As we learned last night and early this morning, the Red Sox and long-time manager Terry Francona are parting ways. Let's round up the latest on both the man and the team…
- White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper is pushing for Francona, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Cooper recently received a contract extension despite Ozzie Guillen's departure.
- "I'm not sure how much support there was from ownership, and I don't know that I felt real comfortable," said Francona during his press conference according to Mike Silverman of The Boston Herald (Twitter link).
- GM Theo Epstein acknowledged that he, John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino and Ben Cherington met with Francona today to discuss the 2011 season. "We all plan on taking some time to process the thoughts expressed in the meeting," Epstein said in a statement. "There are no immediate plans for an announcement.”
- Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal says that Francona and owners John Henry and Tom Werner all left Fenway Park after a 10am ET meeting this morning without making a comment. The meeting was held to discuss the team's future, and no official announcement has been made about Francona.
- Mike Lynch of WCTB TV in Boston reports that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told management that Francona wasn't working out six weeks ago because of a "lack of urgency." Francona was voted out 3-0 a few weeks later.
- Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says this is a truly mutual split, however (Twitter link). Francona would have been willing to stay on if some issues were worked out.
- There's a non-zero chance that Francona lands with the White Sox, but Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that they won't pay big money for a manager unless it's Tony LaRussa.
- In another tweet, Knobler says that an Epstein-Francona package seemed possible for the Cubs at one point, but he doesn't think it's likely now.
- Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun doesn't see Francona managing the Orioles next year for several reasons.
Please, Francona to the White Sox.
Don Cooper is smart to push for tito, just another reason to love cooper
I wish Tito nothing but the best. As a Red Sox fan, I am more upset today than I was on Wednesday when they lost and missed the playoffs. Tito did an amazing job while with Boston. Good luck Tito, if Chicago is you’re next stop, they are a very fortunate team. He is an intelligent manager with great visions of what it takes to win.
Tito, great player manager, great at handling the media. Not so great at handling and managing baseball games and way too loyal to veterans. I know you can only play the hand you’re dealt but throwing Wakefield out there to lose countless times before winning 200 and feeling the need to keep Lackey’s 6.4 ERA in the rotation is kind of troublesome and was ultimately very costly.
Who else were they able to turn to? Miller, Wieland? There wasn’t anyone.
Anyone in the minor league system would have been better then Lackey. If Red Sox fans were to place the blame on one player I think most would say John Lackey. He is the worst pitcher I have EVER seen in watching baseball (at least this year,) and he has one of the worst personalities, too.
The guys I named didn’t do much better. Doubrount was barely healthy, and there really wasn’t anyone else to turn to. Maybe Millwood, but they let him go.
When they had to decide whether to keep Wakefield or Aceves in the rotation they made the wrong choice keeping Wake in the rotation in my opinion, and then after Wakefield only got worse from that point it was another mistake not to move Aceves back to the rotation. Doubront was never given a chance to start, even in September when it was oh so painfully clear that Wake didn’t have anything left in the tank and Doubront was back and healthy at that point and could have pitched out in the rotation.
I’m not saying that any of it would have necessarily made a difference in the end, but not trying it was a mistake.
Sounds like you’re blaming Theo more than Francona.
I really don’t see this as a good move for the Red Sox and I also don’t see what happened as being his fault. He has done a tremendous job as manager in Boston and any team is lucky to get him that is for sure.
why is everybody protecting tito? in addition to having a “bullett proof” feeling about his job security, he had the team ill-prepared to start the season. failed to convey a sense of urgency as the season wound down. failed to motivate the team to win 8 games over a one month span to make the post season, allowed drinking in the club house during games, was mocked by a pitcher with an ERA approaching 7, and truly lost control of the team. this coupled with the fact that he WANTED to leave. thanks for everything tito, but the time has come…
I agree with your assessment of Francona’s faults but I am not sure there are managers available who can do better. All the best ones have jobs.
If he just wants some peace away from Boston I can respect that and tip my hat for the championships.
Watching Tito’s final press conference he was still defending his players and not really throwing them under the bus….he is a stand up guy and I will seeing him in the Sox dugout everyday. He is the best manager this team has seen and it is sad to see him go. To me I am disgusted it ended like it did. To have him say he did not feel like he was backed by management is horrible especially after all he did for them…Good luck to him and if he goes to the White Sox you guys are certainly getting a great manager and are lucky to have him.
If people are going to praise Tito for bringing Boston their first WS in 86 years, and another in ’07, then we also have to doubt his managerial decisions during this historic collapse. It is only fair to everyone else if that is how the fans are going to react. He is too much of a players manager to be able to control situations.. Drinking in the clubhouse? Really Terry? You can’t even stop something like that? I can understand an attitude problem, but drinking? That is unacceptable. It was a great 8 years, filled with its ups and downs, but the time has come. All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately this one came to a bitter ending. I appreciate everything that he has done for Boston, and wish him and his family nothing but the best (as long as that doesn’t interfere with the Sox winning, haha).
It is kind of hard to enforce anything when he did not feel like he had the support of management…If they aren’t going to support you then who is? The fact is the players let Tito down…they took advantage of him…and now he is no longer there…I hope they are happy…because the fact of the matter is he is the best thing that happened to them…and well they dug their own grave..
He is much appreciated. The clubhouse was just very different than what it used to be, and he had a very hard time adapting to that, changing in order to still be an effective manager. He could have been more disciplined, maybe sit some guys here and there when they needed to be taught a lesson. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that, as he is just not that kind of person. So, they are now ready to move on apparently, and bring in someone who can control the situation a little better.
His hands were tied as far as sitting players go…I mean John Lackey was the worse pitcher it Sox history this year and why was he still rolled out there? Theo did not do a good job of getting depth on this team AND he is making such a high salary that he could not justify sitting him to management who was paying Lackey to rocked every night. I think management is really just in it for themselves and not the good of the organization they need to stop worrying about padding their portfolios and start worrying about baseball. People do not go to Sox games for the game anymore its an event. It is all about the pink hats and it is really sad.
-Reddick is batting nearly .400 but he only plays about 40% of the time because Drew (.220), MacDonald (.179), and earlier, Cameron (.149), had to get their playing time and swings in at the plate while Josh sat. But he is a rookie, right?
Weiland comes up from P-tucket, and lasts 4 innings in his innaugural start, imploding after a couple of strong innings. His next outing, is a quality start, 6 innings, 3 runs, and they send him down to Pawtucket after the game, where he stayed until the September call up.
Yeah, I would be depressed too, if I were him.
That same weekend, Miller goes 5 strong innings against the Pirates but he was obviously tiring, leading 3-0. No matter, Tito sends him out for the 6th, and he gives up a 3-run dinger,..bam, Theo pulls him with score tied. Lets get that ERA up there right, John, Timmy?
Why does Tito play Drew in game #162? Before he went on the DL he was going through the motions, and, for a chest pull he is out of action for all of August and most of September. Drew, BTW went 0-4. Say good night, Irene. …
Salty has a “dinged shoulder” but Tito holds him out, in favor of the rookie, Lavarnway, on the final night of the season. This, even when Salty indicates he wants to play. Why?
Lavarnway went 0-4, batting 5th, and had numerous passed balls, drops, etc… during the game. Ryan’s a Yalie, good stick, rough behind the plate, should replace Veritek in 2012, but he had no business behind the plate in that critical situation. Maybe Tito was trying to demoralize the guy to save V-tek’s job in 2012. You think? Its possible.
There are countless other times when similar situations occured before Tito’s eyes and in his coniving brain, during the season. Great manager? Naw, he was just riding the tide letting all of his players do what they wanted, providing they weren’t a rookie…. This team should have won the AL east by 5-6 games.
Oh, and why are so many Red Sox players, like Ortiz, sent down to 2nd base to stretch a single into a double in critical situations thus messing up rallies? Tito’s buddy coaching on 1st, must be able to take catnaps while games are in progress.
IMHO, Tito secretly knew he was history weeks ago, and he purposly did what ever he could do to incur a loss against Baltimore in that final, critical game, all be it, ever so slyly. Its called payback, munione’!
One last thought, for Mainer, and others, the definitive history of the Red Sox during the Tom Yawkey era is here…….
books.google.com/books?id=lmwTAQAAIAAJ&q=Glen…
Yeah he tried to lose. Right.
Why is everyone calling him Tito all of a sudden
all of a sudden? we’ve always called him tito, its in honour of his father
His father is John P. “Tito” Francona, who played 14 seasons from ’56 to ’70. Terry has often been called ‘Tito’ in honor of him as was stated above. It’s a nickname he’s had for years
if you credit him with 2 world series, you have to blame him for two years of missed playoffs. it’s that simple
you shouldn’t do either of those things. he’s a very good manager, but all that means is that he keeps his players happy, handles the press effectively, and doesn’t screw a lot of things up on the field (lineups/bullpen). that’s pretty much the extent of a manager’s influence
in other words, this not a big deal. i’d have kept him around, but i can’t blame terry for wanting to go somewhere else. wherever he ends up, he’ll be very well liked. but the success of the teams he manages will depend on the teams themselves – just like it did in boston
Please Kenny Williams go get this man, and please Jerry Reinsdorf, spend big money on Francona. He is better than LaRussa!
but larussa would come with duncan
It looks like Tito saw potential writing on the wall and decided to end things on his terms. Good for him.
Where did all of the old comments on this thread go?
Tito will always been remembered as the man who delivered their first championship in 86 years. Thank you!
Despite that, to people who are saying that Red Sox are making the wrong decision, Francona’s departure was a mutual decision made by both sides. Some may not believe this and suspect that the front office forced him out. However, I believe it was truly a mutual decision. This year, more than any other year, there seemed to a true lack of chemistry in the team dugout…so I think Tito was not lying when he said he was frustrated with the inability to communicate with his players.
Being a Sox fan for well over 40 years now, Tito did a great job. He will be missed, but he himself said there were problems, and maybe new blood is needed in the clubhouse. The Yankees let Stengel and Torre go, and change is good. Tito needs a new environment too. That being said, laying blame should go to EVERYONE, from Theo, to Tito down MOSTLY to the underachieving players. There will be a shakeup in Boston. And it is needed. Unfortunately, I think the Sox are stuck with Lackey. A VERY expensive 5th starter at best. Bottom line, a lot of guys quit in Sept. and that to me for ANY team is unacceptable.
Its quite simple. Crawford, Lackey = Overpayed. One thing that has to exist in order for there to be success is chemistry & structure within the clubhouse. Its your house damnit, set the rules. If you don’t want there to be drinking in the clubhouse, don’t allow it. The 2003 team that won was real loose (which is probably a big contributer to them winning the series). Chemistry, Communication between everybody from top to bottom, & structure ensure a winning season. If I were him & I saw things in the clubhouse that were going on that probably shouldn’t be + the lack of help from management, yeah I think I’d wanna leave too. Good in your new venture Tito, whether it be in D.C. or somewhere in the windy city, I guarantee you’ll make 1 team very proud.