Just weeks have passed since the Boston Red Sox and two time World Series winning manager Terry Francona decided to ‘part ways’, now there seems to be more changes looming for the disgruntled Boston Red Sox.
General Manager Theo Epstein might be on his way out of town as well. The Boston Herald reported that a deal is on the cusp for Epstein to leave the Red Sox to accept a larger role with the Cubs. Various other reports suggest the move expected to happen, but it’s not quite a done deal. The Cubs would have to provide some sort of compensation, players or cash.
According to my Pete Abraham at the Boston Globe:
If Epstein leaves, the Red Sox have given every indication that senior vice president and assistant general manager Ben Cherington would replace him. A 36-year-old New Hampshire native and Amherst graduate, Cherington has been with the Red Sox since 1999.
Airing the dirty laundry
The aftermath of Terry Francona’s departure from the Red Sox has opened the door for widespread speculation as to what went wrong down the stretch. A report in The Boston Globe indicated that the organization was dysfunctional organization at several levels, from upper management coddling disgruntled players by offering them yacht trips and headphones, to a manager marginalized by personal problems and outsized egos. Furthermore, the Boston Globe cites the top three starting pitchers for the Sox, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey were apparently unmoved by the team’s struggles down the stretch and got into the habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken and playing video games in the clubhouse during games as starting pitchers’ penchant for in-game beer drinking Beckett, Lester and Lackey also joined other teammates in not working out as often.
A report in the Globe surfaced about Terry Francona’s personal issues during the season which was believed to affect his performance. Specifically, Francona and his wife who had split after 30 years and his use of pain killers. The former Sox skipper firmly denied the allegations.
“It makes me angry that people say these things because I’ve busted my (butt) to be the best manager I can be. I wasn’t terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did.”
With all of the dirty laundry being aired out in Red Sox nation, perhaps they can begin moving on. It’s really sad that a man who has been nothing short of a class act and who delivered two World Series championships in an eight year period to an organization who hadn’t won anything in the 86 years prior is pathetic.
Here’s to hoping that Terry Francona’s next managerial landing spot, wherever it may be, is more appreciative then the ingrates in Boston.
