes is a catalytic player. What do you see about him that makes him such an important part of the team? JOHN FARRELL:  One, he's a smart baseball player. In some ways, with some guys you can take numbers and put them aside. Jonny is one of those. Whether it's inside of a rally, which he's been a big part of late in the game, where he's had some big hits for us. In that inning where, also with the double, the two‑run double off the wall‑‑ today was the reason why Jonny chose to come to Boston. And he demonstrated why this is where he wants to play. And he fits what we do so well. And the way he goes about the game rubs off on other players in our clubhouse. Q. Your general impressions of Jon Lester's performance? And also a second question: What was the nature of the discussion between Lester and the plate umpire after the inning where he gave up the Rodriguez home run? JOHN FARRELL:  We've seen many times when there's a call in question, he handles it in a way where he's not going to show emotion on the mound at the moment, but ask after the inning was over. And the two‑strike change‑up that he threw to Rodriguez looked like he had the plate, but Chris felt like it was below the zone, and the next one is a fastball he hits out of the ballpark. Setting aside the two mistakes to he and Zobrist, Jon was strong. Stayed out of the middle of the plate. That's as powerful stuff as Jon has had for us all year long, and it came at a very good time. Q. Just to further that, what do you attribute the 97 right off the bat, first inning? Was it the adrenaline, the rest, the moment? What do you think happened there? JOHN FARRELL:  Keep going, because they continue to add up. I think what we've seen throughout the course of this year is Jon has ironed out his delivery to where when he's got added adrenaline or emotion, he's still able to channel it in the right way and not sacrifice location with his stuff. But that first inning was powerful. And something that we probably haven't seen in a couple of years' time. I know he was more than ready for today's start. Q. Usually a guy doesn't do that throughout the entire outing, but he seemed to keep that power going most of the day? JOHN FARRELL:  And today is not the first time for that. We've seen a number of starts in the second half where once he settles in and he creates such good rhythm‑‑ that rhythm and balance in his delivery is what allows him to sustain that power throughout when he's out there. It's made his cutter more effective. His change‑up got some swings and misses because of increased velocity to his fastball, and he was in a good place today. Q. You talked yesterday about how you thought this team came together after the marathon. What did you think about the pregame and ceremony? JOHN FARRELL:  The Red Sox do such a great job of celebrating a moment, honoring certain people in certain situations. Today is no different than what we saw the Saturday after the bomb back in April. And our organization has such a feel for what any society calls for or the public situation calls for at the moment. And that's a tribute to John Henry all the way down. Maybe our place in this market, this city is we take those things to heart. And in some ways this game and what we do here at Fenway is a vehicle to acknowledge others. Q. Jon Lester struck out the first four batters he saw today, how important was that for setting the tone? JOHN FARRELL:  Whether it's a strikeout or outs, regardless of how you get them, the ability to keep a game under control is paramount by a starter. What was probably as big an inning was after we scored the five runs, to come out and put up a zero. That's the most important thing in the game, is to keep up the momentum and put up a zero, and we were able to come back with three more runs in that inning. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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