Francona & Boras
From the Nashua Telegraph -
Scott Boras, the agent for Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, said he’d like to see his client throw closer to 100 pitches a start than 120, hoping it will prolong his career.
“I have a lot of respect for Scott,’’ Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “He can run our pitching staff when he lets me run the contracts.’’
As many know, I’m not a fan of the Red Sox. I think the management team of Henry, Lucchino, and Epstein is highly over-rated. And, in my opinion, Lucchino is just down-right nasty. That said, I actually like Terry Francona. He’s in a tough spot there – and I think he handles it well. His contract is up after 2008. If Terry wants to come work in the Yankees organization after that, I would not be upset over it.
Yeah, I’ve always liked Francona. And I think that anyone who candeal with Manny can probably deal with anything.
Manny and Schilling, for that matter.
Manny, Schilling, the Boston media, and even Pedro for a year!
Word.
Wow. How quickly I forget the suckhole that is Curt Schilling. How much longer is he going to be on the DL? And what is his affliction anyway?
If Francona can put up with the likes of Manny, Old Man Schilling and Pedro, I think he could probably handle anything. And he does it all with a smile on his face.
ESPN otherwise known as Red Sox Fanboy Central had some video of Schilling long-tossing in the Fenway outfield yesterday before the game. We’re probably looking at August before he returns. And Omar Minaya’s response to When will Pedro return? was unintentionally comic. “August, yes, but not the first week, maybe later.” Omar coyly didn’t reveal August of what year.
Any love by the fans of Boston for Francona is hypocritical. They hated him. Remember the nickname “Francoma”? Before this year, he suffered from the same lamebrain-ness as Joe Torre. They hated how he used the bullpen and his players, etc. He’s never been known really as a good baseball mind. If anything, most people think he has the job because he’s easy to order around and Theo wants complete control. I’m not in Boston and I don’t know the truth of that.
I hope the next Yankee manager doesn’t come here, like Torre, as someone who’s good with personalities and is instead a sound baseball guy. I’d rather have someone whose strength is his baseball knowledge and not if he can get A-Rod and Jeter to get along.
I think Donnie combines both of those things. He’s someone who demands respect, and he lives and breathes baseball. Donnie is quiet, and I can’t imagine him running out of the dugout hollering about a blown call, but so what? Donnie is a good teacher and a calming influence. I also think he played long ago enough and recently enough to straddle that old school/new school line.