« Baghdad!=Stalingrad | Main | Beliefs »

August 11, 2006

Fire Francona

I have never been a fan of Terry Francona. Yes, I know he managed the Red Sox to their first World Series Championship since 1918, but I'm of the opinion they did that despite him, not because of him. And last night's odious performance is just one more example of the kind of dismal managing we endure under Francona.

The Sox came into last night in trouble. They'd dropped four of the first five games on their road trip and had lost the first two games of a three game series against woeful Kansas City. They needed a win badly. But their ace was on the mound, and after seven innings Schilling's arm and Wily Mo Pena's bat had staked the Red Sox to a 4-2 lead. Schilling had only thrown 89 pitches to that point, so I had no issue with Francona sending him back out to the mound. But as soon as he gave up the first double, Francona should have yanked him. Certainly when the tying run was on base Francona should have gone to the bullpen. And to leave Schilling out there to take the loss was, quite simply, unforgivable. With two innings to play and a two-run lead, there was no reason at all to leave Schilling out there in a game the Red Sox simply had to win. Yet, somehow, Francona pulled it off.

It's pretty clear at this point that the Sox are in 'wait til next year' mode. The loss of Tek and Trot, plus the psychological issue of failing to pick up any help at the trade deadline appear to have combined to take the wind out of their sails. If Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, and Manny Delcarmen live up to their potential, that will be survivable. It will be painful to miss the playoffs this year, but it happens. But if we're going to focus on next year, then we need to start by looking for a manager capable of making the right moves. Let's dump Francona overboard and find ourselves a manager who can actually be a net benefit to this team.