Tito To Cleveland

Me too. As much as one man can love another man, I love Francona. He will do great things in Cleveland. He is the right guy at the right time for them and the division.

I'm going to keep my hair. But at one time I did think about shaving it off as a tribute to the man they call "Tito".

I am excited. I liked him when he played here and I've always liked they way he managed and conducted himelf. Pure class.

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Originally posted by fenwaysouth:
Me too. As much as one man can love another man, I love Francona. He will do great things in Cleveland. He is the right guy at the right time for them and the division.

I'm going to keep my hair. But at one time I did think about shaving it off as a tribute to the man they call "Tito".

I admire the guy. I question how did Boston fans and John Henry rally and pile-on to "scapegoat" him out of Boston? The athletes responsible, I guess, must be held to another standard?

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I question how did Boston fans and John Henry rally and pile-on to "scapegoat" him out of Boston? The athletes responsible, I guess, must be held to another standard?

From my perspective, I do not think the Boston fans wanted his job after the collapse last year. Fans were mad at the players. Francona won two world series in 9 years. That is next to sainthood in Boston.

What I read, saw and heard was upper mgt did not back him (take some responsibility) when the media and fans were restless. Yes, Francona had SOME responsibility in not getting the most out of his players, but I don't think it warranted a Manager change. If they had made these trades, salary purges and personnel moves prior to Francona resigning I think they would be in a much better place than they are today. The problem is the upper mgt and ownership. I have a little confidence in Cherrington, I think he is a smart kid. Above him, I have zero confidence in their people skills and ability to handle the Boston media. They are your typical "empty suits". If you were a top level free agent manager, would you consider Boston? H-e-c-k no! We will not get who we want, we will get who is left over. That is a problem.

Boston's situation last year is similiar to what happened to TX this year. I'm really curious to see how Texas handles the Ron Washington & team situation. How they handle that will tell me alot about their uppermanagement too. Do they replace a very good manager, or do they replace the players? If I was an owner, and I had a very good manager I would keep him for as long as possible. I would replace the players that don't fit my style of play, and don't produce. Boston let their best manager in franchise history go because they thought he was easily replaceable. They were wrong 100%. Stupid is as stupid does.

I am going to miss him on ESPN, the man has so much enthusiasm, integrity and knowledge.

I hope they don't replace him with Valentine.

I will turn it off.

Yup, love it. But he's a full starting rotation and a clean-up hitter shy of being able to do much with it. And it certainly hasn't been the owner's MO to make big roster adds. The only one he's tried in years (Ubaldo) blew up and made him even more gun-shy. It will be interesting to see if this changes things. Haha, there I go... an Indians fan tradition. If, if, if... wait 'till...

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Originally posted by TPM:
I am going to miss him on ESPN, the man has so much enthusiasm, integrity and knowledge.

That is the one downside to this deal. I also thought he was terrific doing games on TV.

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Originally posted by Prime9:

quote:

Originally posted by fenwaysouth:
Me too. As much as one man can love another man, I love Francona. He will do great things in Cleveland. He is the right guy at the right time for them and the division.

I'm going to keep my hair. But at one time I did think about shaving it off as a tribute to the man they call "Tito".

I admire the guy. I question how did Boston fans and John Henry rally and pile-on to "scapegoat" him out of Boston? The athletes responsible, I guess, must be held to another standard?

Francona ran out of ways to motivate the players. It happens when a manager is around for years. Pat Riley even said the Lakers players, after several championships started tuning him out. Francona also had distractions last year. His marriage was crumbling. He hasn't been in good health for several years. He needed a year off. Hopefully a year away from stress helped him physically.

Don't forget, managers are hired to be fired. Very few last in one place as long as Francona lasted in Boston.

Without the stress of the Boston media or Philadelphia for that matter...... Without the World Series expectations.........being able to play half his games within an hour and a half drive of his father whom he has always been close to.....remaining in the game that he loves and being in a less competitive division....these are just some of the reasons this job makes all the sense for Terry Francona.

I think you'll see a very happy, laid back and effective manager. One that is willing to take the blame even for things that probably aren't his fault and one that will get the respect of young and veteran players alike. It doesn't mean they will be a contender but it does mean they will be taking a step in the right direction. He's going to have to be given the right tools to get the job done. But he'll never pass the buck, that's guaranteed. And he'll get there early and leave late. Two words that describe him in my mind..."personal pride."

While Francona is a good manager remember it comes down to players. Good MLB managers handle the players well and create an atmosphere in which talented veterans can do their thing without a dictator looking over their shoulder every minute. ie. Torre, Francona, Manuel.

In Philly he didn't have the players and didn't win that much. Boston spent a ton of money on players and won. How much will the Indians spend to get the players any team needs to win?