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Debate: Did the Red Sox make the right move letting Farrell go?

David Kohl / USA TODAY Sports

There will be a new man in the dugout for the Boston Red Sox next season.

The club announced Wednesday that John Farrell would not be brought back for 2018, bringing an end to his five-year managerial stint in Beantown.

But the question deserves to be asked: Was dropping Farrell the right move, or will the Red Sox rue the decision? theScore's Jason Wilson and Jonathan Soveta debate the 55-year-old's dismissal.

No, Red Sox rushed it

When in doubt, blame the manager, I guess.

Getting bounced from the American League Division Series in consecutive years stings, but this is such a knee-jerk reaction, it's ridiculous. It's par for the course with the Red Sox, though. While President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski represents a different face for the front office, this is the same franchise that ousted Terry Francona after the September collapse of 2011. That the Red Sox could dismiss a manager who helped the team win its first two World Series championships after an 86-year drought, it's no surprise that they'd do the same to Farrell.

Even if you think Farrell was flawed as a manager, there were too many things outside his control in 2017. It wasn't his fault that David Ortiz retired or that the team passed on Edwin Encarnacion in free agency. David Price's injury and inability to start games in the postseason can't be pinned on the skipper, either.

The Red Sox faced the buzzsaw that is the Houston Astros. If you put those two rosters side by side - along with regular-season records - the Astros are clearly the superior team. The move comes across as impatient and unnecessary, and completely ignores that Farrell became the first Red Sox manager to ever win three division championships with the team.

Maybe the move pays dividends like when the team let Grady Little go after crumbling in the 2003 AL Championship Series. Or maybe this will be a replay of swapping Francona for Bobby Valentine. Either way, this feels like a change for the sake of making a change. - Wilson

Yes, Boston needed to move on

Look, Farrell has had his success with the Red Sox, you can't deny that: Three titles in the toughest division in baseball is a worthy accomplishment. But in sports, it's all about a team's most recent results and postseason success. And when you combine these two factors, Farrell has come up empty.

Teams like the Red Sox can only dwell on regular-season success for so long. Yes, Farrell won it all in his first season, but 2013 almost feels like an entirely different era now. Since that historic campaign, Farrell's Red Sox have won just one game in the postseason, and that came Sunday against the Astros. In last year's ALDS, they were embarrassed by the Cleveland Indians. And it's not like Farrell's regular-season triumphs were consistent, either. Remember that the Red Sox were embarrassed in back-to-back seasons - 2014 and 2015 - when they finished in last place in the AL East.

Finally, Farrell's relationship with Dombrowski had already grown increasingly shaky. A report Tuesday stated that the two engaged in a heated discussion - said to be heard from the clubhouse - after their acrimonious affair against the Baltimore Orioles in April. It would seem to make more sense for the Red Sox executive to find his own man for the job in the offseason rather than possibly risk letting Farrell go midseason. - Soveta

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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