"But we know it's going to come down to the quality of players and the roster when it comes to the wins…"

That was the first sentence from John Farrell after he was named the next manager of the Boston Red Sox and I couldn't agree more.

Do I like the move? Yes.

If you read this blog, you know I was on record from the start that I wasn't a fan at all of the Bobby Valentine move and my feeling now with John Farrell at the helm is almost the exact opposite. Farrell said all the right things and if you're a Red Sox fan he left you with a good feeling. After a year of strange and confusing interviews with Bobby Valentine, Farrell made sense, have a vision and seemed genuinely excited and honored to have his new position. His familiarity with the market I'm sure helped as well.

Farrell doesn't have any easy road ahead of him at all with a team that lost 93 games last year, a roster that needs pieces and a fan base that, right or wrong, expects him to step in and immediately make things better.

While I like the hiring of John Farrell, I'm way more interested in what this team is going to do to the roster this off season. The blockbuster trade with the Dodgers has freed up a ton of money to work with though the free agent list is nothing to get excited about. How creative will they get with a trade or trades? What current players will they sign or let go? Catcher, first base, shortstop, outfield and of course the pitching staff are all current question marks. This is the first of many moves to be made by the Red Sox this off season and I, like the rest of you, are very interested to see what's next.

Quick note: Anyone notice another former Red Sox player performing big out of Boston? Marco Scutaro was the NLCS MVP for the San Francisco Giants putting up ridiculous numbers. Didn't see that coming…

Second quick note: Was it a coincidence that John Farrell's official hiring and press conference came 10 hours before Bobby Valentine's "tell-all-interview" with Bob Costas?