The Boss.

Terry Francona had his first chat with the media this afternoon. He's looking forward to getting started. He's not ready to make decisions yet. He respects Mike Lowell and he hopes for the best from David Ortiz. He likes the team as it's currently constituted. Nothing too controversial.

Old Friends.

 

Wayne Gomes last threw in a major league baseball game on September 28, 2002. It was the second to last game of the season and the Sox lost 6-9 to Tampa; finishing in second place with a 93-69 record. He played for the Phillies AAA team in 2003, the Oakland AAA team in 2004, in 2005 he played in the Mexican leagues and in Independent ball before calling it quits. Since then he has opened a baseball academy in his hometown of Hampton Roads, VA.

Yesterday, he called on his old friend Terry Francona--whom he met when he played for the Phillies and Francona was his manager--to lead a hitting clinic at his academy. In the video he urges the kids to stay in school just in case the baseball thing doesn't work out. He also gave an interview in which he praised Jeter and Rivera.

From the Halls of Montezuma.

to trying to get a thirty-six year-old-man to get on a bus in Los Angeles.

Edes has a piece about Terry Francona's son, Nick, who graduated from Quantico last summer as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and is likely to be deployed to Afghanistan soon enough. I don't do politics here but the best of luck to him.

The reason to bring it up is Nick's quote about the difference between managing a baseball team and managing a Marine platoon:

"There's a difference, though, between $10 million ballplayers and Marines making $10,000 a year, they don't have Manny Ramirezes in the Marine Corps. They just don't exist. In baseball, you can't just tell them what to do. In the Marine Corps, you say jump, they say, 'How high?"'

Do you think Francona did some complaining about his job over the breakfast table?

Also, the picture is fabulous.

California Dreamin.

The Sox left for California this afternoon and what better send off could there be than to make fun of their outfits?



Would you check out those gams? That boy has a very shapely leg. And really nice shoes. Someone ought to tell him how to wear a French cuff, though. Puffy sleeves are not attractive.



I suppose that we can give Victor the benefit of the doubt and pretend that the stripes on his suit are brown. And while his belt and his shoes do not match (and it appears that he's wearing black socks, too boot) at least he seems to have his priorities straight, making an all important stop at Build-A-Bear before he made his way to the bus.




Besides the fact that Theo is carrying both a backpack and a briefcase (making him look like a young-ish college professor), the only thing moderately interesting about the photo is that apparently his choice of airplane reading material is Harper's Magazine. Although as far as I can tell from looking at their website, not the latest issue.



Even though the pocket square doesn't match and he probably should have resisted the urge to button his suit old man cardigan style (just doing the top button), David Ortiz is able to rock the suit. It's a beautiful jacket.



And Francona. I'll just say that the difference in quality between Ortiz's jacket and Francona's jacket is stunning.

Secret Weapon.

I may not be skilled at predicting the outcome of baseball games that have yet to be played but it would seem that the same doesn't hold true for Terry Francona.

Case in point: In the wee hours of yesterday morning, Victor Martinez was bugging Francona to let him play in last night's game. Annoyed? Tired? Francona slipped and revealed a little too much:

"I finally wrote back and I said, 'Leave me alone. You'll come in, pitch hit, and get the game winning hit. He said, 'OK. Goodnight.' "

It does raise the question of why he doesn't win more games, though. If he knows that somebody is going to go 0 for 5, shouldn't he bench them that night? It must be that he can see how the game will turn out but is unable to do anything to change the outcome. It would explain how he remains mostly calm, throughout.

Tea for Four.

Ok fine. I never really believed the weather folk that they've got on NESN who claimed that Bigelow tea was Terry Francona's green tea of choice. It seemed like a giant put-on, worthy of a guffaw or two. Apparently, I was wrong.

Lecture Circuit, Part 2.

Saturday night, Terry Francona headed down to the University of North Carolina (where, coincidentally, his eldest and his middle daughter take classes and play softball) to deliver the keynote address at the school's First Pitch Dinner for the baseball team.

Said Francona:

"Also for me, it's kicking off baseball season, which is an exciting time for all of us. I know the weather doesn't really look like it but you starting thinking warm thoughts and start thinking of spring training, and I know the college kids are thinking about starting their season. It's an exciting time of year."

Here. Friggin' here.

Also on Saturday night, Javier Lopez made a trip down to his Alma Mater, University of Virginia, for their baseball season kick-off dinner: Step Up to the Plate.

Dinner Dates.

Justin Masterson has a busy off-season, or he's in Boston for the weekend and that's why he scheduled so many appearances. On January 9, he'll be at the Portland Seadogs Hot Stove Dinner up in Maine. The money raised goes to Strike Out Cancer in Kids. Tickets are $50 but they come with a photo of Happy. On January 10, he'll be at the Jimmy Fund's New Stars for Young Stars event. On January 11, he'll be at the car show. And on January 12, he'll sleep.


Meanwhile down in North Carolina, Terry Francona will be the featured speaker at UNC's First Pitch Dinner on January 31. The event will be held at The Carolina Club on the University of North Carolina's campus. Tickets are $75.

Can Somebody Please Call a Medic?

It seems that Terry Francona has been chewed on and spat out. From the Herald:

"Francona will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee today and tomorrow will get an injection for his ailing hip. Francona, who had his right knee replaced several years ago, is trying to postpone a left knee replacement for at least another year.

Meanwhile, Francona recently learned he’s suffering from a torn labrum in the hip, the same malady that ended Mike Lowell’s season and led to surgery last month.

Finally, Francona has yet another appointment Tuesday with a back specialist to determine surgery options."

Oof. A safe and speedy recovery (and a bit of good news healthwise) is in order.

A Commonality.

New kid on the block Casey Kelly has something in common with Terry Francona. Last October, Kelly was diagnosed with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection and had to undergo surgery to remove the infected tissue from his elbow. You'll recall that Francona was diagnosed with the less-squicky version of the disease after knee surgery in 2002 and is now working to promote good hygeine. So, should he decide to sign, they'll have something to chat about over their Rice Krispies!

Happy Birthday Terry!

Today is Terry Francona's forty-ninth birthday. The manager's job is not an easy one but his team seems to love him and he handles the media with great aplomb, skill, and humor (except for when he's asked what he thinks is a stupid question and repeats it back to the questioner in a way that seems to say: Really? Are you sure you wanted to ask that?) Many happy and healthy returns to you, sir and may your boys win one for you tonight.

The Trend Continues

No doubt. He's up to something.

So first we have friendly Josh Beckett, then silly Jason Varitek, and now? Now, it seems that Terry Francona (at the moment it's the video on the front page) has also partaken of the goofy water in Fort Myers. Shutting out Donny O. during the post game interview, I don't know what to make of it.

A New Contract for Terry

According to the Herald, the Sox and Francona have agreed to terms on a new contract. No word on how much money he is going to get but it's for three years (through 2011.) Hooray!

Terry and Peddy sittin' in a tree...

I don't know what it is between the two of them, or how it got to be that way, but I really enjoy the dynamic between Francona and Pedroia. Francona is like your fun, bachelor uncle-the one who never grew up, even though your mom and your aunts desperately wish that he would,he plays guitar, rides a motorcycle, he's just the epitome of cool-when he's around Pedroia.

In the Herald today they had a little bit about Pedroia taking over Francona's role in the Sullivan Tire Commercials.

"The Sullivan Tire commercial shoot offered one of the first opportunities for Pedroia and Francona to execute a series of good-natured jabs, a staple last year.

First came Pedroia’s explanation regarding why he will serve as the company’s spokesman: “He probably did the worst commercial of all time, so they are finally going to get somebody who can do something decent, or actually above average.”

Francona responded: “They were replacing a 49-year-old, so they were looking for somebody who closely resembled me, and he fit the bill."

Ha!

As for worst Red Sox commercial ever, I would have to nominate Jonathan Papelbon's 125 Auto Commercial. It is truly beyond words.

Francona on Santana and Lester

Terry Francona gave an interview to the Associated Press today.

He talked about being glad Santana was in the National League, the rooks coming up, and how much he likes Lester. He had this to say about him (Lester):

"Jon's very aware of how I feel about him. I think he knows how the entire organization feels about him. He's got a pretty mature attitude about this whole thing. He's fine."

and I also liked this one:

"I don't want to rate the Yankees. I've got a tough enough time worrying about us. I don't know. I hope every team we play struggles."

In Defense of Red Sox Fans

Terry got a write-up in the December 31 issue of ESPN magazine. There's nothing too substantive to it. He talked a little bit about his dad and growing up in baseball, managing Michael Jordan, cribbage, sticking to his guns, handling the media, spitting, and his health.

The writer of the article seems to think that nobody appreciates Terry enough or gives him enough credit for what he has done for the Red Sox. This is not true. Yes, there are armchair manager types who figure they know best but that's not a Red Sox/Terry Francona phenomenon. And yes, he does spit a lot (and I cringe every time I have to see it).

But that doesn't mean he isn't appreciated. I appreciate him. Hell, I sent him ten bucks to buy lunch for himself and to thank him for all he has done.

I don't imagine that managing a baseball team is an easy task. I can't imagine it would be any easier when the team is composed of so many "personalities." Yet, he seems to do it with grace and finesse; gaining the respect and admiration of his players. I think he is gaining the respect of the fans, as well. Why else would we have been so up in arms about the Francona Rule?

Francona Rule? How about: Francona rules?

This has really ruffled my feathers.

I've got no problem with a dress code. I'm not allowed to wear provocative clothing to work. The rules are there for a reason; in my case, to maintain a professional atmosphere.

If major league baseball wants to maintain a professional appearance on the field, then that's fine. The thing is, I don't think that Terry looks unprofessional. It's not like he's showing up to games in a Man Utd jersey, a Packer's hat, sweatpants, and flip flops. It's official MLB gear, for God's sake (it probably even came with a niftly little hologram attached to it), not an old sweatshirt speckled with paint from some home improvement project.

What really bothered me, though, was the utterly unprofessional and condescending tone of the press release. Plenty of managers wear pullovers, so why call out Francona specifically? Also, a nightshirt? Seriously? Maybe Bob Watson is too cheap to turn on the heat and needs to sleep in fleece or maybe he's old-fashioned enough that he actually has a night shirt and cap that he wears to bed but come on.

Anyway, Terry himself said it was actually not a big deal so I guess I'll try to put it behind me.

In other Terry news, he was named manager of the year by Baseball America. So good on him for that.

The Campaign for Terry

Fine. Terry didn't win American League Manager of the Year. Whatever. He doesn't need your stinkin' accolades, anyway. This year alone, he's got the best record in the American League East, an American League pennant and a World Series championship to prove to himself that he is very good at what he does. He doesn't need a stamp of approval from a bunch of baseball writers to know that.

What he does need is a raise, preferably a big one. Sure, the man already makes a boatload of money (more money than I could ever hope to make in a year) but compared to other big-market, big-league managers, it's a pittance. Back in October there were assurances that his contract would be extended. Hopefully, that extension would include a raise. On the off chance that the Front Office is actually insane and it doesn't (and because I am a good, giving, generous soul) I have decided to start a campaign.

It bears the rather unoriginal title "The Campaign for Terry"; it's single goal is to insure that Terry Francona receives the bonus that he is due.

The idea is simple. If every good and true Red Sox fan was to open his wallet and share a little bit of what he found there, then we could easily achieve our goal. There are just over fourteen million people living in New England. If even 1/10 of the population participated and threw a couple of bucks Terry's way, then we could almost double his salary for the year. And as far as I can tell, though I am by no means an accountant, the money would come to Terry as tax free gifts.

The following is the text of the note I included with my contribution:

Dear Terry:

As a long suffering member of Red Sox nation, I would like to thank you for all that you have done for our team. It is through your leadership that they were able to pull it off, not once but twice. I greatly appreciate all the hard work and dedication that you have shown. I would invite you to lunch but since you probably wouldn't accept, here's a couple of bucks. Lunch is on me.

Note: I signed the note but did not include my return address for fear that he might actually return it to me.

If you wish to join us in the cause, the address is:

Terry Francona

c/o Fenway Park

4 Yawkey Way

Boston, MA 02215