It's true that the players Irishman mentioned all played important roles in the 2004 comeback. Regardless of whether Boston wins this year (and it certainly seems likely that they will win), Francona does deserve credit for 1) winning the WS in his 1st season as manager of the team in '04 and 2) taking his team to a WS a second time in a four year span.
It's true I'll give him that. But he also has stuck too much with Gagne. Not so much during the postseason but during the regular season and I know even "Boston's Faithful" held their breath when he would come into a game
