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The AL pennant race is already under way

BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

It’s December, and the Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots are the top stories of the day. They are, right? Winter sports? Cold — brrrr — indoor entertainment? Frozen tundra?

Exactly. And that’s why it’s obvious that we’ll be talking about baseball today.

The season that Sox fans cannot forget — for good reasons and bad — seems to be the never-ending story these days. It’s been seven long weeks since Aaron Boone sent Tim Wakefield’s flutterball long into the Bronx night, but like a heartbroken lover who senses his ex’s hints for reconciliation, Red Sox fans just can’t let go or give up hope. She’s comin’ back, the jilted partner says, in the same manner that Red Sox fans utter their annual anthem — but this time with feeling: Just wait ‘til next year!

Another step toward piecing together that broken heart was put into place on Thursday when the Sox announced to no great surprise that Terry Francona was going to be the new manager of the local nine. In the crowded and news-camera-wire strewn .406 Club that day, Francona told the legions what they wanted to hear: better days are coming, and he’s just the guy to serve as their white knight.

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure that Francona was the best the Sox could do, but once George Steinbrenner decided not to flip his wig and fire long-time manager Joe Torre, the short list of elite managerial candidates diminished significantly. Who was left on the horizon among experienced managers? Jim Fregosi? Too vanilla and nearly 62, even though geezers in the manager’s office are trendy these days. Kevin Kennedy? The Sox tried that once and some hard feelings still exist. Walpole Joe Morgan? Snowplow Joe just turned 73, and he too had his chance already.

The Sox sure as hell didn’t want to break in a brand spankin’ new manager who had never worn the big-league mantle of responsibility, and that worked against nearly every other candidate interviewed for the Sox’ helm, particularly Angels bench coach Joe Maddon. So Francona, who had spent four seasons in the frying pan that is the Philadelphia baseball scene, was chosen the 44th manager of the Olde Towne Team and will wear uniform number 16, a numeral made famous (or infamous) by previous wearers Jim Lonborg, Bill Buckner (his first season in Boston, in 1984), Kevin Romine, Bob Zupcic, Frankie Viola, and (gulp) manager-for-a-month Joe Kerrigan.

Listening to Francona’s philosophies for running the team in the coming years should provide the run-of-the-mill Sox fan with optimism. Francona never had a great team in Philadelphia, but he seemed to get along with most of them, and some — including new acquisition Curt Schilling — continue to speak highly of the 44-year-old skipper. Talking to reporters after the introductory press conference, Francona relayed a tale from his final week with the Phillies, when the team was hopelessly out of it and its manager was (rightly) convinced that his firing would be imminent. On a 30-degree day in Chicago just six days from the end of the season, coach Hal McRae advised Francona to cancel the team’s pre-game BP; Francona decided to wait and see if any of the players would even bother to show up early for extra hitting, and 15 players actually did. The soon-to-be fired manager took justified pride in the fact that so many players, playing out the string and anxious for the winter break, would care enough to show up in those chilly conditions to hone their craft. "We must be doing something right," he recalls thinking, even though, as he says, "We lost that day anyway."

The new manager apparently prides himself on the respect he will give each player, and will demand of each player as well. He will expect respect for the game itself as well as for fellow teammates, and his mantra seems to be that he’ll stick up for and care for each player more than they’ve ever known, but he’ll also have higher individual expectations than players have ever known, too. He’ll be dealing with a plethora of variable personalities on the 2004 Red Sox, and as he said Thursday, "I don’t know how I’ll handle Manny Ramirez, but I do know how I’ll handle the Boston Red Sox team." With succinctness and honesty, he says, "I’ll spend my energy on what I can control." Does he have what it takes for the top job in Boston? "I’ve been released as a player six times, fired as a manager, I have no hair, a nose that’s five times too big for my face, and I grew up in a big-league clubhouse [as the son of 15-year major leaguer Tito Francona]. You think I have a thick skin?" You bet he does, and if he can implement everything he said he would on Thursday, the players will rally around him just as they did for his predecessor, Grady Little. Francona’s team will always be prepared when it comes to taking the field this upcoming season, and that quality was reportedly sorely lacking during Little’s two-year tenure. Francona’s a stats guy, a research guy, and best of all for the upcoming roster: a player’s manager who will never hang them out to dry in front of their teammates, the fans, or the media.

And Thursday will have been his best day, since for any manager it all goes downhill from here.

Unless.... Unless he can do what no Red Sox manager has done in the past eighty-some years.

Francona’s got a leg up on what most replacement managers have to deal with when they enter a new situation. He’s not taking over some 60- or 70-win team; he’s got one of baseball’s best right off the bat, an offensive juggernaut that may have had the horses last season to perhaps take the whole she-bang. Or so fans thought.

Anyway, the four playoff participants in the American League this past season have all changed somewhat dramatically since they closed down their clubhouses. Minnesota has already taken a significant hit in its vaunted pitching department, losing Eric Milton, LaTroy Hawkins, and eventually, closer Eddie Guardado through trades or free agency. Oakland has obviously lost its bench coach (Francona), its pitching coach, one of its starters (Ted Lilly), its All-Star catcher (Ramon Hernandez), an outfielder (Terrence Long), and may soon lose to free agency its sterling closer, Keith Foulke, and shortstop Miguel Tejada, the 2002 AL MVP. Couple those departures with ace Mark Mulder’s continued recuperation from a serious arm injury, and Oakland’s overall prospects are somewhat hazy.

That brings us to the two teams that played that epic ALCS and have been playing a rotating game of one-upmanship ever since the Marlins flew home with the glittering trophy six weeks ago. The arrival of Schilling a week ago seemed to tip the scales in Boston’s favor. But the Empire’s acquisition of Expos fireballer Javier Vazquez on Thursday not only tainted Boston’s welcoming ceremony for Francona, but reinvigorated the Bombers’ rotation, which had already lost Roger Clemens to retirement and David Wells to who-knows-where, given the team’s rejection of Boomer’s option year. With the expected return of former Cubs hurler Jon Lieber (20-6 in 2001 but who’s returning from Tommy John surgery) to active duty, the elevation of Jose Contreras to the starting five, Andy Pettitte’s anticipated re-signing, and Vazquez’s arrival, the Yanks again have the pitching firepower to match Boston’s. If Jeff Weaver somehow makes the Pinstripers’ rotation, though, the pendulum swings back in Boston’s favor.

What New York must be concerned about, though, is its aging and beat-up starting line-up. Bernie Williams, Aaron Boone, Jason Giambi, and even soon-to-be-acquired Gary Sheffield seemingly have their best years behind them, and the team’s best hitter and prospect, Nick Johnson, was sent north as part of the Vazquez deal. Second baseman Alfonso Soriano was a bitter disappointment in the playoffs, and the team now has a huge void at its DH position. On the upside, New York’s Achilles heel in 2003, its bullpen, has been significantly upgraded (not surprisingly, at no small cost), and the 2004 New York Yankees could still be labeled the best team money can buy — or is it the team that the best money can buy, given its nearly $200-million payroll?

Boston is on a spending binge also, and though their archrivals still can afford to spend a lot more than they can, the Red Sox have been running up quite a tab of their own as they approach the luxury-tax trigger mark of $120 million. The Sox’ rotation seems set, except for determining who will claim the fourth and fifth slots (and they have some excellent options from which to choose), and should they sign Foulke or commit to Scott Williamson as their closer, their bullpen — which one could argue cost Boston the division title last season with its first-half ineffectiveness — is relatively stable, particularly with the re-signing of set-up man extraordinaire Mike Timlin.

Still, questions remain, including the status of Ramirez and, most important, the state of the Sox’ infield. At first base, Kevin Millar was serviceable, but was not exactly Gold-Glove caliber, and nor was resident DH David Ortiz. Second baseman Todd Walker — the sole consistent hitting star in the playoffs (.349, five HRs) — was apparently deemed expendable because of his cost and perceived fielding liabilities, but the Sox’ hopes of signing Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo were snuffed out when the All-Star infielder re-signed with the World Champs. That leaves a gaping hole in the number-four position, though there’s no less uncertainty over at the shortstop spot, where talk of A-Rod coming to town and Nomar’s potential bolting to the West Coast next winter has some New Englanders frothing at the mouth. Batting champ Bill Mueller was a wondrous surprise at third base in his first year in Boston last season, but his post-season struggles (.174, 0 HR, 0 RBIs) belied his regular-season performance.

It’s unlikely that Boston and New York are done with their ping-pong game of blockbuster acquisitions, and both will undoubtedly start spreadin’ the news of their latest trump card in this increasingly high-stakes rivalry. On paper, one can almost envision a rematch in 2004 of October’s memorable ALCS, but the two teams that could very well make repeat appearances will more than likely have very different looks.

Still, the hot-stove discussions are already white-hot, the teams are frantically making moves that will give them the latest advantage, and it’s only a week past Thanksgiving.

It’s 122 days until Opening Day, and baseball in Boston is still foremost.

Welcome to Boston, Terry Francona. This is your life.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com, and Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com

 


Issue Date: December 5, 2003
"Sporting Eye" archives: 2003 |2002
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