In 2004, Terry Francona pushed all the right buttons.
In 2007, Terry Francona’s trying to make the buttons he’s pushing right.
That’s the difference, and that’s why the Red Sox stand at a 3-1 series deficit going into Wednesday’s scheduled off-day.
Two major buttons he tried to force through aren’t working out and will continue not to work until, most likely, the Red Sox go on vacation.
The first button that continues to be pushed stubbornly is
Going into last night’s game, he was hitting .200/.273/.200. He didn’t even manage a hit or a walk last night – just piling on the pain. Yes, a major selling point is his glove and his speed. Funnily enough, those are major selling points of the guy picking splinters out of his butt — and that guy can hit, too.
What justification is there for playing Coco? If you know the answer, please tell me so I can attempt to comprehend this. The only justification that I can think of is that “Coco’s played all year,” and the underlying “We don’t want to hurt Coco’s feelings.”
I think the Angels were more interested in winning a ring than feelings, and thus were more than happy to let
Worry about the ring.
How about Tim Wakefield? He got off to a blistering start … through four innings. He had six whiffs and five hits and was cruising. His knuckler was bottoming out … but then the fifth inning showed up. We know what happened. A seven-spot was put up, and the Indians started wondering what time the Rockies’ flight would get in.
Disgusting.
Was starting
So let’s say that the start of Wakefield was defensible. The fifth inning rolls around. Here’s what happened until Wakefield was mercifully yanked and
Homer, single, HBP, fielder’s choice, infield single, (that Wakefield caused to not be fielded cleanly) strikeout, single.
Knowing that losing this game puts our backs to the wall and means we have zero chance for error from here on out, I think I pull him right after the hit by pitch. Yeah, if the Indians don’t catch a break with the infield single, it’s 3-1 Sox. Does it matter? Wakefield clearly showed he was losing it. Homer, single, hit by pitch? With the 2-3-4 hitters due up? Take him out.
Can Josh Beckett win Game 5? Absolutely, considering
The problem is … they have to be ours, or our season is over.
Backs to the wall now.
Francona has been a successful manager during his tenure here in Boston, but he’s falling into the trap of taking his own ego over what dictates common sense. He’s trying to justify things that aren’t there so he can be called a genius when it happens. Instead, it’s all falling apart.
Addendum: God, I hate off-days. Some other stuff around MVN that is Boston-centric to whet your appetite:
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After 169 games, I think we can tell the writing’s on the wall. Loved a bunch of the guys on the team this year, hated some of them (Lugo, gagne, looking in your direction), and they gave us some good times.
I won’t be torn apart when they lose tomorrow or Saturday, actually kinda hoping it’ll happen tomorrow so I can move on. Maybe next year Drew and Lugo will actually perform, we will use Buchholz in a logical manner, Gagne will be blowing saves in the NL for 9m/y, and Lester will finally show glimpses of why he’s a top prospect.
Not our year fellas, but there’s always next year. Just do me a favor and cheer for the Indians in the WS, since the Rockies should not be winners.
I don’t know Evan.
We all know that Wakefield is a five inning pitcher, and so does Francona. What is also pretty obvious is that he doesn’t trust his bullpen, and for good reason–they’re not very good.
Yeah, I know about their earned run average. Yeah, I know they were second in the American League in pitching (including the pen). Much of that was earned in the first half, when Dice hadn’t started rolling sixes and Schilling didn’t have 40 year old dead arm. And Okajima asctually got people out.
I saw one game with Toronto where the bullpen nearly surrended a 10 run lead with Matsusaka pitching. I knew then they were in trouble.
They almost gave up a 13 game lead to the Yankees in the last month. That doesn’t happen to a team with a bullpen.
Teams with a bullpen get stronger as the season progresses, as Cleveland did. And yes, I know Manny was out, but please. He can’t be relied upon for everything, can he?
You have to remember the context of MLB’s subpar pitching these days when you start thinking this club’s bullpen is “good”. This is in a context where the pitching has run absolutely dry outside of a few pitching oriented clubs (who aren’t selling their studs for nothing to the big spenders.) 4.05 or thereabouts is not exactly fantastic pitching–it is adequate.
As the second half of the season progressed, and particularly in September, it was obvious the middle of the Sox’s bullpen and starters just weren’t very good.
Short of putting Papelbon in the fifth inning, there wasn’t much he could do. I know FOX harped on the fact that Lester should’ve come in; but’s he’s a rookie that would’ve had to face the middle of the order in the situation you are describing.
Del Carmen HAS been the guy all year–he just blows. Usually he waits for the second inning to implode, but, he blows because he can’t finish off hitters unless they chase that curve. Okajiwa has looked like his arm is going to fall off, too, and Timlin was already used the day before. Basically, he had two guys to use and almost half the game left.
Lester looked great later on, but you have to rmemeber pitching in a near blowout is much less pressure than coming in with ducks on the pond.
Francona is at the mercy of what amounts to a 5 man team–
Ortiz
Ramirez
Lowell
Beckett
Papelbon
That’s a great core–but it’s still only five players. Who doyou want to start over Coco? Eric I’m a converted 3rd baseman who can’t throw Hinske?
Red Sox management made some mistakes by overpaying Lugo, Drew, and this year’s version of Hideo Nomo, instead of getting a better starter, like say, Ted lily and some better bullpen help.
The series ain’t over, because the Sox can still win it with offence and CC has been bad in the post-season–but I think that’s it.
Edit: Ellsbury would be a better choice than Coco offensively, but obviously Francona has the vet in for defence.
I’m sure Ellsbury’ll be in for game 5, but this series is not really about him. Someone other than Beckett has to pitch halfway adequate or Boston is done.
If anyone needs something about the Red Sox that’s unrelated to the postseason, here’s some news from RotoWorld:
Red Sox claimed LHP Jay Marshall off waivers from the Athletics.
Marshall spent all year on Oakland’s roster after being selected from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft and had a 6.43 ERA and an 11/22 K/BB ratio in 42 innings. A soft-tossing lefty, there’s still some hope he’ll make it as a specialist. The Red Sox figure to have him spend much of next year in the minors. He’s never pitched in Double- or Triple-A, so he could use the development time.
*****
I saw Marshall quite a bit in the A’s games I watched this year, and he seemed to have some upside. He’s a lot like Javier Lopez, but is a much better LOOGY. I’m no scout, but I think he could be a decent specialist for the Sox in late-2008, or 2009. Nice mini-pickup, Theo.
Now WIN, for a change!
One more thing about Coco and then I’m done–Francona may have been waiting for the “this franchise turfed me on my a## so want to prove them wrong” game from him.
It hasn’t happened, although he’s had some okay at-bats.
It’s interesting that the bats have been silenced by Cleveland’s (and perhaps the league’s) poorest starters. Mainly because they throw slop.
Throw it hard, it goes yard. Throw it soft, it…well, they just don’t hit it (the offence goes pffft?–meh).
The Sox might have a few too many straight fastball mistake hitters in the lineup, and not enough grinders (excluding Youk, of course)..
I have to agree that Francona should have done things differently. First, Jacoby Ellsbury should have been in there. Let’s face it — Drew, Crisp and Lugo don’t belong out there. Other than Ellsbury, what’s the alternative? Bottom line — he could have taken one of them out of the lineup. But the move I didn’t agree with was pulling Wakefield. The score SHOULD have been 1-0 after 5 innings if Wake’s reflexes didn’t get the best of him, preventing a double play by Pedroia when he knocked down that ball. Victor Martinez crushed the ball right at people his first two at-bats so I saw an RBI “something” by him as a foregone conclusion — I was just hoping it was not a home run. With the score 3-0 and two runners on, I thought Wake could have got that last out and come back out for the 6th (or they could have gone to Lester). Regardless, it doesn’t matter. They weren’t going to win that game anyway. Ellsbury alone cannot change the fact that Drew, Crisp and Lugo are in that lineup on a regular basis. Anyone watching this team since May knows they aren’t good enough to win it all. This is not the 2003-2004 team by any means.
Memo to C.C. “Ciabatta Bun”. Anytime you want to stick one into Rag Doll Ramirez’ buns for admiring his meaningless jack last night. What a disgrace. Live by the long ball, die by the long ball.
Once again, Tito does dumb things. I feel like i have seen this before….
Hey Evan,
Did Pedroia try to slap the ball out of Victor Martinez’s glove in the first inning?
I had a really rough time sleeping last night. I’m not ready for this season to end…gawd I hope we win Game 5.
It’s going to be hell if we don’t at least advance. All this effort for nothing. Thanks Francoma. Thanks a lot.
Crunch time, put your best men out there.
Regarding slappy, I didn’t see the first inning last night. Can anyone explain what happened?
It IS about cheating the players if we can get a ring!
I think I’m obsessing about this but doesn’t Ellsbury bring defense to the table just as well as Coco does?
I’m sorry you guys had to read 50+ comments about me obsessing over this the past 2 days but I just can’t figure it out. This is going to haunt me until next April if it doesn’t work out tomorrow.
I agree (with some of what you said), Sean O. Next year will be fun. I expect Drew to perform (I do feel that his issues with his son factored into this)… while I don’t expect Lugo to perform, a full year of Lester and Buchholz should be exciting.
We had an amazing bullpen in the first-half, but as David Moro pointed out, it sucked in the second half. Hopefully we go out and pick up a strong arm.
Of course, I probably have a good deal of self interest in the results, since it appears the Sox lost my tickets for game 7 and won’t reprint. So, if it does go 7, I’m paying $250 for nothing, with no hope of a refund.
Because, of course, my life is awesome like that.
Timlin and Okajima have been good in this postseason. Having pitched both previous days, I’m not saying they should have been used last night, but the pitching staff is more than just Beckett and Papelbon. Timlin only had one bad outing in September, and Okajima had an ERA below 2.00 until about a month ago.
You hate off-days? Indian fans hate them much more. This off day will give you time to regroup. We would love to be playing tonight
Great piece, Evan, I’m basically agree with you in everything.
Using defense as an excuse for playing Coco is just patetic, and makes Francona looks almost indecent for using it. Ellsbury’s glove is AMAZING, so we are not sacrificing any defence in playing him. Jacoby is better than Coco in every way. Period.
In regards to Wakefield, we know he is either very good or very bad. There is no middle point with Wake, so, when he is beginning to lose it, you have to take him out as soon as you can.
I’m not gonna go as far as saying we are losing because of Tito. The truth is the entire team has been underperforming. But he certainly has hurt us. In a short series every little detail can make a difference. Versatility and ability to make changes quickly is crucial. Stubborness is a big mistake in October…
Our lineup has three major (and expensive) disapointments: Coco, Lugo, and Drew. I’m gonna give Drew the benefit of a doubt for one more year. But Coco and Lugo has to go.
Next year I want to see Ellsbury from the start! And I want to give Lowrie a chance. I think the kid has potential, and even if he struggles he will do it for much less money than Lugo.
Why don’t the Rockies deserve it? They almost had the best record in the NL, and have been tearing through the post season. While I don’t think it will happen, if they can go ahead and beat the winner of the ALCS then there is no reason they don’t deserve it. They’re not the 2006 Cardinals.
Another thing: we have not talked about Kielty for Drew last night. I understand Bobby has a great track record against Paul Byrd.
The Rockies deserve it. They are white-hot right now.
The Rockies also don’t have any fans and have had a team for 12 years. Let Cleveland, who hasn’t won anything since the early 60s, get one for once.
I agree Sean. I’ll be rooting for Cleveland if they win.
Um, rooting for the Red Sox hear hear!
I’m rooting for Cleveland, if only to make my hometown Giants feel worse for having only the Cubs to point to for longest time without a championship.
But part of me can’t help but root for Tulo. Dude is awesome.
Sorry, one more thing just occurred to me about the “defence” thing and Coco.
What about the defensive players Cleveland has out there (Cabrera, Guttierez)? Both are bunters/strikeout kings but Cleveland still gets their runs. Why?
They have more depth.
Coco plays a fantastic center field. And really, that should be enough. Look at Guttierez for Cleveland. He’s not exactly burning it up (he’s basically an automatic out these days), and Trot Nixon and Jason Michaels are clearly better offensive options–but they don’t D up as well. So they don’t play.
Defence matters, but pitching matters more. What is it you want Francona to do? He can’t pitch out there…he’s just putting out what he’s got.
Ellsbury is a nice player, but he was starting to get figured out at the end of this season (pitch him inside soft and hard away) anyhow.
I might put him in tonight just for kicks, because who knows? Maybe some new blood might restart the engines–but if I didn’t, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, either.
What part of “Ellsbury has a fantastic glove” people don’t understand? He is as good defender as Coco, and hundred times better hitter.
You know, I’ve seen managerial blunders before. I’ve seen Grady Little walk off the mound with Pedro still in. I’ve seen Jimy Williams do… everything Jimy Williams did. I’ve seen manager after manager panic and put their #1 guy in on three days rest, then get stunned when he gets shelled. I’ve seen Mike Hargrove intentionally walk Garciaparra to get to O’Leary.
What you’ve described above aren’t managerial blunders. They’re managerial decisions. They might work, they might not, but Evan… sorry, dude, I respect you but you are not a smarter manager that Terry Francona. You simply aren’t. You’re suggesting putting a fairly unproven rookie into an elimination game, and pushing your ace into a start on three days rest. Either one of those things can backfire mightily. This team won 96 games with Wake on the mound and Coco in center, and it can win a few more. Once again, Sox fans react in a completely knee-jerk ‘we have to blame someone for losing’ fashion, when in reality… *sometimes your team loses, and that’s just the way it is*.
And Sean, the only way teams like the Rockies can get a sustainable fan base is by winning. If the Sox went through a prolonged period of losing, I guarantee you wouldn’t see sold out games at Fenway every day either. Just because a team is small market and hasn’t had recent success doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a title; that’s just arrogant, elitist, and obnoxious.
An even worse move than sticking with Crisp, or Lugo, or Drew–and if he sticks with Crisp in game 6, Tito should be fired and replaced before the second inning–is continuing to resort to Gagne. Gagne single-handedly let the Yankees climb back into the divisional race, blowing big leads in four or five games that were in the bag. He has stunk, period. It’s absurd that he’s even on the post-season roster. I know they were concerned about Buchholz’s innings pitched this year, but you telling me it would ruin Buch’s arm to pitch an inning if the pennant or Series was on the line?
Sure, Buch’s usefulness might be limited to one or two innings. But how useful is Gagne? He can’t pitch at all!
Hey Andrew:
“This team won 96 games with Wake on the mound and Coco in center, and it can win a few more.”
It did? Wakefield pitched every game? This loyalty or whatever it is to Crisp is entirely misplaced. Ellsbury is obviously going to be their starting ceter fielder for years to come. Ellsbury batted upwards of .360 in September while Crisp withered. Crisp looks utterly lost at the plate. Tito isn’t doing him any favors by starting him when he’s floundering like this. They won 96 games despite having a substandard center fielder, not because he was in the lineup.
Two years after they got him, Crisp is a lost cause. It would be ridiculous not to cut him loose after this year.
Hey Andrew:
Wakefield pitched in all of their 96 wins? Impressive.
As for Crisp, your argument is ridiculous. He’s a below average American League center fielder. With an average center fielder, the Sox might have won 100 games instead of 96. Ellsbury batted over .360, with power, in September. Crisp is utterly lost at the plate right now. Replacing him with Ellsbury is a no-brainer.
Two years later, Crisp has been a million dollars worth of promise worth a dime on delivery. Time to say goodbye to Coco.
I think you guys are misconstruing what I’m saying. Whether or not Tito replaces Crisp here – and it looks like he has, so fine – your apparent willingness to crucify Tito over these moves is patently ridiculous and reactionary. Get some perspective.