I'm no fan af Mr. Francona myself, but hey, why the heck is anybody calling for the manager's head? If the ball David Ortiz sent to the wall Tuesday night has sailed 6 inches higher, the series would have been tied right now at 1-1. If one guy could have whacked a homer with one man on base Wednesday night, that game would have been tied and the Red Sox could very well have been leading the series at 2-0. Who would be flaming Francona then?
The final outcome so far may be 2 losses for the Sox, but they certainly didn't get their butts kicked by any means. On both occasions, one swing of a bat could have changed the outcome.
My hopes aren's so high right now, but if the Sox win games 3 and 4, this effectively becomes a 2-out-of-3 series from that point on.
Who would you bet on at that point? I'd take the Sox regardless of who is pitching on either side.