Terry Francona Should Replace Tony LaRussa

Take a good look St. Louis, this is the man that will steer the ship for the Cardinals in the 2012 season.

Sure, I have heard plenty of rumors regarding Terry Francona and what he may do next season. There has been rumblings about Tito joining Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer in Chicago. There has been talk about Tito taking a year off. There has been talk of Tito doing T.V. for a year. I don't think that any of those options are realistic. When it comes down to it, Terry Francona is the perfect candidate to take over for Tony LaRussa.

No matter what, replacing Tony LaRussa is going to be very difficult. I have heard the rumors that third base coach Jose Oquendo is primed to take over for LaRussa. Rumor has it that Pujols will only return to St. Louis if Oquendo is the coach. Guess what? Pujols will return to St. Louis if they give him the best deal.

Period.

Other names that have been floated to take over for LaRussa: batting coach Mark "Big Mac" McGwire as well as Chicago Cubs legend and current AAA coach for the Phillies, Ryne Sandberg. Here is the deal with McGwire, the guy was a hell of a baseball player, albeit with steroids later in his career, but overall, he was a great player. He came out, apologized for taking banned substances and has quietly been trying to gain a positive reputation back in Major League Baseball. I respect that. I just don't see him being ready to take over for a Major League Club yet.

Ryne Sandberg on the other hands, as you know if you've read any of my posts before, I would love to see in Boston. With my Boston argument, I have the same reasoning why he will not be coaching in St. Louis - the Cubs would be foolish NOT to hire him to be the coach in 2012.

Sure, there are other names out there that could replace LaRussa, but not many have as good of a record as Francona posts. While LaRussa coached for 2,728 wins and 2,365 losses over a 35 year career that saw him coach just 3 different teams, the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals. LaRussa chalked up 6 pennants and 3 World Series Titles with his .536 winning percentage.

In his 12 years coaching just 2 Major League clubs (The Phillies and Red Sox), Terry Francona has coached 1,029 wins and 915 losses, or a .529 winning percentage. It is worth noting that while in Boston, Francona had a .574 winning percentage and in that same time frame, LaRussa's Cardinals posted a .554 winning percentage.

Terry Francona will be loved in St. Louis, both by the players (as he is very much a players manager to the end) and by the fans/media. Tito is always very candid and open about his coaching, and in a baseball town like St. Louis, they will love having a guy like Francona whose life IS baseball leading the charge.

If St. Louis manages to bring back Pujols and sign Terry Francona on as their manager in 2012, this team has a legitimate chance of repeating as World Series Champions.

The Time Has Come

Dustin Pedroia has to emerge as the true leader of the Boston Red Sox. There is no room for debate. From the reports circulating now regarding the true downfall of the 2011 Boston Red Sox, Pedroia is one of only a small handful of players that look to be a bright spot on the organization. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

In this mornings Boston Globe, Bob Hohler unveiled details surrounding the firing of Terry Francona, drinking in the clubhouse and the general malaise of the Red Sox late in the season. There was no leadership on this team. Those that in the past stepped up for their team sat idly by while disorder and disunion overran the clubhouse.

As a fan, there are many players that I am ashamed of after having read this article. Though I was never a fan of John Lackey, I now have reason to dislike he, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. As it has been reported previously, questions of drinking in the clubhouse had arisen after the collapse. Now, names are being given. Apparently, Lackey, Lester and Beckett had a habbit of drinking beer, ordering fast-food fried chicken and biscuits, and playing video games during games. They became fat and lazy.

There are no rules against drinking beer, ordering food, or even playing video games in the Red Sox clubhouse. What the trio (occasionally joined by Clay Buchholz) did was violate an unwritten rule of not just baseball, but all competitive team sports: Support your teammates; especially in times of crisis. According to Hohler and his sources, the trio started this routine in late 2010 and on top of continuing this trend in 2011, they also cut back on their exercise regimentation despite appeals from the teams strength and conditioning coach Dave Page.

The one thing I will not agree with or endorse in his article is what Hohler writes about Francona. I believe the air is clear for him. Dealing with players that in essence just gave up on you is by no means an easy task and I feel that part of this article can be taken as kicking the man while he's walking out of town. Terry Francona brought this city two World Series championships and dealt with personalities like no other manager has had to overcome, (insert random Manny Ramirez joke here) while pushing his players forward.

This team needs to be looked at from the top to the bottom and players need to be set free, or traded. There are only four players that I feel entirely comfortable bringing back after having read this article. Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Papelbon and Dustin Pedroia. Take the "C" off of Jason Varitek's chest. He no longer deserves it. He failed to step up and be the captain. He brushed aside his leadership role and became an observer. As did David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Those three men were all players that I thought very highly of, whose character is now definitely in question in my book.

Speaking of leadership, where was Adrian Gonzalez in all of this? The new poster-child for the Boston Red Sox came off as productive, bust soft. In this market you cannot be soft. Complaining about playing five Sunday night games will not win you over with the Boston fans or media. Sure, you may not have much time invested in this team, but you just got a huge contract and were pretty much granted a key to the city of Boston. You need to be a leader on this team and talk sense into these players that think they can do whatever they want. Not in my city. Not on the team I love.

It is time for Dustin Pedroia to become the official Captain of the Boston Red Sox. Give him the "C" on his chest. Pedroia is quoted as saying, "I just know that playing in Boston, you're required to play your tail off every day to try to win ballgames for this city. That's what hurt so much as a player, that we not only let each other down in the clubhouse but we let the city down." Pedroia gets it. His time has come to be the unenviable voice of the Boston Red Sox. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Tito Looks to be the Scapegoat After All

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.