Here's a quick question for all of you diehard (is there any other kind?) Red Sox fans out there. What does a 285-363 career record over four seasons, including two seasons mired in last place, merit for a former MLB manager?
Apparently in Boston it'll get you a job as the Red Sox's skipper.
That's the resume for Terry Francona, everyone's favorite Boston manager who will soon be everyone's favorite punching bag if the Sox come away empty-handed again this October. Francona led the Phillies through four lamentable seasons from 1997-2000. I was quite surprised to see anyone picking Francona to manage again, let alone the Red Sox, who decided that leading a major league baseball team down the toilet was a good qualification for manager of one of the most competitive franchises in professional sports.
The running joke in Philadelphia was that Curt Schilling, one of the few bright spots in Francona's terrible tenure, was really in charge of the team. Schilling would tell Francona when and how long he would pitch and would, on some occasions, send Terry back to the dugout.
In Philadelphia, Francona, known for being a players' manager and the proverbial nice guy, used a relatively hands-off approach to managing. Look at the success it brought. Granted, the Phillies were in rebuilding stages through most of Francona's reign of incompetence. But this is a guy who said while interviewing for the Orioles in 2003 that managing in Philadelphia was ... "the people in Philadelphia may not want to hear this ... almost like having a mulligan."
He's right. As one of the few, the proud, and the perpetually angry Phillies fans (we went from 1987-2000 with one, count it, one winning season), I don't want to hear that.
Who decided that Terry Francona was ever fit to manage anyway? Oh, I remember. It was Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan? Yes, Francona's biggest claim to fame (and arguably biggest success) was convincing Jordan to go back to basketball. As manager of the Double-A Birmingham Barons, Mr. Nice Guy coached the biggest superstar in sports to an illustrious .202 average. I'm quite indebted to Francona for bringing Jordan back to the NBA because, as a Chicago resident from 1995-1998, I witnessed three more title runs for the Bulls. Thanks Terry.
Jordan, sticking up for his former manager and Yahtzee buddy (the two were big Yahtzee players in Birmingham), placed a call to then-Phillies General Manager Lee Thomas in 1997 on behalf of Francona, who was interviewing at the time. The rest, sadly enough, is history. Thanks Michael.
You Sox fans don't realize what you have. You have a utility manager. Despite being the College Player of the Year in 1980 at the University of Arizona, Francona never gained more than utility-outfielder status in ten lackluster seasons with the Expos, Cubs, Reds, Indians, and Brewers. Overshadowed by his more successful father Tito, Terry Francona never fulfilled his potential as a player.
Somewhere along the line, Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein decided that a humdrum playing career and an atrocious managerial tenure were good enough for one of the most intensely scrutinized jobs in baseball.
Are you scratching your head too? The first thing that came out of my mouth last December when I heard Francona would be taking over was a sarcastic chuckle. My barber, a devoted Yankee fan, felt much more confident in New York's success knowing that Francona would be calling the shots.
Don't worry, I think I may have found Epstein's reasoning.
Theo Moneyball Epstein, characterized by many as a statistics guru or geek (depending on your opinion of the 30-year old GM), may be looking at stats many of you non-Philly fans might have missed.
Philadelphia hasn't had a championship since Jimmy Carter. Sure we've come close with the Phillies in 1983 and 1993, the Sixers in 2001, and the Flyers a few times in the late 1990s. I don't even want to talk about the Eagles perennial flops in the NFC Championship games. We are so starved for championships that this past spring, we looked to a horse (Smarty Jones) and a college basketball team (St. Joe's) for hope of a championship. But while Philadelphia continues to lose, the city hasn't let that reputation stop it from amassing a fine track record of firing, dismissing, or losing coaches who win with other teams. Let's look at the facts.
The Philadelphia Eagles made the dubious decision in 1991 to hire Rich Kotite over then-defensive coordinator, now Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher (Super Bowl appearance in 1999, losing by the longest yard), as Buddy Ryan's successor as head coach.
The team then let offensive coordinator Jon Gruden go to the Oakland Raiders, where he then moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and led them to a 2003 Super Bowl victory (not to mention a victory over the Eagles in the NFC Championship game). And if the Eagles blow their chance to go the Super Bowl AGAIN this season, Mike Holmgren's Seattle Seahawks, with former Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes as defensive coordinator, could contend for the title.
The Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers have done their part to help the record along. Former Flyers head coaches Mike Keenan (head coach with the New York Rangers in 1994), Craig Ramsey, and Bill Barber (both assistant coaches last season with the Tampa Bay Lightening) now have Stanley Cups on their respective resumes. Larry Brown, respected as a fine coach but never able to win a title, finally got an NBA Championship coaching the Detroit Pistons this past summer, a year after leaving the 76ers, where he coached for six seasons.
And when Joe Carter was rounding third base after his Game 6 walk-off homer gave the Toronto Blue Jays the 1993 World Series, shaking Carter's hand as third base coach was former Phillies manager Nick Leyva, who I'm sure took great pleasure knowing the championship came against his former team.
So Boston fans, the question is who's cursed now? Maybe your utility manager is exactly what the Sox need for a World Series title. I admit to being one of the nay-sayers throwing in the towel in July and early August, but Epstein's trade deadline magic (bringing in Cabrera and Mientkiewicz and sending Nomar packing) coupled with Francona's laid back "don't panic" style has righted the ship for the Yawkey Way heroes. Boston ran away with the American League wild card, winning by a comfortable seven game margin for its second straight wild card birth.
Maybe Philadelphia has produced another diamond in the rough, and for Francona, Philly was rough. Perhaps Terry Francona can continue the Philadelphia tradition by leading Schilling, Pedro, Manny and Co. to victory.
But I hate to remind you fans that, as the saying goes, nice guys finish last.
