Terry Francona... the greatest manager in Red Sox history

That's the only way Francona should EVER be referred to by a Red Sox fan.
Yes he inherited a good team that could have won the 2003 pennant had Grady Little not been the manager.

Sometimes, despite what Billy Beane and the producers of Moneyball think, the manager DOES matter.

Sometimes part of a managers job isn't to check up the latest VORP or WAR or whatever algebra is trendy now. Sometimes it is managing the egos, the pressure and the media market.

Little wasn't the guy. He proved that not with the Red Sox but when the Dodgers fell apart under his watch.

Francona learned from his rocky tenure managing the Phillies and became Joe Torre lite in Boston. Doesn't get too high or low. Manages the insane Boston media and a fan base that was literally about to commit mass suicide in the wake of 2003.

And the city was going to burn to the ground when they were down 0-3 to the Yankees with Rivera on the mound. And Francona had the calmness and peace of mind to give Dave Roberts a wink when he came in to pinch run for Millar.

This guy was different.
He didn't bring in Jim Burton instead of Dick Drago in the 9th inning of Game 7 like Darrell Johnson did in 1975.
He didn't bench Bill Lee in favor of Bobby Sprowl and wear Butch Hobson and Carlton Fisk down the stretch like Don Zimmer did in 1978.
He didn't bring Calvin Schraldi into every pressure situation in 1986 like John McNamara did.
He didn't make a series of absolutely bizarre decisions long before he left Pedro in too long like Grady Little did.

He made the right ones.
He pushed Keith Foulke and Curt Schilling.
He out managed Joe Torre BADLY in 2004.

He won 95 games the next season without a reliable 3, 4 or 5 starter nor a decent closer.

He came back from 3-1 AGAIN in 2007, never losing faith in struggling J. D. Drew and having it pay off with his series turning Grand Slam in Game 6 against Cleveland.

And he nearly came back from ANOTHER 3-1 hole against Tampa in 2008.

Yes Joe Cronin won more games as a Red Sox manager, but Cronin never had to manage with the pressure of the 24 hour media.

Cronin never had the burden of the Curse.

And Cronin never won ONE World Series, let alone TWO!

Francona's main job was to manage the clubhouse and the media. And he felt he couldn't do it anymore and he is gone.

The 2011 collapse wasn't Francona's fault. The blame should lie on the front office who assembled this mismatch of players.

But Francona, oozing with class right until the end, took responsibility and blamed nobody but himself.

He will wind up somewhere else. (Baltimore? The White Sox? The Cubs? The Astros?) But he should have been a Red Sox lifer.

I really thought a third pennant would put him in a Hall of Fame discussion. Maybe it will.

But when he returns to Fenway in another uniform, there had better be a 20 minute standing ovation for him.

We wanted one title before we died.
Tito made sure we had two.

I for one will miss our manager.

Dick Williams, a man who could breathe life into dead teams

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams died today... and if you are a fan of the Red Sox, A's or Padres, you should toast him tonight.

Dick Williams was more than a great manager. He was more than someone who took three different teams to the World Series.

He raised teams from the dead.

It's hard to believe this now, but there was a time when the Boston Red Sox were a dead franchise with poor attendance and non contenders.
They had losing seasons every year from 1959 to 1966, including 100 losses in 1965.

Dick Williams took over the club and they went to their first World Series in 19 years. And the Red Sox were revived. You can trace the love for Fenway and the romance of Red Sox Nation to the magical summer of 1967.

When he went to the A's, they hadn't been relevant since Connie Mack was manager. They never had a winning season in Kansas City and the 1971 A's was the franchise's first October since 1931.

He inherited a talented team but he made them an All Time team. The A's won back to back titles under Williams and they went on to win a third title.

In 1977 after a failed turn with the Angels, Williams took over an Expos team that never had a winning season in their first 8 years of existence. By 1979 they were a 95 win club with future Hall of Famers Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez at the core. A non factor franchise became a legit pennant contender and the Expos had their greatest years and drew their most fans.

Then he took over the Padres, another nondescript franchise with no history nor success. Between the Padres first season in 1969 and Williams arrival in 1982, the Padres had a grand total of one winning season and never finished above 4th place.

By his third season, the Padres were a 90 win team and won the 1984 NL West title, then stunned the heavily favored Cubs to give San Diego their first World Series appearance.

Later he took over the Mariners, another hopeless franchise. For a while it looked like he was going to do the same thing there with talented players like Mark Langston, Mike Moore, Jim Presley, Alvin Davis, Harold Reynolds, Danny Tartabull and Phil Bradley on the roster. But alas it didn't work out in the Pacific Northwest.

If only he stuck around for two more seasons in time for the arrival of Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson in 1989!

He was a Hall of Famer and one of the great managers of all time.

And you can certainly NOT say he took easy jobs.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Williams.

On a side note, we both appear in the great movie "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey" and in fact we both appear in this trailer for the film.
My vague connection to an All Time great manager.

I have nothing against Brad Mills but...

The All Star break can be very cruel for slumping managers. It is a natural transition time and a point where if a change has to be made, it will be as smooth as it can be.

Which brings us to Brad Mills.
It is NOT his fault that the Astros suck, but MAN they are a big ole pile of suck.

Their pitching sucks, their bullpen is Godawful and I hate to say it, but they may have to deal Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn. They might be the only chips that have any value. If they can flip two players for a pair of players each, they might have four players to build from.

Either way, the Astros are the worst team in baseball.

They look like they have a clear run at the #1 pick over all in next June's draft.

And oh yeah. They have a new owner coming in.

All of these point to Brad Mills having to get his resume ready.

I am not saying he's not a good baseball mind. He clearly is with his time on Terry Francona's coaching staff.

I am not saying he isn't a potentially good manager.

And I am not blaming him for the current state of the Astros.

All I am saying is when the worst team in baseball enters the All Star break knowing that new owners are on their way, it is a rotten chain of events for the current manager.

The current ownership gets to show the fans that they are still trying and the new ownership would have no issues dumping an interim manager.

If he had a long track record, then he might be safe. But it is easier to dump someone with only a year and a half on their resume.

What I'll say is this: Brad Mills will probably get axed and will eventually get another managing gig. (If Jim Riggleman and his nondescript resume was good to get hired over and over again, then Brad Mills will do fine.)

And one more thing.

Astros bench coach Al Pedrique might be getting a new gig!

When a manager gets canned, they usually take a look at the bench coach to take over temporarily. Bittersweet but good news for Al!

And guess what? He has managerial experience. When the Diamondbacks dumped (unfairly in my view) Bob Brenly, Pedrique managed the team the rest of the way in 2004.

He wasn't exactly John McGraw. He went 22-61 in those 83 games, but hey! He wasn't dealing with a great team either.

Hey great win, Jim! Jim?.... JIM?!

I admit that I haven't been kind to Jim Riggleman on the pages of Sully Baseball.

I questioned the reasoning of dumping Manny Acta for Riggleman and his less that sterling resume.

And I thought he was doing baseball a disservice when he benched some of his starters in critical stretch run games.

Well now he has the Nats playing on a roll and they have crawled back up to .500.

And what does he do?
He quits.

Now there are already articles being written in his favor and who knows? Maybe the Nationals organization IS a mess.

But I'm sorry. Why should the Nationals offer Riggleman more years? Even with the team above .500 now, he's been a big league skipper over 12 different seasons. In the 11 ones before this one has a grand total of 2 above .500. He seems like a solid baseball lifer, but does 1 game over .500 before July constitute a lot of leverage?

And with this dramatic series against the Mariners (another team he managed since 2008), you'd think that the Nationals would be trying to ride some momentum.

Instead they have to answer questions about a manager who quit on the team. (Sorry, that's what he did.)

He said to the media "I'm not Casey Stengel."

No kidding.

And if the Nationals put up a good record for the rest of the season, it will make the Nationals decision to not retain Riggleman look even smarter.

Don't worry... he'll be an interim manager someday. Hey, he's 22 years younger than the Marlins new manager!

It might be time to cut bait with the Fish

On May 26th, the Marlins behind Anibal Sanchez's complete game shutout swept the World Champion Giants and moved to within 1 game of first place.

They were 10 games over .500 and my prediction that they would win the Wild Card looked pretty good at the 1/3 mark of the season.

The Marlins have lost 18 of their last 21 games.

We are more than halfway through June and they have a grand total of one win this month.

They got swept by the Phillies.
And of this writing they are in last place.

They went from 10 games over .500 to 5 games UNDER .500 in less than a month.

I wrote last Sunday that Edwin Rodriguez's job might in trouble.

Now I can imagine him being fired in mid game.

Something needs to be done in Florida and firing the hitting coach ain't it.

I'd like to see the Marlins get a quality innings eater... or a dominating reliever...

Instead I think Rodriguez is getting a pink slip.

I'm rooting for him. He's an underdog baseball lifer. But I also think Bobby Valentine is looking at rentals in South Florida.

Bob Geren got fired? WHY? WHAT WENT WRONG?

I've been calling for Bob Geren to be axed for more than 2 seasons.
It's amazing that he has lasted longer than a Presidential term, taking a team that was a regular playoff participant and seeing them turn into a sub .500 non entity.

It's not ALL his fault but it clearly wasn't working.
Bob Melvin is the new manager. During Geren's first season (2007), Melvin took an unlikely and seemingly overmatched Diamondbacks team and led them to a 90 win season and homefield advantage in the NLCS.

They got to within 4 games of the World Series with Eric Byrnes as their top offensive threat and Livan Hernandez as their #3 starter.

In that time the D'Backs have been dismantled and rebuilt with 2 other managers.

And Geren stayed put in Oakland... until now.

The A's could use a little overachieving.

Or who knows?
Maybe Geren should have gotten ANOTHER 4 1/3 seasons!

The Jim Leyland watch begins... will he be fired or will he quit?

Less than 2 games in and it is inevitable. Jim Leyland's time in Detroit, as fun as it was in 2006 and until the last week of 2009, is going to come to an end.

Will he walk away like Lou Piniella?
Or will the Tigers just give him the axe?
Or will they "promote" him to a meaningless executive title?

But it is going to happen and probably before the All Star Break.
If they keep losing, who knows? He may not make it to May.

Make no mistake, it is going to come to a close.

I predict Jim Leyland will walk away before they can fire him, and he will do so on July 1.

Anyone else care to make a prediction?

Managing to Cooperstown - My latest for The Hardball Times

A big league manager will win a World Series this year. But how will that title affect their Hall of Fame resume?

For a few it would put them in the conversation. For others it would simply silence some critics. And still others would have a great first credit on their resume.

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I look at each big league manager and consider what the 2011 World Championship would mean for their legacy.

You can read the article HERE.

Mets search to REPLACE Terry Collins starts tomorrow

So the Mets are going to do it.
They are going to hand the keys to one of the most expensive rosters in baseball and what SHOULD be one of the marquee franchises in the game to a guy who couldn't handle the baseball pressure cookers that are Houston and Anaheim.

Now you are going to put him in the New York media market who want to run managers out of town on a rail AFTER they win a World Series?

The Mets are giving a hot head manager with a 24/7 sports media hovering over Queens waiting for him to say something stupid?

This is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

If I am Bob Melvin, Wally Backman or even Bobby Valentine for that matter... I'd have my resumes ready. There might be an opening in APRIL!

By the way, I am saying this is a bad move NOW and I said it was a bad move 15 days ago when I couldn't believe he was in the running.

No second guess here.

So Terry Collins, who had basically a players revolt on his hands in Anaheim, gets a third chance.

Chris Chambliss? He can't get a first chance.

Go figure.

Is Bobby Valentine just interviewing poorly?

Seriously, it wasn't that long ago that it looked like Bobby Valentine would have the pick of the litter of terrific manager jobs.

Everyone knew the Braves job was going to go to Fredi Gonzalez... but the Cubs job looked available, as did the Marlins and Dodgers.

The Mets were out there as were the Mariners and Blue Jays. And a place like Milwaukee could be a fit. And the challenge of Pittsburgh could have been attractive.

Well the pickings are getting slim now. The Dodgers handed the keys over to Mattingly where he seems destined to fail.

The Cubs, Diamondbacks and Marlins surprisingly kept their interim managers. Toronto and Milwaukee each swiped coaches from other teams.

The Mariners dusted off Eric Wedge, the Pirates look like they are closing in on Clint Hurdle and the options have all whittled down to one team:

The Mets.

He's not going back to the Mets. And new GM Sandy Alderson doesn't care for strong willed managers.

He'd rather hire a cardboard cutout of Bobby Valentine than the real McCoy.

I wonder what gives. Say what you want about Bobby V... he's a solid baseball mind and could be exactly what a dead from the neck up franchise could use.

Plus his personality and unpredictability make him damn good for the game.

Is he interviewing badly?

Is he giving that all knowing smirk to the owners making his potential employers feel silly?

Either way, I think baseball is going to be a little more dull in 2011 because the Cubs went with Mike Quade and the Mariners took Eric Wedge out of mothballs instead of giving Bobby V a shot.

Just go Joe... you've already quit

Seriously, what is the point for Joe Torre to stick around?
He seems more interested in discussing the Mets managerial position and showing up to Yankee Stadium than having a motivated team take the field in Chavez Ravine.

Don't believe me that this team is dead from the neck up?

Since August 27th, the Dodgers have lost 17 out of 23 games. They haven't won a single series since. The closest they came was splitting 4 meaningless games with the Astros.

And I live just a few minutes from Dodger Stadium and sadly watch more Dodger games than I care to admit.

They are lifeless.
They aren't even phoning in their game. They are leaving it on their outgoing message.

Save for a comeback win last Sunday, they don't just look like they have made their reservations but they look like they are already on their flights.

I know a lot of Giant fans are upset about how they have rolled over to San Diego (and tonight no doubt the Padres will sweep the Dodgers AGAIN) but actually you have to hand it to the Dodgers... they have been equal opportunity tomato cans.

Since the 26th of August they have lost 2 series to the Rockies... 2 series to the Giants and 2 series to the Padres.

They lie down to EVERYONE!

And since Joe Torre announced he was stepping down and handing the reigns over to Don Mattingly? They are 1-4. Only the come from behind Rockies win saved it from being a big fat 0-5 (and even THEN they got some help from the umps!)

In short, the Dodgers have done the impossible... they made the play on the field more disgraceful than the drama with the McCourt divorce!

Just step down NOW Joe. Maybe playing for Mattingly will give the team a little spark.
Maybe they'll play a little harder for a week.

Maybe there will be a little intensity.

Maybe Mattingly will learn how to fill out a lineup card and make mound visits.

The Dodgers have 3 more meaningful games left after today... 3 more with the Rockies.
Why not give the NL West a chance and have the Dodgers actually SHOW UP.

Step aside physically Joe. You already have mentally.

Just go Joe... you've already quit

Seriously, what is the point for Joe Torre to stick around?
He seems more interested in discussing the Mets managerial position and showing up to Yankee Stadium than having a motivated team take the field in Chavez Ravine.

Don't believe me that this team is dead from the neck up?

Since August 27th, the Dodgers have lost 17 out of 23 games. They haven't won a single series since. The closest they came was splitting 4 meaningless games with the Astros.

And I live just a few minutes from Dodger Stadium and sadly watch more Dodger games than I care to admit.

They are lifeless.
They aren't even phoning in their game. They are leaving it on their outgoing message.

Save for a comeback win last Sunday, they don't just look like they have made their reservations but they look like they are already on their flights.

I know a lot of Giant fans are upset about how they have rolled over to San Diego (and tonight no doubt the Padres will sweep the Dodgers AGAIN) but actually you have to hand it to the Dodgers... they have been equal opportunity tomato cans.

Since the 26th of August they have lost 2 series to the Rockies... 2 series to the Giants and 2 series to the Padres.

They lie down to EVERYONE!

And since Joe Torre announced he was stepping down and handing the reigns over to Don Mattingly? They are 1-4. Only the come from behind Rockies win saved it from being a big fat 0-5 (and even THEN they got some help from the umps!)

In short, the Dodgers have done the impossible... they made the play on the field more disgraceful than the drama with the McCourt divorce!

Just step down NOW Joe. Maybe playing for Mattingly will give the team a little spark.
Maybe they'll play a little harder for a week.

Maybe there will be a little intensity.

Maybe Mattingly will learn how to fill out a lineup card and make mound visits.

The Dodgers have 3 more meaningful games left after today... 3 more with the Rockies.
Why not give the NL West a chance and have the Dodgers actually SHOW UP.

Step aside physically Joe. You already have mentally.

Walk away if you win #28, Joe

Hey Joe Girardi… take a good long look at what has happened to the legacy of Joe Torre. Only Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel had ever managed three straight World Series winners before Torre and he brought class and dignity to the Yankee clubhouse along with his titles.



And today he is being portrayed as a manipulator, a man with a tarnished legacy and even those are questioning whether he belongs in Cooperstown.



His very rings are being questioned since he couldn’t win a pennant in Atlanta nor in Los Angeles (not to mention with the Mets or Cardinals.)



Now imagine if Joe had left the Yankees after the 2001 season…

He would have been the greatest New Yorker since LaGuardia.



Imagine if he had left after the 2003 World Series…

He would have won 6 pennants in his 8 years and maintained superiority over Boston.



Imagine if he had left after the 2005 playoffs (when EVERYONE thought he was going to.)

Yeah the collapse of 2004 would have hung over his head, but the perception would have been George and company were meddling and undermining him.



Instead it ended after 2007… when with more control he couldn’t make it out of the Division Series, lost the respect of his superstar and left town co authoring a petty (albeit fun) book.



Learn from Mr. Torre. If the Yankees win the 2010 World Series title… BOLT TOWN!

Seriously… don’t wait around for your Yankee legacy to deteriorate.



You’ve shown you could manage when you took the 2006 Marlins team with a payroll under $30 million and kept them in the running for the Wild Card into September. You won a Manager of the Year award. You can do it.



So make your Yankee legacy this if you win it all:

2008 was an adjustment year followed by back to back World Series titles.

Leave a WINNER and finish with more World Series titles than Billy Martin at the helm.



Go home to Chicago. If you win the World Series there, do you know how you will be treated?



Me neither! NOBODY knows. The team hasn’t won it since the series was called the World’s Championship Series and it was still an experiment. Win in Chicago and your ticket to the Hall of Fame will already be punched.



Have some other poor shmuck take over the Yankees and deal with this nonsense.



Heck, Joe Torre is available!

Walk away if you win #28, Joe

Hey Joe Girardi… take a good long look at what has happened to the legacy of Joe Torre. Only Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel had ever managed three straight World Series winners before Torre and he brought class and dignity to the Yankee clubhouse along with his titles.



And today he is being portrayed as a manipulator, a man with a tarnished legacy and even those are questioning whether he belongs in Cooperstown.



His very rings are being questioned since he couldn’t win a pennant in Atlanta nor in Los Angeles (not to mention with the Mets or Cardinals.)



Now imagine if Joe had left the Yankees after the 2001 season…

He would have been the greatest New Yorker since LaGuardia.



Imagine if he had left after the 2003 World Series…

He would have won 6 pennants in his 8 years and maintained superiority over Boston.



Imagine if he had left after the 2005 playoffs (when EVERYONE thought he was going to.)

Yeah the collapse of 2004 would have hung over his head, but the perception would have been George and company were meddling and undermining him.



Instead it ended after 2007… when with more control he couldn’t make it out of the Division Series, lost the respect of his superstar and left town co authoring a petty (albeit fun) book.



Learn from Mr. Torre. If the Yankees win the 2010 World Series title… BOLT TOWN!

Seriously… don’t wait around for your Yankee legacy to deteriorate.



You’ve shown you could manage when you took the 2006 Marlins team with a payroll under $30 million and kept them in the running for the Wild Card into September. You won a Manager of the Year award. You can do it.



So make your Yankee legacy this if you win it all:

2008 was an adjustment year followed by back to back World Series titles.

Leave a WINNER and finish with more World Series titles than Billy Martin at the helm.



Go home to Chicago. If you win the World Series there, do you know how you will be treated?



Me neither! NOBODY knows. The team hasn’t won it since the series was called the World’s Championship Series and it was still an experiment. Win in Chicago and your ticket to the Hall of Fame will already be punched.



Have some other poor shmuck take over the Yankees and deal with this nonsense.



Heck, Joe Torre is available!