A roller coaster ride–summary of Terry Francona’s first season with the Red Sox. Loaded with exciting spins, flips, corkscrews, and turned stomachs, the Sox have learned to weather the storm, and now are in prime position to overtake the Yankees in the AL East. It has been a long, stressful journey for Francona, but the fruits of his labor may be finally paying off, as his Red Sox sit only 2 ½ games behind first place for the first time in a very long time this year.
So lighten up Bostonians, give your man a break, he deserves it. I’m sure Francona won’t be trohwing away any Game 7 leads any time soon.Aside from the infamous Grady Little, Terry Francona has been Boston’s most hated manager in the history of the Red Sox. This man has taken beatings from local press, national press, and even the so-called “talking TV heads” of ESPN. When morale was up in Boston, Francona was the smartest manager alive. When the going was tough, Francona was blatantly hated.
I ask: why? Why is Terry Francona so hated by the Sox fans? He kept his troops together through thick and thin, he dealt with the Nomar soap opera as any professional would, in secrecy, and his club is still in contention for the Division and Wild Card. Not many managers could’ve handled that kind of situation as effectively as Francona did. I think it’s about time to give this man his due, before his hair turns gray.
Being the manager of the Red Sox is no easy task. First off, you’re automatically dropped right in the middle of the most heated rivalry in professional sports, you’re expected to perform at an extremely high level, and the large media swirl surrounding the manager of the Boston Red Sox is very hard to overcome. Francona has handled the heat beautifully. And although he doesn’t have a winning record in four seasons as a manager, he’s a perfect long term fit for Boston. Hard as nails, and able to beat the Yankees, Francona is the quintessential Bo Sox manager.
Three weeks ago, the Red Sox weren’t even considering a shot at catching the Yankees in the East, now that idea is within their grasp. After an amazing start to the season where Boston took six of seven from the Yanks, reality began to set in. The Red Sox realized they don’t play good fundamental baseball. They also figured out that swinging as hard as you can every time you step up and not playing defense is not going to win you a pennant (lucky for the Sox, the Yankees were the same way). After the All-Star break, things started looking really ugly in Boston as Division hopes were quickly fading.
And then there was Nomar. This Hall of Fame caliber shortstop was left feeling cheated, and double-crossed entering the 2004 season. Being involved in trade rumors with the best player in baseball, then having the whole deal fall through didn’t leave Nomar with the best feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nomar wanted revenge, no matter what the front office may have said to cover it up. Nomar’s relationship with the Red Sox turned sour, and it showed up on the field. An otherwise solid defensive shortstop seemed to be playing lackadaisical defensive baseball having his worst defensive season to date. Now do you think there could be a coincidence? It just so happens that one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball is playing bad defensive baseball after his team vigorously tries to deal him away. But I digress.
Even with the back lashing, the menacing, and the down right disrespectful soap opera that is the Boston Red Sox, Terry Francona has survived, Boston has survived, and the only goal left in the cross hairs for Manny and Ortiz to blast at is a World Series victory. And at this rate, that may come sooner rather than later.
9 replies on “Terry Francona: give the man some love”
"Only goal left?" “The only goal left in the cross hairs for Manny and Ortiz to blast at is a World Series victory.”
I mean, the Sox are playing great, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They still have to overtake the Yankees for the division, and/or hold off the Angels for the wild card, just to MAKE the playoffs, and then win two playoff series against tough teams like the A’s, Twins, or Yanks to get to the World Series, against the best team in baseball, the Cardinals.
They have a few more short-term goals than simply winning the WS.
True but the Sox are a highly capable team with a lot of offensive firepower and a great rotation. If i hadnt already chose the Angels to win the World series (and im not goin bac on my word now) Boston would’ve been my second choice.
At the start of the season If you told me that the Red Sox wouldnt win the AL East, I’d call you nuts. With that roster, why isnt everyone so damn happy the Sox are making a run at the Yanks? They should be winning the AL East easily! Look at that lineup!
Talk about playing down expectations.
Not exactly The Sox do have a great lineup but its not like the Yankees dont. My expectations are about right at this point, only a few games out and in contention. The Sox also played crappy defense for 3/4 of the season.
Pitching The Red Sox have a loaded pitching staff, consisting of Pedro, Schilling, Lowe, and Wakefield, while the Yankees were slated to start Esteban Loiaza and Brad Halsey in its doubleheader today. With Pedro and Schilling pitching three-four times a week, the Red Sox should have taken the division a long time ago.
defense but not with the defense they were playing, they werent going anywhere. After the Nomar deal, the Sox began to gain some ground on NY.
How Rude — Yes I agree with the part about letting Terry manage, but the rude insults in the opening paragraph were not only rude but offensive. So what if he rocks when he’s sitting! Some people bite their nails, big deal.
I Love Terry — Plane and simple, Terry is the best.
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Wrong Article — But I agree with you. I read the same article you are talking about, and was also offended. Terry was awsome player, and is now a great manager.