Was Firing Terry Francona a Good Move?

A Tale of Two Epic Collapses

There isn't much man-love going on right now in Beantown (when did the Red Sox sign Sonic the Hedgehog?)

Terry Francona was fired. Let's get that settled first. I know Boston is saying that he walked away, but it's just like when Joe 'quit' from his first job at Stewarts Root Beer. It doesn't count when you say 'I quit' two seconds before your boss says 'You're fired'. Second, I must say that I am thrilled that Tito was given the axe. There is no doubt that Francona is a great manager. After all, he was the manager that broke the curse of the Bambino in 2004 and then led the Sox to another World Series in 2007. Just as the Yankees showed Joe Torre the door in 2007, the Red Sox had to do the same. Going four years without even making it to the World Series with that payroll is bad enough, but missing the playoffs consecutive years is even worse. These two reasons are cause enough to debate the manager’s firing. What makes the decision easy is the manner in which the Sox folded in 2011. They now own the dubious title of owning baseball’s greatest collapse. They were ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays by 9 games as of September 3^rd. They wound up finishing 7-20 in the month of September. If this is not reason enough to convince you, I remind you of the 2007 New York Mets and their historic collapse of their own.

'Even I can't believe that the Mets hired me' - (internal dialogue from Jerry Manuel)

The Mets held a 7 game lead over the Phillies with just 17 games remaining. After they lost on the last day of the season like Boston this year, many called for the firing of the Mets manager Willie Randolph. Needless to say, the Mets went into the 2008 season with Willie as the manager. Unfortunately for the Mets, the culture of losing stayed with them. While they struggled with a .500 winning percentage, ownership eventually decided mid-season to fire Randolph; something they should have done at the end of the 2007 season. I’m not blaming everything on the manager, because the players are just as much to blame. Unfortunately for Francona, it is much easier to fire a manager than it is to turn over a 25 man roster. A message needed to be sent to the entire organization that losing will not be tolerated and firing Francona was the first step. The next step should be selling Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees just like they did with Babe Ruth. Whether that happens or not, Boston will be looking for a new manager: This is my suggestion:



Since the real Ron Washington is currently managing the Rangers, I say the Red Sox hire the next best thing: lil' Ron Washington. At least he doesn't have a cocaine addiction... that we know of.