Reputations: Chapter 2

Terry Francona has been a part of this organization since 2004. He has won two World Series, has won 744 games, number 2 on the Red Sox all time managerial wins list, behind Hall of Famer Joe Cronin. As most of you know, he abdicated his position as manager about two weeks ago, following the Red Sox' historic collapse. Now, about two weeks later, with GM Theo Epstein also leaving the Red Sox for the Cubs, the media has bashed him; saying he was distracted with a divorce, as well as some possible drug abuse. None of this is true. Terry has been an influential and inspiring coach for the Red Sox from 2004-2011. Up until the end of August of 2011, that is. What he said was correct; that Red Sox management didn't exactly have his back or support him. If management had picked his option up in the middle of the year when the Red Sox had the best record in baseball, the September collapse may not have happened. It just seemed like the determination and unity of the team had fell apart, and effect was a 7-20 record in September, and no October baseball again.


Recently, the media has came out with reports that say he was distracted from a recent divorce. He has been married to his wife, Jacque, for 30 years, and sources say these marital issues have distracted him from managing the Red Sox well. Francona spoke out against these allegations:


"It makes me angry that people say these things because I've busted my (butt) to be the best manager I can be," Francona said when the Globe presented him with its findings. "I wasn't terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did." 


And I agree with him. Crawford hadn't started out well, Lackey was awful this season apart from a stretch in August, and all of the incidents in the clubhouse where Lester, Lackey and Beckett were supposedly gaming, eating, and drinking. Also, star third baseman Youkilis hardly played half the season. It was a tough season for him, and as he said, he wasn't that successful this year. But looking back, he broke the curse by winning the World Series in 2004, and followed it up by winning in 2007.


Another allegation against him was the fact that he had used pain-killers.Francona has had nearly 20 surgeries on his knees and used pain medication for many years. Sources say he used painkillers after knee surgery in October 2010 and used them during the season after doctors drained blood from his knee at least five times. Yeah, and? A lot of people use pain-killers, and aren't really distracted from coaching. Bottom line, this allegations are ripping Terry Francona's reputation apart, and he doesn't deserve it. This city is spoiled, and if the media is smearing the reputation of a coach, who broke a legendary curse, won the second most games in the teams history, and has been loyal to this team for 8 years. Francona's friend and Red Sox' star second basemen defends Francona:

"He's protected every single guy in that clubhouse and that's why I respect him like you can't believe," Pedroia said. "Whatever job he gets, if he needs me for a couple of games or whatever just let me know, I'll go play for free. That's how I care about this guy. This guy is my family.

"For him to have to deal with this, he's the best manager in the history of the Red Sox organization. He won two World Series, look at the run that he had there, it's pretty remarkable. That's the part that hurts and whoever the person it is that's saying this I think they need to take a step back and kind of look in the mirror and understand what they're saying about a guy. A lot of guys in this organization have his back and I'm one of them."

Well said, Pedroia. Francona really doesn't deserve this, and I don't think these issues are distracting him. I don't blame him for leaving. In fact, I applaud him leaving. He deserves to be on a team where the players listen to him, and are determined to win throughout the year. The media cannot attack and blame the collapse on Francona. Francona isn't the one who plays everyday. He calls the plays, but the players didn't execute them in September, and as a result the Red Sox couldn't make the playoff's. 

sources:

mlb.com

espn.com

boston.com