www.FireFrancona.com

[boston22407]

What if the redsox start playing to their Caliber and win the WS with tito ,should they fire him ?

[MANNYHOF24]

The argument that Francona manages the bullpen poorly after Bard and Papelbon is total ********. It isn't his fault, that Theo continually gives him s*** pieces to work with.

[Palodios]

and i do watch the games just not when celtics and bruins are playing and when i am not at work

 

So that leaves two to three games a week? Many of us in this thread complaining about Tito have watched most, if not all the games this season. When he doesn't have a rested bullpen where he can go Bard->Papelbon, he makes more bad moves than good ones. This bullpen is actually pretty damn good, but he has been misusing them.

[MJantomaso]

The argument that Francona manages the bullpen poorly after Bard and Papelbon is total ********. It isn't his fault' date=' that Theo continually gives him s*** pieces to work with.[/quote']

 

Theo built the team that won 2 world series. The fact that the players are busts are not his fault. He is one of the smartest GM's imo by not signing long term contracts like the Yankees. That way if they are busts he dumps them and reloads.

[ORS]

If this team didn't have about 15 guys under performing based on their career averages' date=' no one would be talking about this.[/quote']

I would. I think he's a horrible game manager in the regular season. The slow start is magnifying his impact.

[MJantomaso]

The argument that Francona manages the bullpen poorly after Bard and Papelbon is total ********. It isn't his fault' date=' that Theo continually gives him s*** pieces to work with.[/quote']

 

Francona is the worst when it comes to actually managing a game. If you want to know how the game should be managed, watch a Tampa Bay game. Maddon year in and year out has a bunch of no named scrubs but he plays the matchups which is the reason why we have been his bitch since he got to Tampa Bay.

[SoxSport]

What they need is a guy who isn't so popular with the players, and is more proactive on the field.

A manager who stresses fundamentals, and isn't so laid back. Tito is a fat, contented cow--a millionaire, now--like most of the team.

[SoxSport]

The argument that Francona manages the bullpen poorly after Bard and Papelbon is total ********. It isn't his fault' date=' that Theo continually gives him s*** pieces to work with.[/quote']

 

OVERMANAGES is the word.

[MJantomaso]

OVERMANAGES is the word.

 

<_>

[SoxSport]

We are talking about the guy that kept sending Eric Gagne out night after night. Saying that he had a "3 headed monster". smh..

 

Yeah. 4 blown saves in a row. And there's the cooked Timlin brought in to lose that critical playoff game to TB. Instead of one of the starters. Loyalty over winning for Tito. Always.

 

Remember when D. Johnson brought in the rookie Burton to pitch to Morgan in the deciding 7th world series game in '75? With all of his starters watching from the bullpen? Now that's sheer stupidity. He got fired.

[boston22407]

So that leaves two to three games a week? Many of us in this thread complaining about Tito have watched most' date=' if not all the games this season. When he doesn't have a rested bullpen where he can go Bard->Papelbon, he makes more bad moves than good ones. This bullpen is actually pretty damn good, but he has been misusing them.[/quote']

 

i have watched all the game up to the playoffs starting,

[ORS]

The argument that Francona manages the bullpen poorly after Bard and Papelbon is total ********. It isn't his fault' date=' that Theo continually gives him s*** pieces to work with.[/quote']

This is nonsense. He constantly goes to one of "his guys", like Wakefield/Okajima now, and Timlin in prior years, when they are undeniably cooked, done, toast in meaningful game situations while leaving superior players who he's not that familiar with on the bench. He never uses Bard when the Sox are down in a big situation to try and limit the other team from expanding their lead, giving the offense a chance to come back - of course, 3 games later, Bard will "need work" and appear with a 5-run lead. He can't read the appropriate time to pull a starter, which is part of bullpen management (ie, when to put relievers in the game).

 

Bullpen management is not a strong suit for Francona. Not at all.

[MJantomaso]

Call it what ever you want under manager, over manage. The fact is, Francona cant manage. It's like he goes through the motions until he gets to the post season. Well..its May 12th and we still haven't hit .500. I think its time to put the double bubble away for an inning or two and wake up Terry.

[boston22407]

any rumors out there of him getting fired

[MJantomaso]

any rumors out there of him getting fired

 

None.

 

But realistically I doubt any will come up until the All-Star break. Although I am surprised some blood sucking reporter isn't writing a column somewhere by now. lol

[Palodios]

i have watched all the game up to the playoffs starting' date='[/quote']

 

So between April 1st, and April 11th, you watched every game? You're not helping your case

[boston22407]

So between April 1st' date=' and April 11th, you watched every game? You're not helping your case [/quote']

 

yea i guess

[snydersminipretzels]

What if the redsox start playing to their Caliber and win the WS with tito ' date='should they fire him ?[/quote']

 

What kind of chance does someone have to answer that, given the premise?

[RedSoxFaithful]

Not true:

 

Lester got pulled after 7 IP/1 ER after 93 pitches - he threw 108 the game before that.

Lackey got pulled after 6 IP/1 ER after 93 pitches - he threw 91 the game before that.

 

 

How is Hill no good for the next few nights? He got the first two guys he faced out, then Francona replaces him with Aceves to face the corpse of Juan Rivera. Aceves promptly goes HBP, BB, BB, Lineout to end the inning. Aceves threw in the prior night also. Letting Hill try to finish the inning was the right thing to do there.

 

It feels an awful lot like you are generalizing the excuses, and these generalizations just don't hold up to the actual chain of events.

 

Francona has been awful at game management this year. Awful. There's no way around that.

 

You have been spot on with every post you have made in this thread and they are my thoughts exactly. The argument that Hill wouldn't be available for the next few nights if he had to get one more out makes absolutely no sense.

 

And how can anyone say he does a good job at managing his bullpen? but then say he does a bad job with leaving starters in too long, they seem to overlap. If he was good at managing his bullpen then he would have someone warming up when he sends his starter out like he did last night with Lackey. Someone should have been warming up because Lackey was gassed and it was a close game. He failed to have anyone ready for when Lackey got in trouble which he did.

[RedSoxFaithful]

What if the redsox start playing to their Caliber and win the WS with tito ' date='should they fire him ?[/quote']

 

If that happens it will be in spite of him not with him IMO. I still would look in a new direction.

[Spudboy]

http://i53.tinypic.com/4qq7w1.gif

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

f***in' WB!!!

[Spudboy]

Unbelievable.

 

Exactly young buck. I think J_E said it best. There are certain people here that it is simply not wise to confront. Some of the newbs just have to learn the hard way, I guess.

[FrostMo]

You don't just fire a manager like francona w/o a replacment. There are not "hundreds" of minor league potential managers, I don't think Old Lou is looking to manage again (not that his last couple years with the Cubbies inspire much confidence anyway), and Bobby looks pretty content on Baseball Tonight. It's fine to say you want to get rid of a guy who really hasn't done a good job this season, but you have to have a replacement. This isn't the Pirates its the damn Red Sox they aren't going to hire some scrub to come in midseason and scrap all preseason expectations. Despite the slow start we are by no means out of the division race, if/(hope not) when we are THEN Francona will lose his job.

[Dojji]

Wouldn't mind replacing Francona with Tek anyday. Player-manager anyone?

 

But that's just me thinking of weird scenarios. Seriously the problem is that Tito sends a guy out there to do his job and the guy doesn't do it. Tito gave him a bullpen full of has-beens and almost-weres and they aren't getting it done. It's a common sort of thing that just happens with GM's and bullpens.

 

If I had to hazard a guess as to what was going wrong, I'd look to the infield defense. Pedroia and Lowrie are good players, but neither of them are amazingly rangy. Youkilis is only a decent 3B, he can't really make up for anything the way Beltre could. That means a lot of baseballs that could be fielded aren't just because they don't have the mobility to be there in time. That was always the big downside of the get-a-1B-and-move-Youk-to-third scenario, and it's biting us a little now. Pitchers have to be a bit sharper in a division where their margin for error is already the thinnest in baseball.

 

Unfortunately, the configurations that make the most sense as fixes take a big bat out of the lineup (either Ortiz, Youk, Gonzo or Crawford) and replace it with Iglesias. Makes it a real tough call.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Huh?? I can understand Lowrie, but Pedroia? He's got incredible range. That's crazy to say he doesn't have range.

 

From 2007-2011, Pedroia's Range Runs above Average (RngR) is at 16.7. That's 2nd best in the AL in that time span. Pedroia has incredible range, probably the best part of his defense.

[Palodios]

I'd look to the infield defense.

 

Oh come on now, this is ridiculous. Last year we often saw Beltre, Scutaro, Hall, Lowell... Do you think that's really better than Youk, Lowrie, Pedroia, A-gon?

[SoxSport]

This is nonsense. He constantly goes to one of "his guys", like Wakefield/Okajima now, and Timlin in prior years, when they are undeniably cooked, done, toast in meaningful game situations while leaving superior players who he's not that familiar with on the bench. He never uses Bard when the Sox are down in a big situation to try and limit the other team from expanding their lead, giving the offense a chance to come back - of course, 3 games later, Bard will "need work" and appear with a 5-run lead. He can't read the appropriate time to pull a starter, which is part of bullpen management (ie, when to put relievers in the game).

 

Bullpen management is not a strong suit for Francona. Not at all.

 

Tito never guesses the right pitcher to put into a game. It's uncanny his lack of judgement.

The other night , he put Aceves in in the 8th leading instead of Oki. Oki pitches 2 innings later and looks good, but he came in at the wrong time.

 

Tito made two bad pitching decisions in that game; one was not having Beckett pitch or start the eighth--at 103 pitches and a shutout. Mistake one. The other was not replacing him with Oki. Mistake two.

 

Yet they won the game. So Tito smells like a rose. But they had to use two extra relievers to do it, and come back from a tie.

[SoxSport]

Huh?? I can understand Lowrie, but Pedroia? He's got incredible range. That's crazy to say he doesn't have range.

 

From 2007-2011, Pedroia's Range Runs above Average (RngR) is at 16.7. That's 2nd best in the AL in that time span. Pedroia has incredible range, probably the best part of his defense.

 

Pedroia has range, hands and quickness at 2b. The best I've seen at that position in half a century.

[Dojji]

Oh come on now' date=' this is ridiculous. Last year we often saw Beltre, Scutaro, Hall, Lowell... Do you think that's really better than Youk, Lowrie, Pedroia, A-gon?[/quote']

 

I wouldn't call last year a pitching zenith either.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I wouldn't call last year a pitching zenith either.

 

I agree, it wasn't a great pitching year, but our staff still rolled up a 4.19 team ERA last year. Right now, our team ERA is 4.71. A half a run per game is a significant increase.