I wonder how much of guys like Napoli and De Aza continuing to get playing time is about keeping the clubhouse for Farrell. Benching veterans despite struggles or uselessness for the future in favor of guys who are untested, raw or haven't produced/"earned it" seems to me like the kind of thing that could create a ton of clubhouse friction, especially among said veterans, and poison the atmosphere for the rest of the season and beyond.
That's all conjecture, of course, and it's not to say that Farrell is right to do this. But it's all a good reminder that Farrell's job is stupidly hard, managing both the game on the field and the guys in the clubhouse. It's really not as simple as just benching Napoli or De Aza and having that be that; those moves could be dangerously unpopular to the rest of the team. Honestly, the best solution would be for Cherington to ship those guys out for whatever he can get so as to remove that problem, but that's an issue for another thread.
That's all conjecture, of course, and it's not to say that Farrell is right to do this. But it's all a good reminder that Farrell's job is stupidly hard, managing both the game on the field and the guys in the clubhouse. It's really not as simple as just benching Napoli or De Aza and having that be that; those moves could be dangerously unpopular to the rest of the team. Honestly, the best solution would be for Cherington to ship those guys out for whatever he can get so as to remove that problem, but that's an issue for another thread.
