In 2004, Terry Francona pushed all the right buttons.
In 2007, Terry Francona’s trying to make the buttons he’s pushing right.
That’s the difference, and that’s why the Red Sox stand at a 3-1 series deficit going into Wednesday’s scheduled off-day.
Two major buttons he tried to force through aren’t working out and will continue not to work until, most likely, the Red Sox go on vacation.
The first button that continues to be pushed stubbornly is Coco Crisp. Saying that he can’t hit is an injustice to the word “hit.”
Going into last night’s game, he was hitting .200/.273/.200. He didn’t even manage a hit or a walk last night – just piling on the pain. Yes, a major selling point is his glove and his speed. Funnily enough, those are major selling points of the guy picking splinters out of his butt — and that guy can hit, too.
What justification is there for playing Coco? If you know the answer, please tell me so I can attempt to comprehend this. The only justification that I can think of is that “Coco’s played all year,” and the underlying “We don’t want to hurt Coco’s feelings.”
I think the Angels were more interested in winning a ring than feelings, and thus were more than happy to let Francisco Rodriguez dominate in October, 2002. Don’t you?
Worry about the ring.
How about Tim Wakefield? He got off to a blistering start … through four innings. He had six whiffs and five hits and was cruising. His knuckler was bottoming out … but then the fifth inning showed up. We know what happened. A seven-spot was put up, and the Indians started wondering what time the Rockies’ flight would get in.
Disgusting.
Was starting Josh Beckett the right move? I’m not sure. Yes, he threw a complete-game shutout on three days’ rest to clinch the World Series against the Yankees in 2003. Small sample size. What’s not as small is the statistics of pitchers who went on three days’ rest in the postseason.
So let’s say that the start of Wakefield was defensible. The fifth inning rolls around. Here’s what happened until Wakefield was mercifully yanked and Manny Delcarmen brought in for the sole reason of jabbing a knife in our hearts:
Homer, single, HBP, fielder’s choice, infield single, (that Wakefield caused to not be fielded cleanly) strikeout, single.
Knowing that losing this game puts our backs to the wall and means we have zero chance for error from here on out, I think I pull him right after the hit by pitch. Yeah, if the Indians don’t catch a break with the infield single, it’s 3-1 Sox. Does it matter? Wakefield clearly showed he was losing it. Homer, single, hit by pitch? With the 2-3-4 hitters due up? Take him out.
Can Josh Beckett win Game 5? Absolutely, considering C.C. Sabathia has shown no inclination of pitching well. Can Curt Schilling win Game 6? Sure, he’ll be at home, he’ll have a start against the Indians under his belt, he’ll want to come up big and he has the postseason credentials. Fausto Carmona can be handled. Can Dice-K beat Jake Westbrook? Well, let’s not go there… but yeah, the next two games can be ours.
The problem is … they have to be ours, or our season is over.
Backs to the wall now.
Francona has been a successful manager during his tenure here in Boston, but he’s falling into the trap of taking his own ego over what dictates common sense. He’s trying to justify things that aren’t there so he can be called a genius when it happens. Instead, it’s all falling apart.
Addendum: God, I hate off-days. Some other stuff around MVN that is Boston-centric to whet your appetite:
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