I don't know about a "big" part, but , yes he certainly contributed. Unfortunately, other than being rested when Doug caught Wakefield, Francona was chastised for not playing his best line-up. This is true for the rest of the line-up, due to the public demand to win the east tittle ( beat the Yanks ). So we end up with a tired, injured team going into the play-offs, including the pitchers ( starters, and relief ).