Assuming the wheels don't come flying off the Red Sox Francona will will overtake Mike Higgins (560) and trail only Joe Cronin (1,071) for career wins by a Red Sox manager. In a market where fans think they are all experts, Francona has done his best to step in front of every bullet that is directed towards his team. In return he has had players who have played free and loose and have won 2 World Series in his time.
The Boston market is one of the toughest in baseball. Every game is treated like a playoff, yet Francona for the most part is able to keep his eyes on the "big picture". He has gone out of his way to make sure his pitchers stay healthy, whether it be putting them on the DL with a "tired arm" or limiting innings to make sure they are ready for the playoffs. Francona is far from perfect, but I thought for at least 1 day we could give the guy some props for what he has been able to do while with the Red Sox. You may not like him, but you can't argue with the results. Try to think about to the 90's, if I told you a manager would come in have the 2nd most wins in franchise history, break the curse, go on and win another World Series, and have the Sox in the playoffs almost every year. You would have shit your pants, and told me that you would kill your first born just for the chance to see those things happen...So I ask just for 1 day that fans give the man some credit for what he and his teams have accomplished.
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