Francona Gets Three More Years

I have to admit, I was not a big fan of Tito when they signed him before the 04 offseason. At that time you could hear me bitching to my cubemate Mike about how they only signed him to get Schilling to agree to the trade, and he would be gone in a year or two. Even after they won it all in 04, I could be heard throughout the 05 season saying that he made poor decisions throughout many games and was more or less a bum.

I was wrong. I am big enough for a lot of things, so I am definetley big enough to admit when I am wrong, at least when it comes to sports. Tito has been the manager of a team that has brought two world series wins to a club that had not been able to get it done since 1918. I know that this is well worn territory, so I will leave it at that. He deserves his 3 million a year, and should have a good shot at making to the big dance this year too, with all of his heavy hitters back and healthy.

But I must say that I still have some issues with him and his style, and I wonder if it has more to do with the differences between baseball and other sports than it does with Tito. I somewhat remember a hazy conversation with Neil about this... I have heard and understand that arguement that what Tito does so well is manage the egos and personalities he has on his team in a city where the spotlight is squarely on the club at all times. I guess that is important, but I am more of a fan of the "shut up and sit down" approach. Take Coco for a recent example. I kind of want Tito to call him into his office and say something along the lines of "Coco, you sucked last year at the plate. We have to make the decision that is best for the team. So you are going to back up Ellsbury and Drew. If your bat picks up, we can look at moving you into the lineup at that point. But, we are paying you a boat load of money to be here, so I expect you to behave like a professional and work hard at getting back into the lineup." But thats not what is going to happen. Coco is going to all all Jay Payton and cry his way into a trade. That pisses me off. Act like a grown ass man, and realize that if you bust your ass in the cage and get your bat hot, Tito is going to play you, thats his job. I guess what I am saying is I want Tito to stand up and put some of these premadonnas in their place...But thats not going to happen.

To sum it up, I am happy we got an extension worked out with Tito, and hopefully it will translate into more great seasons like we have been treated to the last few years.