I like that he took Pomeranz out after 5 innings. The stat sheet (78 pitches, 1 ER) suggested keeping him in, but:

1) he was very fortunate to get out of there with one earned run
2) his velocity is down into the 85-87 range
3) If you want any chance of having a decent Pomeranz for the playoffs, you have to manage his innings right now. He is 40+ innings over his prior season high. The team has him for two more years after this, and would like to be able to rely on him for a quality 150+ innings next year.

I'm not as anti-Farrell as many here appear to be. He's been giving everybody days off over the last few weeks, Kimbrel and Uehara look fantastic, Porcello has been amazing, and how can you not be excited about an outfield in 2017 of Benintendi, Bradley, and Betts, with Bogaerts and Moncada on the left side of the infield, and Pedroia and Hanley on the right side? The team has integrated an awful lot of young talent while winning 90+ games, and Farrell has to get some credit for that. Also, he didn't allow Panda's contract to get in the way of starting Shaw this year. Overall, I've got no complaints.

Some of these moves seem to be influenced by the expanded rosters as much as they are by a playoff mentality.

SBPT - The one thing I'll say is I don't think Moncada is your third baseman next year, at least to start. He looks very much like a guy who would do well at AAA. It seems to me that the best thing that a hitter can gain at AAA is some experience about off speed stuff. A lot of the pitchers there seem to be guys who don't have the fastball to handle the bigs and have to get by with deception. Moncada looks like a guy who would benefit from dealing with that kind of pitcher for a few months at least.

Nate - I'm sure that played into it but at the same time I think he deserves credit for using the roster well. Just as an example, I think Showalter is a top notch manager but how on earth does he let a LOOGY like Hart face Ramirez in a one run game the other night? Having the expanded roster doesn't mean you can't make mistakes and I think Farrell has generally avoided errors the last several weeks.

I think Showalter is a top notch manager but how on earth does he let a LOOGY like Hart face Ramirez in a one run game the other night?

Or how does he leave his righty starter in to face Ortiz in the 7th with guys on base?