Thoughts on John Farrell...and the Manny rumors

I don't really know that much about him. I do know from being forced to listen to Red Sox games on my drive home from work that he has a good reputation in Boston. Players seem to enjoy playing for him and he was held in high regard for his work with the developing pitchers on the Boston staff. That being said, Manny Ramirez said he would like to play for a manager like Farrell and that scares me a bit. I'm not sure Manny being in your corner is something you would put on your resume. Otherwise I'm happy with the move. Toronto's one chance to be competitive in the near future is to develop our young pitching and Farrell can help with that. I like that he brought back Walton and Butterfield, I like that he indicated that he might even consider a bunt once in awhile, and I like that Toronto didn't overspend to get a big name creep like Bobby Valentine.
Now, back to Manny. Manny has gone on record saying he likes John Farrell, would like to play for a manager like him, and had liked Toronto since the 80's when the franchise heavily tapped the Dominican Republic for players. Now these were just offhand comments which will undoubtedly translate into nothing, but it's fun to consider. I'm sure, like everyone else, my initial reaction was "Oh God, please NO". But after thinking about it, I don't know......IF Manny is healthy, IF Toronto doesn't need to break the bank to sign him, IF he agreed to a one year contract.....Manny sure would look good in the middle of our lineup. The A.L. East is heavy with quality lefthanded starters. Lester, Price, Sabathia, Pettite, and (let's just face it) Cliff Lee. A 3-4-5 of Bautista, Ramirez, and Wells would even the playing field quite a bit. Granted, this is assuming Manny has something left and isn't completely washed up which I don't think he is. Besides, I can't imagine even a washed up Manny Ramirez not bettering the offensive numbers of Lyle Overbay. Yeah he's a headache, yeah Adam Lind will never be Overbay at first base, yeah at some point Manny will decide he's done enough and want to go home....but a one year, incentive-heavy contract? I think I'd do it.