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2B Daily News– Wednesday, October 24, 2012 2012 WORLD SERIES Farrell introduced as Red Sox manager BOSTON (AP) — Larry Lucchino cracked open a fortune cookie from the Chinese dinner that Red Sox officials and John Farrell shared during their final dis- cussion about Boston's managerial job. The message inside drew a chuckle from the team's president. ''One that I opened after everyone left was quite interesting,'' Lucchino said Tuesday. ''It said, 'you will solve a major problem that's very important to you.''' From that meeting at Lucchino's home Saturday night, also attended by owner John Henry and gen- eral manager Ben Chering- ton, the Red Sox are moving forward from their worst season since 1965 with a contributor to their World Series championship of 2007. Two days after announc- ing the hiring of Farrell, their pitching coach from 2007-10, the Red Sox intro- duced him at a news confer- ence. He succeeds Bobby Valentine, who was fired after one year and a 69-93 record. Farrell, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays the past two seasons, called Boston ''the epicenter'' of baseball. He's familiar with some players and members of the front office from his experi- ence with the team. He expects that to smooth his transition. But, he said, he won't take for granted his relationships with players. ''I will work my butt off to earn their trust, to earn their respect and create an environment in that club- house that is just that,'' Far- rell said. ''It's a trusting one. It'll be a learning one and, yes, it'll be a competitive one and, hopefully, a very successful one.'' Infographic by Digital First Media The San Francisco Giants, already having come back from a 2-0 hole in the NLDS, completed a giant comeback against the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals on Monday to reach the World Series. GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) ''I was excited just to be back on the field at the start of the season,'' Posey said Tuesday. ''I definitely appreciate this year just as much if not more. When I was here in 2010 it seemed like everything happened really, really fast. This year I had the chance to understand the difficulty of a long season and the ups and downs you have over the course of the year. It's something you want to enjoy while you're doing it and soak up every minute of it.'' Sam Francisco never really recovered from that blow and was unable to make it back to the postseason last year without its star catcher. But his presence at the start of spring train- ing this year set the tone for the entire season in San Francisco. He batted .336 to become the first catcher to win the NL batting title since the Boston Braves' Ernie Lombardi in 1942. ''For what he has been doing behind the plate for us has been tremendous all year,'' ace Matt Cain said. ''He has done such a great job from coming back from last year's injury to doing what he's doing this year. I don't think you can really put it into words what he's done. Not a lot of guys could do what he's done. That's a special talent.'' Posey added 24 homers, 39 doubles and 103 RBIs while manag- ing the pitching staff and dealing with the wear and tear of crouching each night behind the plate and absorbing the foul tips and balls in the dirt that making catching such an arduous chore. Bochy spelled Posey a bit by giving him 29 starts at first base, but both the Giants and Posey are adamant his future is behind the plate. ''We really treated him with kid gloves there early, and as we got deeper into the spring training I got more and more comfort- able with how much he could catch,'' Bochy said. ''This game is not that easy, especially when you miss as much time as he did last year and yet it didn't take him SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madi- son Bumgarner will pitch Game 2 of the World Series for San Francisco on Thursday, giving the Giants back-to- back lefties after Barry Zito goes in the opener against the Detroit Tigers. Righty Ryan Vogelsong will pitch Game 3 and Matt Cain will go in Game 4. Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum will remain in the bullpen, providing long to get into the flow of the game, get his tim- ing at the plate and get back to handling the pitching staff.'' Posey has been far from his best this post- season as teams have often tried to pitch around him in key spots to face his less danger- ous teammates. He bat- ted .178 the first two rounds with two homers and six RBIs, but it was his grand slam that broke open the clinching Game 5 of the division series. the World Series. With his boyish looks and supreme talent, Posey is almost a Bay Area version of New York Yankees great Derek Jeter, both herald- ed first-round picks who helped restore tradition- rich franchises to great- ness. And now he's back in They both won Rook- ies of the Year and World Series titles in their first seasons, quickly earning the respect of their veteran teammates. Both made it back to the Fall Classic in year three. Each man- age to avoid controversy while being his team spokesman. ''Buster is so profes- sional about how he goes about his business,'' Bochy said. ''There is a calmness about him, about the way he plays, very well prepared. He has the ability to slow down the game, and I think he leads by exam- ple on how he prepares and how he plays, and how he handles himself. So he's definitely a leader in this ballclub and guys feed off him.'' Posey is the face of the franchise and far dif- ferent from the last posi- tion player to hold that title in San Francisco. He is quintessential anti- Barry Bonds, quickly turning any praise toward him to his team- mates even if they may be less deserving. He was even one of the most outspoken Giants criti- cizing teammate Melky Cabrera this summer when the outfielder got suspended for testing positive for testosterone. ''The more you've played it's a little bit easier to be a leader,'' Posey said. ''I try to help guys any way I can. I want to contribute whether it's pointing something out you might see that somebody is Bumgarner for Giants Game 2, then Vogelsong, Cain options. The Giants are still finalizing their roster, though manager Bruce Bochy reiterated All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera will not be added. Cabrera received a 50-game suspension Aug. 15 for a positive testosterone test and was eligible to return for the NL championship series. San Francisco insisted he wouldn't come back this postseason. NASCAR Spring Cup Points Leaders 1. Brad Keselowski 2,250 2. Jimmie Johnson 2,243 3. Denny Hamlin 4. Clint Bowyer 5. Kasey Kahne 6. Martin Truex Jr. 7. Tony Stewart 8. Jeff Gordon 9. Matt Kenseth 10. Kevin Harvick 2,191 11. Greg Biffle 2,230 2,225 2,220 2,207 2,203 2,199 2,195 2,188 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,128 doing or whatever.'' When he was called up as a rookie, there were questions about how he called a game compared to veteran Bengie Molina. But he quickly earned the trust of most of the staff, although Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito threw pri- marily to backup Hector Sanchez this season. ''We work really well NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Denver 3 3 0 .500 170 138 Chargers 3 3 0 .500 148 137 RAIDERS 24 0 .333 113 171 Kansas City 1 5 0 .167 104 183 East N. England 4 3 0 .571 217 163 Miami WL T Pct PF PA Houston 6 1 0 .857 216 128 Indianapolis 3 3 0 .500 117 158 Tennessee 3 4 0 .429 149 238 Jacksonville 1 5 0 .167 88 164 North WL T Pct PF PA Baltimore 5 2 0 .714 174 161 Pittsburgh 3 3 0 .500 140 132 Cincinnati 3 4 0 .429 166 187 Cleveland 1 6 0 .143 147 180 NFC West together,'' starter Ryan Vogelsong said. ''He's real easy to work with. He's got a good idea of what he wants to do back there, and he's got a pretty good idea what I want to do on my end. He's great. He's one of the best I've ever thrown to.'' MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA y-QUAKES 19 6 8 65 71 42 x-Seattle 15 7 11 56 51 32 x-Salt Lake 17 11 5 56 46 35 x-Galaxy 15 12 6 51 58 47 x-Vancouver11 13 9 42 35 41 FC Dallas 9 13 11 38 40 45 Colorado 10 19 4 34 42 50 Portland 8 16 9 33 33 55 Chivas USA 7 18 8 29 22 56 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA y-Kan. City 17 7 9 60 40 26 x-D.C. 17 10 6 57 52 42 x-Chicago 17 11 5 56 45 40 x-New York 15 9 9 54 54 46 x-Houston 14 8 11 53 48 39 Columbus 14 12 7 49 42 43 Montreal 12 15 6 42 45 50 Philadelphia10 16 6 36 36 40 New England8 17 8 32 38 44 Toronto FC 5 20 8 23 35 60 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. x- clinched playoff berth y- clinched conference —————————————————— Today's game Philadelphia at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Saturday's games San Jose at Portland, 3:30 p.m. New York at Philadelphia, 10:30 a.m. New England at Montreal, 11 a.m. D.C. United at Chicago, 1 p.m. Houston at Colorado, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. Sunday's games Toronto FC at Columbus, 1 p.m. Chivas USA at FC Dallas, 4 p.m. Seattle FC at Los Angeles, 6 p.m. WL T Pct PF PA 49ERS 52 0 .714 165 100 Arizona 4 3 0 .571 124 118 Seattle 4 3 0 .571 116 106 St. Louis 3 4 0 .429 130 141 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 5 2 0 .714 205 137 Philadelphia 3 3 0 .500 103 125 Dallas 3 3 0 .500 113 133 Washington 3 4 0 .429 201 200 South WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 6 0 0 1.000171 113 N. Orleans 2 4 0 .333 176 182 Tampa Bay 2 4 0 .333 148 136 Carolina 1 5 0 .167 106 144 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 5 1 0 .833 162 78 Minnesota 5 2 0 .714 167 131 Green Bay 4 3 0 .571 184 155 Detroit Week 7 results Thursday's result San Francisco 13, Seattle 6 Sunday's results Oakland 26, Jacksonville 23, OT Dallas 19, Carolina 14 Green Bay 30, St. Louis 20 Houston 43, Baltimore 13 Indianapolis 17, Cleveland 13 Minnesota 21, Arizona 14 New England 29, N.Y. Jets 26, OT New Orleans 35, Tampa Bay 28 N.Y. Giants 27, Washington 23 Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 17 Tennessee 35, Buffalo 34 Monday's result Chicago 13, Detroit 7 Week 8 schedule Thursday's game Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 5:20 p.m. Sunday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 1:05 p.m. Atlanta at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Carolina at Chicago, 10 a.m. Indianapolis at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Green Bay, 10 a.m. Miami at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. New England vs. St. Louis at London, 10 a.m. San Diego at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Seattle at Detroit, 10 a.m. Washington at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 1:25 p.m. New Orleans at Denver, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game San Francisco at Arizona, 5:30 p.m. Open: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston 2 4 0 .333 133 150 —————————————————— WL T Pct PF PA 3 3 0 .500 120 117 N.Y. Jets 3 4 0 .429 159 170 Buffalo 3 4 0 .429 171 227 South