But doesn't that assume, at least in part, that this was John Farrell's decision alone? Or that it was almost all his decision?I think that this is it. Farrell doesn't have the luxury of throwing Sandoval and Castillo out in the field and hope that both of them will hit their ways out of it. He knows that he has a very, very short rope and that his successor is literally sitting five feet away from him. Incidentally that guy got the Red Sox to play the best two months of baseball that this team has done since the end of 2013, so that rope might be even shorter.
Therefore, Farrell is going to manage as if his pants are on fire. I wouldn't be surprised if Kimbrel was in every April game nailing it down and the hot-hitting position players were playing 13, 14 or 15 games in a row. If Farrell manages like his job is on the line (IE, I don't give a fuck) then this is going to be a dead-ass team in August and September.
There are so many ramifications to this move. It impacts their ability to win now, sure, but it also affects Sandoval's trade value, risks turning Sandoval into jello and has potential affects on team chemistry. Given all those implications, I would think that Farrell would only do this after having discussed it at length with DD, who is likely completely on board with the decision.
To be clear, I think this does speak of Farrell's sense of urgency and the thin ice that he's on. But I just don't see this as only reflective of Farrell. I think the whole organization, perhaps to Pedroia's chagrin, has bought into that sense of urgency and for many the reasons way transcend Farrell's job security. After two years in the crapper, no one was willing to suffer seeing Fat Panda kick the ball around at third and hear the fans' reaction to that.