Boston should erect a statue of Terry Francona if they win the series. For all my life there was always a pessimism among the Red Sox in the postseason. There was the Johnny pesky snakebit moment, the heartbreaks of '67 and '75, and of course Game 6 of the '86 series, after which Boston lost about 12 straight postseason games. Not to mention Aaron bleeping Boone and Bucky bleeping Dent.
The Red Sox have won all 6 WS games with Francona at the helm, and no longer are the teams waiting for something bad to happen. They have a postseason confidence now, and it's hard to see this team now losing 4 of the 5 remaining games.
That's a good point. Grady Little and John McNamara certainly could not have replicated what Francona has done.
Would either of you guys be saying the same thing if the Red Sox lost Games 4 or 5 of the 2004 ALCS?
No. That's the point. He didn't lose those games. Nobody expected the Red Sox to have come back. It was the normal order of the universe that the Yankees would beat the Red Sox and win their twenty-whateverth world series.
I wouldn't have said it if the Red Sox lost to the Indians. I just notice that Boston is playing with a confidence that defies previous Red Sox teams that I ever remembered. I attribute a great deal of success to Francona as that is not an easy team to manage with Schilling, Ramirez and others, despite all the talent they have.
Francona was just the right fit in Boston. Unfortunately, he didn't have success in Philly. Maybe we got rid of him too soon.
