Red Sox to keep Farrell despite quick ALDS exit

BOSTON -- In the end, it really wasn't much of a decision.

John Farrell will return to manage the Red Sox next season, and if president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is to be believed, it was such a no-brainer that he casually gave the news to Farrell in the less than 10 minutes between their respective season-ending news conferences Tuesday at Fenway Park.

"I just thought that, for me, John has done a fine job this year," Dombrowski said less than 24 hours after the Red Sox were swept out of the AL Division Series by the Cleveland Indians. "I've been happy with working with him myself. I think he has the respect of the clubhouse. We played hard. I thought we had a good season. We…