Full disclosure: I'm a Yankees fan (sorry Fenwaysouth).
That being said, I thought Terry Francona was an amazing manager, and I think they pulled the trigger on him prematurely. The Red Sox got off to a bad start last year, and they made a huge comeback and were just shy of the playoffs (we were at the O's/Sox game that was the demise - - most incredible baseball night ever).
I have trouble understanding why that lead to Francona's dismissal and not roster changes . . .and maybe I didn't follow Francona's various managerial strategies closely enough, but from what I could see, he seemed like everything any team would want in a manager and a human being.
As a Yankees fan I was glad though because I had a really strong gut instinct about how things would play out this season . . .but actually find I'm missing the suspense of the best rivalry in baseball.