Francona on Thin Ice?
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by user Dukeboy999
Its seems to me that Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona must be skating on thin ice when it comes to his job. After all, Boston finished in third place in the AL East last year, only 10 games above .500. With all the money going into this team from the ownership group, shouldn't they be able to expect a little more?
And now that the Sox have brought in Daisuke Matsuzaka, Francona will be under even more pressure to make a playoff run. Not to mention the signings of Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew. The Boston pitching rotation has to be looked at as one of the strongest in the American League coming into the season. The rotation goes six deep with Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Papelbon, Wakefield, and Jon Lester. (The same Jon Lester who just finished Cancer treatments) It will be interesting to see if Beckett can have a strong bounceback season, and if Papelbon can make the transition from the Bullpen.
In terms of the Bullpen itself, the Sox still have a little bit of work to do in the off season. Timlin and Tavarez are solid veteran arms, but after that the pool shallows. Guys like Debarr, Breslow, and Delcarmen will have to prove their worth quickly. To make a serious run, the Sox will still need to find a reliable closer to finish close games.
As for the offense, Boston should get above average run support. Lugo will be a solid top of the lineup guy, with good speed. The perfect guy to mix things up, and create runs on the base paths. JD Drew should also be a solid compliment to Manny and Ortiz in the 3, 4, 5 slots. I still thing the Red Sox need to find something more long term than Kevin Youkilis at first base, but he will have to do for now.
So where does this leave Terry Francona? With a team that should at least win a Wild Card spot. Third place and only 10 games over .500 is not where this franchise wants or needs to be. And Im sure management won't wait until this team falls into another postseason drought to make another change at skipper. This is a franchise afterall, that is not afraid to make a change at the helm. So you have to ask yourself the question, how much longer does Terry Francona have in Boston?
