Francona out as Boston Manager

I was wondering how no one else noticed this.

 

Sorry, Gator. Fox News started hate journalism back in '96.

 

Me too lol.

 

You may or may not. But there are probably 100 people on here that have deeper sources within the organization.

 

The best part was that the BR link didn't even back up his story. His line was that it was done. The BR column says "Will it cost him his job?"

Way to back yourself up.

 

"lol" should get you expelled too.

 

I kind of saw this coming after the Red Sox missed the playoffs.

Whether one thinks it was his fault of not, it's certainly how the Red Sox and most teams work.

I thought he used Bard a 'tad' too much, but he can't be blamed for passed balls, poor starting pitching or errors on the field. If a manager makes a mistake using one reliever, it doesn't create a 7-20 month. The team lost this, not the manager. If anyone should have to justify his job, it should be Epstein who gave Francona a weak bullpen, an overpaid outfielder and no answer for Lackey.

Anyone who was surprised by John Lackey's season hasn't been paying attention. He was a #2 or #3 quality pitcher at best when the Red Sox signed him. All that talk about the Red Sox having 2 or 3 ace pitchers was just marketing garbage. Lackey was at one time an ace on a pitching staff that was crap, and he wouldn't be an ace anywhere now. There were red flags about Crawford, such as an OBP that is way too low, but they were ignored because people liked his "all-around" skills, even though his average WAR/season was just a little over 3. These are two giant contracts that the Red Sox are stuck with for a long time. Epstein went on tilt chasing big names, and now the Red Sox are paying for it.

I'm sure he'll land somewhere soon because he did manage 2 champions and a lot of winning teams.

 

Still waiting on something concrete ... Personally, I hope there's plenty of backtracking and egg on faces.

 

Bandwagon Boy is reporting that he has better sources inside the Red Sox and that skiptomylou2 is a looser

 

Can we just change the headline of this idiotic thread until there's something to actually say? Add a question mark at the end or something? Just a message board, I know, but how stupid does it have to be?

ps, Sox say no decision, according to NYTimes:

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/red-sox-no-decision-yet-on-franconas-future/

 

Oh really? They pay Carl Crawford that much cash and he sucks it up for 162 games and then makes a weak fielding play to lose the last game. Adrian Gonzalez fell off the map in the final couple months. Papelbon started blowing saves. Even after their poor start, they were still NINE GAMES AHEAD of Tampa on Sept. 2. For a guy who won not one but two World Series in a town where futility was commonplace for over 80 years, this is not how it should have ended for him -- even if it reportedly is his choice to step down. There comes a time when the players have to perform and live up to the expectations and the contracts.

I heard an interesting anecdote by Jackie MacMullen yesterday, when she said that Boston became exactly what they hated about the Yankees' "Evil Empire" and they only have themselves to blame. I'd agree with that, and by "themselves" it means everyone from Epstein to Francona to Crawford to Papelbon. The whole organization.