Multiple sources are reporting this morning that Terry Francona's time is up as the manager for the Boston Red Sox. This coming on the heels of the historic September collapse that saw the Red Sox lose 19 games. On Thursday, Francona and Theo Epstein addressed the media. Epstein went on record to state that "Nobody blames what happened in September on Tito. Collectively it was a failure." But it would seem that Tito's head will be the first to roll. Sure, they (the Red Sox) will do it as diplomatically as possible, by not picking up Francona's option for 2012. But is that not the same as firing the man? Anyone watching this team would tend to think it is.
Francona has been managing the Red Sox since the 2004 season. He brought the ball club 2 championships in 8 seasons (2004 & 2007.) While watching the press conference yesterday it became evident that Tito was uncomfortable being there. He had a scowl on his face and answered minimal questions.
Details have been slowly emerging this morning as to some of the things Francona was increasingly upset about in his own clubhouse. It has been reported by the Boston Herald's John Tomase, citing multiple sources, that more than one pitcher drank beer in the clubhouse on days he did not pitch. This called their professionalism into question. It has also been vastly reported that this team bought their own hype and held a feeling of entitlement, which lead to their ultimate demise.
Francona has been steering this ship for 8 seasons. He has been successful and has brought 2 World Championships to Boston. To me, this is an absolute shame if he in fact is let go. This team has undergone some serious transitions since the days of the "idiots" and it is vastly apparent. I do believe some major changes need to occur, but similar to that of the Boston Celtics and Doc Rivers, I feel it is vital to have a manager like Francona in place to help guide the team through this transition period. It appears that Epstein and ownership feel differently.
It's been fun, Tito. It's been fun.
A historic demise like this calls for heads to roll. Tito, pitching coach, conditioning coach, and Theo are just the beginning. Keep hearing what an ass Youk is and has been. So ship him out too. Take a flame thrower to this group of overpaid losers and start again. And start frantically calling anybody in the Rays' organization and see if they want a job.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it’s funny. I was listening to the radio yesterday and they were talking about the possibility of blowing this team up and what they would do. I think we are starting to see the tip of that iceburg. Tito is gone and will probably end up as the manager of the Chicago White Sox; I think it is a good landing spot for him. I also think we will see Theo as the GM of the Chicago Cubs. It will be a promotion for him, GM and VP of Baseball Operations.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the team goes: I love Youk. I do. But he is not as good of a third baseman as he is first basemen. He is also oft-injured. I think, with his club-friendly contract you may see him be traded to a team in need of a 1B/DH type of player. This could be AL losers in the Pujols/Fielder race. Oddly enough, he could ALSO end up in Chicago as a Cub, while Carlos Pena was there on a one-year deal.
John Lackey needs to go. Period. The brass will get rid of him and eat most of his contract. They cannot bring this guy back. I also think they will try to pull a trade for Crawford, though I don’t agree with it. I also think Ortiz will be gone. Varitek will be gone. Wakefield will be gone.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see: Beckett, Scutaro, Papelbon all gone as well. There are a small handful of players that I think will be safe: Gonzalez, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Saltalamacchia, Lavarnway, Lester, Buchholz, Bard… aside from that, we could see a very, very busy offseason.