Red Sox and Francona "Part Ways"

[DatHoser]

SI Article

 

Is this just the first step in a minor rebuild?

[brains and braun]

Thought that I just read that he "wouldn't be the scapegoat..."

[RockCoCougars]

Why does Epstein get a pass? He's the one who wasted literally hundreds of millions on Quasimodo Lackey and Carl Crawford.

[monty57]

Because Epstein's the smartest man in the world, so he couldn't possibly do anything wrong.

 

Over-reaction is common in sports, and the same manager will be seen as wonderful when the team wins and terrible when the team loses. Heck, Roenicke is in line to get Manager of the Year, because somehow he was responsible for his pitching staff remaining relatively injury-free and throwing a 2-something ERA in the second half of the year.

 

Francona probably doesn't deserve to be fired, but the fans want a head on the chopping block, and ultimately the fans pay the bills. If the Sawx were to miss the playoffs next year, even uber-mind Epstein should probably start worrying about his job.

[jjfanec]

Any chance this means the team goes in a different direction with some of its aging stars this off-season? Ortiz is a FA and he wants a long-term deal. I wonder if they could open up the bank for Prince after a horrible end to a season like they had. We all know Prince really isnt a 1B. That would be one way to get the fan base excited again. Prince, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Ellsbury

 

After how they got burned the last couple signings with Lackey and Crawford I doubt they would do it, but I would be all for it since that would me a 1st rounder and a sandwich pick.

[sbrylski]

Francona wears Ben Franklin glasses, he was perfect for Boston and their old-timey stadium.

[Bikeage77]

It'd be hard to just let Ortiz go. While Pedroia or Ellsbury is on the rise, I still would consider Ortiz to be the face of the franchise. I don't think Prince would end up in Boston, but I guess anything is possible.

[dlk9s]

What a dumb move by Boston. As if it's Francona's fault that their pitchers couldn't get anyone out in September.

[TooLiveBrew]

Too bad the Brewers won't be in the market for a manager. Francona is a guy I think I'd like.

[pretendastronaut]

From what I've read, I'm not sure Francona has a huge fire to come back anyway. The decision isn't final yet, supposedly everyone is sitting down to discuss things first.

 

Also, Epstien has said that the fault doesn't fall on Francona, and that he shoulders responsibility as well.

[DatHoser]

The comment from Epstein strikes me as a warning shot to Sawx nation that there will be some "minor" changes. I wonder if they threw enough money at him, would Prince move to DH? He's said no all along, but with Boras nothing is out of the question.

[adamb100]

Silly to toss your manager over one bad month. This is the same manager that gave Boston 2 championships.

[topper09er]

If there was ever any doubt, now officially the Red Sox = Yankees. Their obnoxious fan base now demands playoffs or bust every single season and no playoffs but 90 wins means the team needs a complete overhaul.

[jmeks23]

Yeah seriously. Wasn't too long ago in Boston, everyone of their teams stunk, especially the Red Sox. Now they think they belong in the post-season and if they aren't there it's a tragedy.

[DatHoser]

Now there's a blurb that Epstein would "embrace the challenge" of taking over the Cubs gm spot. Couldn't (shouldn't?) all this wait until after the playoffs?

 

HBT link

[nate82]

Too bad the Brewers won't be in the market for a manager. Francona is a guy I think I'd like.

Francona as the Cubs manager for 2012 you can almost book it especially if Epstein is not going to be in Boston.

[pretendastronaut]

Talk of Epstein going to Chicago has been going on since it was official they would need a new GM. That's not new talk.

 

Also, supposedly Francona pushed for a decision sooner, rather than later, and he's not officially gone, with the club not picking up his option.

 

It sounds like a team of stars lacked some serious leadership;

 

http://bostonherald.com/s...iew.bg?articleid=1369880

[danzig6767]

It'd be hard to just let Ortiz go. While Pedroia or Ellsbury is on the rise, I still would consider Ortiz to be the face of the franchise. I don't think Prince would end up in Boston, but I guess anything is possible.

The problem there though is to bring Ortiz back, that puts Youkilis at third again next year where i really question if he suited for that anymore. He's much better suited for playing firstbase and i read somewhere that he also would prefer moving back to first.

 

As for Epstein, i could easily see him bolting to Chicago. With Boston spending money near like the Yankees, missing the playoffs is viewed as absolutely unacceptable. He has wasted a ton of cash over the years on the likes of Renteria, Lugo, Dice-K, Lackey, Drew, and Crawford for at least this last season, but if the Cubs would hire Theo, he'd walk into a less pressurized situation and if he won there the fans would treat him with hero worship after the Hendry years of mostly failure.

[Baldkin]

There is a 24% chance that Youk ends up in LF next year (with Crawford manning RF) JD Drew is a FA after this season. No way Youk moves to 1B and they DH Gonzalez, one of the premier defensive 1B in the game.

[kramnoj]

A manager's job boils down to just a couple of things, and one of them is to actually manage the players, and that isn't restricted to the field. Francona said that he wasn't as effective with some guys this year as he had been in the past. As is being discussed on another site, most managers have expiration dates with a team, and an epic collapse is good enough reason to make a change. Not just missing the playoffs (they missed the playoffs last year too), but missing it in such spectacular fashion.

 

Francona can clearly be an effective manager in the right situation (my first knowledge of him was when he was managing Michael Jordan down in the minors, and Jordan raved about him), but he hasn't won a playoff game in the last 3 years. That's not the kind of return one expects when spending the resources the Red Sox are.

[nate82]

There is a 24% chance that Youk ends up in LF next year (with Crawford manning RF) JD Drew is a FA after this season. No way Youk moves to 1B and they DH Gonzalez, one of the premier defensive 1B in the game.

Youk being the DH is probably more likely than anything else. There are some decent 3B options out there for next year that the Red Sox could go after like Ramirez. I think the Red Sox will try to get a trade done for an OF or put Lars Anderson out there.