Terry Francona: a manager I have begrudgingly followed for the past seven years. He frustrates me to no end, leaving pitchers in games well beyond innings where they are clearly on the brink of implosion and pulling solid relievers after three pitches in favor of a lefty/righty matchup. Nonetheless one thing has remained true about “Tito:” he gets results. As Boston fans we are quick to condemn players after a poor at bat, but Francona consistently remains steadfast behind his players demonstrating the utmost confidence in their abilities and even more patience in their development. It seems like an obvious attribute for a manager to possess, but it can be surprisingly absent in so many. Francona truly recognizes that there are 162 games to be played and that there is room for error, thus room for development. This patience has paid obvious dividends across his tenure yielding two Boston world championships with the Red Sox seemingly poised to make a healthy run at a third this October.
Take for instance, Dustin Pedroia. The inauspicious start to Pedroia’s rookie campaign has been long since overshadowed by his immense accolades since, but April of 2007 was one that saw abundant fan outcry for Alex Cora as the starting second baseman with Pedoria hitting only .172 at the start of May. While Tito allotted a platoon role between the two, Pedroia took hold of his opportunities with a vengeance and won the starting role, batting .317 over the course of the season en route to a Rookie of the Year and World Series title.
Similarly, at the start of this 2011 season the question mark on an otherwise prolific starting nine was the young and under-proven catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. With the departure of all-star Victor Martinez to Detroit and veteran captain Jason Varitek on the outs, Saltalamacchia, picked up from Texas at the 2010 trade deadline, appeared in line to get a second shot as a starting catcher. A second chance, given that a year earlier his first opportunity had come with the Rangers where throwing issues, past balls, and underwhelming offensive production made “Salty” one in a rotating door of catchers in Texas at the start of 2010. Despite a promising preseason, the throwing errors and inconsequential offense returned in Boston prompting more playing time for Varitek, who had returned to the Red Sox in more of a mentor role than anything else. While Saltalamacchia remained the starting catcher, not being the “every day” catcher allowed him the time to develop defensively throwing out 29 runners with a .993 Fielding percentage while also contributing offensively with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs on the season.
The positive impact of the Red Sox coaching staff could be no more evident than in last night’s 6-0 victory over AL West leading Texas Rangers (a team I would argue to be the best in the American League) behind first-year Red Sox pitcher, Andrew Miller. Miller, acquired in a forgettable deal for minor league reliever Dustin Richardson, had spent time previously with Detroit and Florida, his most proficient season coming in 2008 with the Marlins where he went a paltry 6-10 in 20 starts. So far in 2011, Miller has seen immense resurgence with the Red Sox going 6-1 over 12 starts. Granted, while Miller is in line to have his first winning season having never pitched above a .500 record in any of his previous five seasons, some of this is a credit to the powerful offense behind him, nevertheless, Miller’s performance blanking the best in the west speaks volumes to his development and the faith that Francona has shown adding him to the rotation as a sixth starter.
