A lot of people in baseball think that Terry Francona is crazy for taking the Indians job, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd). However, the skipper knew that Cleveland was where he wanted to be thanks in large part to his strong relationships with GM Chris Antonetti and president Mark Shapiro. In fact, Tito showed how much he wanted the job by handing the club a 16-page breakdown of their team, the organization, and what he envisions for their future. Earlier this afternoon, the Indians formally introduced Francona as their next manager. Here are some highlights..
- Francona was asked if he came to Cleveland in part because he preferred a smaller market as opposed to his previous stops in Philadelphia and Boston, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The skipper insisted that he wasn't looking to avoid the pressures of a big market but instead came to Cleveland because he's not "afraid of a challenge." He added that he was treated well by the media in Boston for the most part.
- The skipper said that negotiations for his four-year deal "took about ten minutes", according to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
- Acknowledging the challenge that he will be faced with, Francona said that he's in it for the long haul, Hoynes tweets. "I don't want to be a rental manager. I want to be part of the solution. I want to stick around," said Francona.
- Antonetti and Francona have talked to Sandy Alomar Jr. several times about a coaching job, but Alomar still isn't sure if its a good fit, tweets Hoynes. Meanwhile, Antonetti expects to get calls on Alomar about managerial vacancies this winter (Twitter link).
- Francona plans to keep Justin Masterson in the starting rotation next season, tweets Hoynes. Masterson turned in a 4.93 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 34 starts last season.
I wonder which of all these future managers we talk about (Alomar, Da. Martinez, Sandberg, Ausmus, etc) won’t ever get an opportunity to manage at the big league level. You always hope there’s a spot for them somewhere.
If the Blue Jays don’t give up Farrell, I could see the Red Sox being a lot more interested in Alomar than they were previously. I think a guy like Alomar would be a great fit for them right now. They need a guy with mutual respect, which Alomar, as a former great, will command and give, and who will manage with tact, which you imagine a first year manager and a class act like Alomar would do.
The Marlins will survey the field as well, I imagine, and the Rockies are now looking. And hey, if the Jays do give up Farrell, there’s yet another vacancy. The Phillies will probably part ways with Manuel after next season, it seems, so there’s another. I think there will be plenty of openings in the very near future for this pack.
Further down the road, if the Astros don’t turn it around reasonably quickly, there could be openings in about three years there. Will Dusty Baker’s age and health concerns grow larger? The Reds could be looking in the near future if so. One season out of the playoffs could end Joe Girardi too, in a market like New York. There’s room for all of these guys to get a shot at some point.