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Terry Francona School Of Coaching Taking Over The World

Look at the glasses! The glasses, I say!

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Look at the glasses! The glasses, I say!

First, it's Brad Mills going to Houston. But who is next? First base coach Tim Bogar? Third base coach DeMarlo Hale?

Mills coaching the Houston Astros isn't just a new manager being introduced to Major League Baseball. It's not just one of those situations where a coach who has always deserved a spot is finally getting one. It's more than that.

This means there's another disciple of Terry Francona in the MLB. This may go down as one of the best things for the MLB in this decade.

Or it will go down as one of the worst.

Star-divide

Don't be fooled: Mills, who has been associated with Terry Francona in some way for more than 30 years now, is essentially his brotha' from anotha' motha'. They are like Mario and Luigi. They are like Conan and The Barbarian. Just read how Francona describes the one he calls "Millsy":

"Attack is a good word," Francona said, of how Mills will take on his new role. "He's got a lot of skills that are going to help make him a successful manager. He understands communication. He respects the players. I think he'll make the players be accountable, all the things we've talked about for six years in Boston. He's a smart baseball person and he's a very good person. That's a pretty good combination.

That's a "pretty good combination," Tito, because that's you! Don't even deny it. You weren't even thinking about Brad Mills when you said this -- you were thinking about yourself!

This now means there are two Terry Franconas managing in the MLB. That means roughly 7 percent of all MLB coaches are Terry Francona. That's up from roughly 4 percent over the last six seasons. Does that number scare anyone? I'll be the first to say that is happens to scare me.

What happens if Bogar or Hale get a job somewhere? Sure, you could make the case that they haven't "become" Tito because they haven't put in the time like Mills, but it's close enough. When you're in the system, you're in the system. You can't get out. You can't change. Sooner or later, you will be Terry Francona.

Maybe I'm getting a little too worked up here. Francona is, after all, a pretty good coach. I mean, he did break the curse. Did Grady Little do that? No. Did Don Zimmer do that? No. John McNamara? No. Eddie Kasko? No. Joe Cronin? Not even close. (OK, maybe he was close in '46. But that's beside the point.)

Tito did win two World Series, too. I understand that sometimes gets overlooked because, ya' know, they're only the best team of the decade (speaking of that, the Phillies are trying to make a run for the Sox's crown). It also gets overlooked because of that fantastic game three the Sox played in the ALDS against the Angels this year. Just fantastic.

Here's what defines a "Terry Francona" model of baseball coach:

  • First and foremost, you defend your players no matter what. No. Matter. What. They can do whatever the hell they want, say whatever their brains spew out first, and your TF baseball coach will be backing said player up like they're blood brothers.
  • Secondly, you need a lot of chew. A looooot of chew. And you need to say you're going to quit every season, even though that's really unlikely. In the case there is a quitting scenario, have a lot of bubble gum handy. A  looooot of bubble gum.
  • Thirdly, you must charm the hell out of the media. Even if you're defending the player who recently got caught beating up women on a 'roid rage, you have to make a joke. Show me a member of the media who hates Terry Francona, and I will show you an atheist.
  • Finally, to finish the ensemble, killer glasses. Glasses that are so killer that most people are convinced that you don't even need the glasses for purposes other than pure aesthetics. And you can't tell me that Millsy doesn't fit this mold.

There you have it: an official Terry Francona baseball coach, ready to take over the MLB one bench coach at a time. Don't be surprised if you see the Astros and Red Sox in the World Series next year ... or every year until Tito's next disciple grabs a piece of the proverbial MLB coaching pie. That, mind you, would raise the percentage of Terry Franconas managing in the MLB to 10.

That is scary.

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Gold.

Pure gold.

Third base coach DeMarlo Hale?

I wish…

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 28, 2009 6:44 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Lee Perrault

has a nice piece on the Yankees and free angency, Teixeira, and the like.
http://www.ywacademy.com/

It is funny how the Teix/Youk/Lowell discussion mirrors the one we had last offseason here.

by Buzzy on Oct 28, 2009 9:25 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yawkey Way Academy is definetly one of the best web sites, along with OTM of course, that talks about the Red Sox

"That was a lot of fun… You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don’t want to do is hit a home run. That’s a rally-killer." Jeff Francoeur

by radiohix on Oct 28, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yes

usually good stuff.

by Buzzy on Oct 28, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Curious minds want to know?

How does it feel to be watching the WS without the Sox in it? The Yankees do not always make the WS, but when they do not, the season is considered a failure. They rebuild and rebuild and rebuild to try and meet that goal of getting at least into the WS. Does the Francona (and other sox management) expertise talked about above include this kind of drive and resource utilization?? Seriously.

by NG on Oct 28, 2009 1:55 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

The Sox have been a more legitimate threat for the World Series than the Yankees...

…in the years since Epstein/Francona, so the answer to your question is yes. Same drive. Same “resource utilization”. Same goal. World Series.

Don’t confuse “mass spending” with “greater desire”. Or with “better plan”.

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 28, 2009 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

My opinion

Alot of the playoffs is a crapshoot and there is alot of luck involved in winning all the way through just to get to the WS.

If the Red Sox get into the playoffs I consider the season a success and everything after that is gravy.

by drabidea on Oct 28, 2009 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

WS wins and luck??

Since 1903, the teams in the American league that have been in the World Series the most are:

Boston: 11 times with 7 wins

NY Yankees: 39 times with 26 wins.

If we go from 1919:

Boston has 2 Worlds Series wins

Yankees have 26 Worlds series wins

Still think it is all a crapshoot??

by NG on Oct 28, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Not to beat a point to death, but...

Do you want to tell the class how many World Series wins the Red Sox have in the last 5 years? How many the Yankees have? Bring it back to current management…

Anything?

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 28, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

"Bring it back to current management…"

Fair enough. I guess I am not secure that organization culture always makes this big of a change. The Sox were kings until 1919, and then nothing for 85 years. What happened to that early winning organizational culture that lead to such a dismal attempt to field a winner for so long?? The Yanks never had that large a drop, and even though they were not in the WS the last few years, look at the pressure put on the org so that we now see maybe one of the strongest teams of all times!

I want that kind of culture!

by NG on Oct 28, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

What Happened

Harry Frazee is what happened.

by drabidea on Oct 28, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rant away, NG

In reality, you couldn’t be more wrong. Since 2003, when Theo Epstein became the GM of the Sox, things have been very different. Here’s a comparison of the MFY and Sox from 2003 to right now:

Money spent on payroll: MFY – $1.34 Billion; Sox – $869 Million
Average payroll: MFY – $191.4 Million; Sox – $124.1 Million
Wins in the regular season: MFY – 680; Sox – 660
Post-season record: MFY – 21-22; Sox – 36-21
Playoff series won: MFY – 5; Sox – 8
WS appearances: MFY – 2; Sox – 2
Championships: MFY – 0*; Sox – 2

Over the past seven seasons—since this FO took over—the Sox have been the better team when it counted: in the post-season. The MFY have averaged more than $67 million more in payroll per season than the Sox for just under 3 extra regular season wins. Is that a good return on their investment? Is that the sign of a better organization? Coming into this year’s WS, the MFY have a losing record in the post-season, while the Sox are 15 games over .500.

I don’t care what the MFY did in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1990s. It has no bearing on today. Tom Yawkey is long dead. The Yawkey Trust is no longer running the team. Stop looking to the past for inspiration (or desperation), NG. The people running the Sox know what they’re doing.

(*) They haven’t won anything yet

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Oct 28, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

+1

Or +10, I haven’t decided yet.

Good comparison, Drugs.

by Randy Booth on Oct 28, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Are you sure Tom Yawkey's

ghost won’t come back and run the team??

by NG on Oct 28, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I feel reasonably confident.

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 28, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I was hoping someone would jump on the ROI angle.

Good job, Double D.

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 28, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

You

are old enough to understand how different the game is now than before. In particular there are 2 rounds of playoffs before the WS instead of the 0 that occured for 20 of the Yankees championship years and the single 5 game series for the next 2. More short series with elimination features=more of a crapshoot.

by Buzzy on Oct 28, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

"How does it feel to be watching the WS without the Sox in it?"

Troll-ish opener there.

@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 29, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

"Show me a member of the media who hates Terry Francona, and I will show you an atheist."

I don’t get this. What does atheism have to do with hating Terry Francona?

by TheDesktopNinja on Oct 28, 2009 3:19 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Is this a serious question?

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 28, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Trick Question

“Tito is God” in Boston accent

Reference: SNL Da Super Fans

by drabidea on Oct 28, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

I was kinda wondering the same thing...

"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw

by BTLove on Oct 29, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Me too.

@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 29, 2009 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

It's just

a joke. Sarcasm. Ya’ know, humor.

by Randy Booth on Oct 29, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

sure.

i just didnt understand it.

"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw

by BTLove on Oct 29, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah.

Are you implying that Tito is a god which certain people do not follow? Or that people who don’t believe in gods are below those who do? Just a weird comment to throw in.

@bs_uf15bosox9be 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get 'em; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Oct 29, 2009 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I got it, man.

It was my favourite line in the post. And the main reason I gave it the rec.

Goddamn that DeMarlo Hale.

by Bloggy on Oct 29, 2009 11:19 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ah...

I must’ve missed that one.

by TheDesktopNinja on Oct 28, 2009 7:13 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs


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