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.