I like how people like to defend Tito with the whole "he won 2 world series" defense. He didn't single handedly win those 2 world series. The 2004 season was shaping up to be just another s*** year until there was a trade that solidified the team and then a 10 game win streak. That all seemed to get them in motion, and even then during the playoffs they were basically eliminated until the Yankee's choked hard and that put the momentum in the Sox favor. 2007 had a great team, basically the complete package with good pitching, hitting, and defense. The rest of the years were pretty much lackluster. Halfway through Francona's tenure here it seemed to me like the inmates started running the asylum, with Manny being an idiot, Beckett having to be babied, all this crap last year.
Really, I can't say I'd be convinced that the Sox would of been worse off over the last 8 years with someone else as manager. I personally think they would of been better but I don't know that of course. In the end I think Francona was brought in here to be a warm body to throw out at the media, to take questions and answer them as PR friendly as possible, to take the front office's orders, and eventually that act ran dry. He's gone and now what they need is someone who isn't going to treat these players like children.