John Farrell's future already a hot topic

It didn’t take long for the subject to be broached and the question to be asked: should John Farrell, under contract for 2018, return as manager of the Red Sox next season?

Fresh off a season-ending 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 4 of the ALDS, the issue was raised almost immediately with the manager himself.

Asked if he considered himself the manager to get the Red Sox over the hump, Farrell responded: “Personally, yes. I feel confident in that. I know that we’ve got an opportunity to assess where we are as a team, I can’t begin to talk about what the off-season plans are and what changes may be realized, but there’s still a lot of good things that are going on here.

Pressed further on whether he expected to be back for a sixth season in the Red Sox dugout, Farrell seemed somewhat non-committal: “Again, we just walked off the field 10 minutes ago.’’

In the Red Sox clubhouse, there was support from players who vouched for the job Farrell has done in winning three division titles, including the last two in a row.

“I thought John did a great job,’’ said Dustin Pedroia, the longest-tenured player on the team. “We won the division. There was never any quit in this team. I’m proud of everybody in here. We dealt with a lot and our fight continued every single day. So, I know we didn’t achieve our goals, but I’m proud of how everybody went about their business and showed up for everybody and played to win.’’

“He’s done a great job,’’ echoed Mookie Betts. “No manager (in team history) has won back-to-back (divisional) titles. It just shows that he’s done a great job in managing personalities and putting us in position to win. He listens to us when we talk and it’s just one of those dynamics that he kind of fits well.’’

Farrell has frequently come under fire for his in-game strategy, and the final game of the season will likely offer critics fresh ammunition after the manager elected to send out Chris Sale for a fifth inning of relief in the eight rather than turn to set-up man Addison Reed.

Sale gave up a game-tying homer and was lifted four batters later for closer Craig Kimbrel.

“This is a game where you can second-guess everybody, every inning we play,’’ said Sale.“We play 162 games, nine innings every time and sometimes extra. So, there’s a lot of room for debate and wouldas and shouldas, but he gave me every opportunity to succeed and I can say the same for everybody (else) on this team.’’