CLEVELAND -- Boston manager John Farrell had just finished explaining to reporters why the Red Sox had lost to the Indians again, and as he walked down the dark concrete corridor that leads from the interview room to the visitors' clubhouse, Cleveland manager Terry Francona was coming in the other direction.
The two men are close friends and speak all the time, to the point that on Thursday afternoon, before the Division Series between the two teams began, Francona had stopped by Farrell's office to say hello and talk about a lot of stuff other than baseball. But after the Indians wrecked the Red Sox again in Game 2, there was no time to chat, and even if there was, you wouldn't have blamed Farrell for bypassing the opportunity to relive the two-day carnage, even with somebody who understands first-hand the vortex Farrell must now inhabit as the Red Sox's manager.