Wolf Hopper
11-30-2003, 09:06 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/141173p-125188c.html
Let's see if we got this right: The Red Sox fired Grady Little as their manager because he was too much of a players' manager and allowed Pedro Martinez to make perhaps the most critical decision in the franchise's history. But now, as one of the key selling points in convincing Curt Schilling to waive his no-trade clause and come to them for a two-year, $24 million contract extension, the Red Sox are hiring Terry Francona, the pitcher's former manager with the Phillies.
When the deal came down that was to send Schilling, 37, from Arizona to the Red Sox for what amounts to be lefty Casey Fossum and a lot of minor-league jetsom, the Red Sox were quick to make note that Francona, who was fired by the Phillies in 2000 after four straight losing seasons (285-363 overall), had somehow emerged as their first choice to succeed Little. What made this even more hyprocritical on the Red Sox' part was them bringing in Texas first base coach DeMarlo Hale - the only minority candidate they interviewed - last Tuesday at the same time they were so much as telling Schilling "come to us and it'll be your guy." Hale must have had a delightful interview.
Francona will be officially named the new Boston manager on Tuesday and all you can say to that is: Will the Red Sox ever get it? Francona is a nice guy (what was it Leo Durocher said about them?), very personable and undoubtedly a willing advocate of Sabermatics, which the Red Sox brass has made a primary requisite for its manager. The players all liked him in Philadelphia. They just didn't play for him, and anyone who was around the Phillies those four years will attest to Francona being in severely over his head.
Nevertheless, the Red Sox brass is clearly going for it all next year with a bust-the-budget roster that is banking on two aging and delicate starting pitchers - Martinez and Schilling - to do the heavy lifting for them. After 2004, their core players - Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Martinez, and Trot Nixon - are all free agents and likely to be gone. In the meantime, though, the pamper-the-superstars, country-club environment goes on in Boston as now the newest Red Sox supertstar has brought in his own manager with him.
Agree or disagree?
Let's see if we got this right: The Red Sox fired Grady Little as their manager because he was too much of a players' manager and allowed Pedro Martinez to make perhaps the most critical decision in the franchise's history. But now, as one of the key selling points in convincing Curt Schilling to waive his no-trade clause and come to them for a two-year, $24 million contract extension, the Red Sox are hiring Terry Francona, the pitcher's former manager with the Phillies.
When the deal came down that was to send Schilling, 37, from Arizona to the Red Sox for what amounts to be lefty Casey Fossum and a lot of minor-league jetsom, the Red Sox were quick to make note that Francona, who was fired by the Phillies in 2000 after four straight losing seasons (285-363 overall), had somehow emerged as their first choice to succeed Little. What made this even more hyprocritical on the Red Sox' part was them bringing in Texas first base coach DeMarlo Hale - the only minority candidate they interviewed - last Tuesday at the same time they were so much as telling Schilling "come to us and it'll be your guy." Hale must have had a delightful interview.
Francona will be officially named the new Boston manager on Tuesday and all you can say to that is: Will the Red Sox ever get it? Francona is a nice guy (what was it Leo Durocher said about them?), very personable and undoubtedly a willing advocate of Sabermatics, which the Red Sox brass has made a primary requisite for its manager. The players all liked him in Philadelphia. They just didn't play for him, and anyone who was around the Phillies those four years will attest to Francona being in severely over his head.
Nevertheless, the Red Sox brass is clearly going for it all next year with a bust-the-budget roster that is banking on two aging and delicate starting pitchers - Martinez and Schilling - to do the heavy lifting for them. After 2004, their core players - Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Martinez, and Trot Nixon - are all free agents and likely to be gone. In the meantime, though, the pamper-the-superstars, country-club environment goes on in Boston as now the newest Red Sox supertstar has brought in his own manager with him.
Agree or disagree?