Francona

[Sean Casey]

I've never been much of a Francona fan, but so far in this season in particular, I'm starting to seriously question his managerial abilities. Sure the Red Sox are in first place, but he hasn't done much to help that. There have been too many close games that the Red Sox should have on, but didn't, because of some absurd decision by him. Last night was a perfect example. It was obvious throughout the game that Wakefield was struggling, yet he was still sent out for the 7th, despite having a well-rested bullpen that included the newly-added David Riske. Then, with 2 out and the tying run on base in the 9th inning, Francona let Dustan Mohr bat. I know the only alternative would have been to have Gonzalez pinch hit, but I would have preferred to have seen him hit over Mohr, who is having a terrible offensive season.

So, I'm just wondering what other fans thoughts are regarding Francona and his value to the team.

[Mike D.]

I agree that when he went out for the 7th, Wakefield should have been on a "one mistake and you're out" policy...after the first walk, he should have been pulled. Someone should have been up in the pen and ready to go, just in case.

Of course, if A-rod had popped up, like he thought he did, we would have been praising Franconia for getting one more good inning out of his starter, so I guess it's a bit unfair in hindsight.

But once a starter who's pushing 40 hits 100 pitches, it's probably a good idea to have a short leash.

[VIBaseball]

once a starter who's pushing 40 hits 100 pitches, it's probably a good idea to have a short leash.

I wouldn't necessarily hold a knuckleballer to that rule. It would depend on how Wakefield's command was...but clearly it wasn't great last night.

[Mike D.]

I wouldn't necessarily hold a knuckleballer to that rule. It would depend on how Wakefield's command was...but clearly it wasn't great last night.

Agreed...he got through six innings, but they were far from 6 dominant innings, he was already behind, and that inning put the game out of reach (just barely).

[SoxSon]

I had the same thought last night when Wakefield came back out in the 7th. It was a 4-1 game, and we needed to hold it to that. A win was still in reach, particularly with Riske in the pen, and Wake wasn't looking right. I know it's always problematic to be second-guessing the manager who's actually out there, but I wouldn't have sent Wakefield out in the 7th last night.

[Sean Casey]

This man is unfit to manage a major league team. There is no excuse for letting Clement pitch in the 5th, let alone pitch after starting the inning with four consecutive hits. And don't even get me started on Dustan Mohr's presence in the starting lineup.

[SoxSon]

This man is unfit to manage a major league team. There is no excuse for letting Clement pitch in the 5th, let alone pitch after starting the inning with four consecutive hits. And don't even get me started on Dustan Mohr's presence in the starting lineup.


Again, I agree with your sentiments. I'm not sure what's driving these decisions.