Just in case you don't make it by the park to check out Dice-K mania or the cool white Nike cape that Matsuzaka sports over his ice packs after the game, here's a piece on Sox pitching coach John Farrell from Metro's GameDay given out at the park. Farrell was a rising superstar within the Cleveland organization and is rapidly ascending here in Boston as well...it's only a matter of time before this guy gets the national recognition he deserves, because he has become a major asset to the Boston pitching staff and it's no coincidence they're second in the AL in ERA. Will post again after visiting with David Ortiz at the Jeremiah Burke school

Without further ado: 

Forgive Sox pitching coach John Farrell if he was busy with the mechanics of pitchers’ past and pitchers’ present when the Cleveland Indians came visiting this week.

Farrell was the Director of Player Development for the Indians until joining the Sox as their Major League pitching coach this off-season, and was in charge of roughly 140 players within the Cleveland system during his five-year tenure.

The 44-year-old enjoyed success with a “players’ first” mentality while overseeing the Tribe’s farm system, and has transferred that same ego-free mindset over to his duties with the Olde Towne Team.

“First and foremost, the way I view it is that the players always come first; it’s not about me but it’s about the players,” said Farrell. “I live every day with that as a motto as a coach and that’s what allows me to go out and spend that extra time with a player.

“To be on the front edge of a competitive event every night, that’s what brings out the fire in all of us and that was one of the basic reasons I took this opportunity [with Boston],” added Farrell. “To see a number of those players that I worked with [in Cleveland] in the minor leagues that are now up and taking advantage of opportunities…they impact coaches as much as we impact them. There have been a lot of late night conversations with those guys; to see them have success is very rewarding.”

Curt Schilling has given Farrell a huge helping from the credit pie for aiding him this season during an inevitable transition from classic power pitcher to a more complete mound craftsman, and the 44-year-old former Indians right-hander has had a profound impact on Sox hurlers all the way from Josh Beckett to Hideki Okajima.

The cerebral pitching guru was on the fast track to a general manager’s job while working in Cleveland’s front office, and Farrell’s former boss Mark Shapiro isn’t at all surprised to see Boston’s pitching staff among the best in baseball.

A great deal of owning the second best team ERA (3.66) in the American League is the considerable talent running out to the pitching rubber on a daily basis, but the pitching coach might have a modicum of involvement as well.

“I’m not surprised that [Farrell] has made an impact in Boston because he’s an impact guy,” said Shapiro, the current GM of the Indians. “He has a rare combination of attributes: character and integrity along with leadership skills, intelligence, work ethic and playing experience. It’s rare you have all of those things in one single guy.”

Farrell has been lauded for his diligence in developing Okajima’s “Oka-Doke” change up/split finger and keeping a watchful eye on the intricate mechanics of his twelve staff members, but it’s his efforts to reach each hurler on a personal level that’s been a difference-maker.

“With me I am a very emotional guy, so I have to stay calm and keep my mechanics in line in order to execute pitches. When I get out of line sometimes or I lose my control, I know I’m going to hear [Farrell’s] voice telling me to stay calm, stay within myself and execute,” said Sox lefty J.C. Romero. “In spring training it was a learning experience for both [Farrell] and for the pitchers, but I think things are coming along well and winning always helps everything.”