Is John Farrell a worse manager than (gulp) Bobby Valentine?

Red Sox manager John Farrell in Atlanta. AP

By Eric Wilbur

June 19, 2015

4 minutes to read

COMMENTARY

It has come to this for John Farrell’s clubhouse: a place where we can now easily surmise the Red Sox manager has lost complete control.

No, in the grand scheme of things, third baseman Pablo Sandoval “liking’’ a couple of photos of a scantily-clad woman on Instagram while on a trip to the john isn’t the most egregious act a ballplayer can commit. But much like the fried chicken and beer episode of a few seasons ago, the action is merely indicative of a greater problem, representative of a working environment where the players have taken the steering wheel away from any semblance of authority.

If not for Barstool Sports’ Jared Carrabis, who spotted that Sandoval’s social media perusal took place during Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, we never would have heard of diva_legacy, and the whole issue would have been unbeknownst to everybody, including, in all likelihood, Farrell and general manager Ben Cherington.

So, if the clearest sign that Farrell has lost all jurisdiction came from one writer’s random assessment of Sandoval’s Instagram activity, imagine what we don’t know about that’s happening behind closed doors.

“For one, I don’t think the clubhouse is one that has run amok,’’ Farrell told reporters in Atlanta Thursday night, prior to his team’s 5-2 win over the Braves. “This is an incident I believe is isolated, and my focus is to continue to get better on field.’’

It hasn’t been the best of weeks for the Sox skipper. One week after being publicly berated by starting pitcher Wade Miley in the dugout in Baltimore, Farrell has had to answer questions as to why his $95 million third baseman is ogling a lovely lady who lives in the Atlanta area while his teammates were at bat against hurler Alex Wood. The Red Sox are 7-10 this month, having lost five games in the AL East standings over the past 18 days. We’ve yet to even see the grass of Wimbledon, yet to hear the annual blaring of Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out’’ out of cars across the Commonwealth, and the Red Sox’ season is finished, a campaign built on incompetence from the manager, and a lack of anything resembling culpability from the players.

It is a franchise in ruin.

Give Sandoval credit for owning up to his social media moment. He could have easily made the excuse that his brother — who manages most of his off-field activity anyway — was the perpetrator. But Sandoval also seems smart enough to understand there are ways to pinpoint where the “likes’’ were sent from, and had the integrity to take the punishment of being benched for Thursday night’s game.

I find it difficult to be outraged at the action, because, well… who’s going to throw the first stone when it comes to dabbling in Facebook, Twitter, Instasnapchat or what have you during work hours? Then again, most of us aren’t making $17 million this season with a keen awareness that the microscope is focused squarely at the hot corner, where Sandoval has thus far been a vast disappointment.

The decision to bench him, though, comes at a time when he’s been red hot at the plate, batting a robust .410 over the last two weeks with a 1.077 OPS. Five of his 16 hits over that stretch have been doubles, including the 200th of his career earlier this week, a milestone Sandoval was all too aware of, immediately asking for the ball in a moment that reeked of the importance of his personal glory while his team was mired in a 4-0 hole.

Besides, his 200th career double? Do they give out lollipops for 57 walks in a season these days as well? Because that number is just as meaningless in the grand scheme as Sandoval’s landmark.

Neither moment was a good look for Sandoval. Then again, most of his teammates haven’t exactly graced themselves lately either.

This all goes back to Farrell, who somehow channeled chemistry perfection in 2013, only to lose any handle he had on it in that one, glorious season. Since the beginning of last year, the Farrell-Cherington regime is 100-129. I hope you’ll agree that it’s not exactly hyperbole to call that record pathetic.

We’re past the point of trying to determine which manager Farrell really is. Is he the one who can lead the Red Sox to a World Series title, or is he destined to flounder even with a team boasting better-than-average talent? Please. Farrell’s in-game managing skills have always been of some question, but after Wednesday night’s farce in Atlanta, where Farrell had Joe Kelly pitch to the No. 8 hitter with the pitcher due up, it’s fairly evident that his presence in a National League park is sort of like the mule with the spinning wheel. Danged if he knows how to use it.

It has all gotten bad enough to ask the question: Has Farrell done a worse job than (gulp) Bobby Valentine?

I know, commit me now. But at least Valentine had some ability in actually managing the game, something we’ve seen only rarely from Farrell. Oh, it was a clown show under Valentine, with little support from upper management, something Farrell has received in droves despite his incompetence. But aren’t we approaching that circus point with this unlikeable bunch?

Through the first 68 games of 2012, Bobby V led the Sox to a 35-33 record. In each of the last two seasons, Farrell’s record through 68 games is 31-37 and 29-39, respectively. And wouldn’t you know it, Farrell is leading this squad on a 69-win pace, the same total Valentine was chased out of town with during those bumbling days at Fenway.

Well, those days are back.

Yet the front office at 4 Yawkey Way sits silent, content to allow Farrell make a mockery of the team. The manager has completely lost his clubhouse, and the Red Sox will do nothing about it.