Why Francona Had to Be the Fall Guy

After nearly a week of digesting the chaos that went down on Yawkey Way with the Red Sox, I've come to the conclusion Terry Francona had to go. This is not to say Francona (Tito) was the sole reason for the Red Sox collapse or that he was even mostly to blame. No. This goes back to the adage we've heard so often in sports: you can't get rid of the players, so you get rid of the coach.

Terry Francona's list of accomplishments makes him the greatest manager in Red Sox history. His two World Series wins ('04, '07) ties him with Bill Carrigan (1915, 1916) for most in franchise history. In his 8 years on the Sox bench he's managed 45 playoff games, most in team history. He was an integral part of the revival of Red Sox nation. After Aaron Boone ripped the hearts out of Red Sox nation in 2003 with a walk off home run in game 7 of the ALCS changes were needed. Out went Grady Little and in came Francona. That signified a new era at Fenway.

In his first season as manager Francona guided the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. He brought another title to Yawkey Way in 2007. His legacy had been cemented. But for everything Francona had done for the organization, there's no denying he failed the 2011 version of the Red Sox. This was the team that was supposed to win 100 games; score 900 runs; and boasted what many thought was the best starting rotation in the American League. The Boston Herald even stated about the 2011 version of the Sox, "This could be Sox best team ever." Expectations were high, and rightfully so. The team had acquired an MVP caliber player in Adrian Gonzalez. Carl Crawford was signed as a free agent after so many years of victimizing the Sox on the base paths as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. With a payroll of more than $160 million anything short of a deep playoff run would be considered a failure. But this Red Sox season was worse than a failure. It turned out to be historically embarrassing.

Despite a slow start the Sox did nothing but fuel expectations they were the team to beat in the American League. During a 4 1/2 month stretch the Sox had played the best ball in the majors going 81-42 from mid-April to the end of August. Entering September the team had a half game lead over the Yankees in the division, and at the time, the Rays were an afterthought. A full 9 games behind the Red Sox. But then the September that no Red Sox fan will ever forget commenced. The team went 7-20 over the final month of the season. That 9 game lead over the Rays disappeared. In its place, the worst collapse in Major League Baseball history. The much ballyhooed Boston starting rotation was in shambles, finishing with an era of 7.08 for the month of September. The Sox were sinking in quicksand and there was no way to rescue them. The final blow came the night of September 28th, the final day of the regular season, when the Orioles completed a comeback win over Boston and the Rays wrapped up the wild card spot with an Evan Longoria walk-off home run against the Yankees. The collapse was complete and ultimately someone had to pay.

Here's why that someone had to be Terry Francona. During his exit press conference Francona said, "When things started to go, I wanted desperately for our guys to care about each other on the field. I wasn't seeing that as much as I wanted to. I tried to help make that better, the coaches also, it just wasn't ever comfortable. You've heard me talk all the time about going in one direction and getting through challenges and meeting them together, but I just didn't think we were doing that. That's my responsibility to get them to do that and it wasn't happening to my satisfaction." By Francona's own account, what he was doing was not getting through to the players. As Manager it's his job to get the players to respond. Even when the team was winning Francona admitted there were concerns. He cited a team meeting they had after a 14-0 win in Toronto September 6. He knew the team had issues behind the scenes but he was unable to squash those issues. They continued to be a problem, even at a time when the Red Sox should have been dialed in on a playoff run. Reports have surfaced that members of the starting rotation were drinking beer in the clubhouse on their off days and that it's been going on for two years. Not one Red Sox player or official has denied that. That explains why Josh Beckett and Jon Lester appeared gassed the final month of the season, and why questions about their conditioning are valid.

In the end Francona knew there was a problem in the clubhouse. He attempted to fix it and the players tuned him out. He said as much in his exit press conference, "I felt frustrated with my inability to reach guys I had reached in the past and that bothers me.”

While Francona had some great years in Boston it was obvious he had lost his team and the time had come for him to go.

Celtics-Magic Game 2 Live Chat

Did The Celtics Sell Us A Bill Of Goods In Regular Season?

Watching the Boston Celtics for the better part of the season, I thought there was no way they were a championship caliber team. Whether is was age or injuries I didn't think this Celtics team had what it took to battle the likes of Cleveland and Orlando. And I wasn't the only one. After each astonishing loss the Celtics bandwagon became less and less crowded. There was the mid-January stretch in which the C's loss three in a row (to the Bulls, Mavericks, and Pistons). Things got worse the middle of February. An 8-point home loss to the New Jersey Nets. Then in early March back to back losses at Milwaukee and home to the Grizzlies. You couldn't blame me and others for writing the Celtics off. Popular belief was this team was never going to regain the form it showed on its way to winning the 2008 title.


But boy did the Celtics have us fooled. To be honest, their words were speaking more truth than their game. Throughout he season Coach Doc Rivers kept telling us, "I like my team." Rasheed Wallace kept harping, things will be different in the postseason. At the time we thought they were delusional. Now they are the ones who look like geniuses. They haven't said, "I told you so." But with Sunday's four point win in Orlando in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals they have the right to do just that.

The Celtics are legitimate title contenders. Led by a steady point guard in Rajon Rondo, and veteran leadership of the Big Three (Garnett, Allen, Pierce) the Green Team have done a 180. They've made us forget about the mid-season struggles. Instead what we're seeing is a team getting after it on defense, frustrating the opposition, and having their way with their offensive sets. You have to give Rivers a ton of credit. He's been the best coach in the Eastern Conference so far.

In the semifinals against the Cavaliers he thoroughly out-coached Mike Brown. The Cavs coach never made adjustments to make life easier on LeBron James. Instead we kept seeing LeBron frustrated by the Celtics defense. The Celtics were determined to keep James from attacking the rim and it worked causing him to have two of the worst games of his playoff career. That's the difference between this Celtics team and the one we saw during the regular season. They've ratcheted up the defensive intensity.

They're making the games best players look like amateur street-ballers. Sunday, Wallace and Kendrick Perkins got under Dwight Howard's skin and had "Superman" looking more like Clark Kent.  They frustrated him into a 3-10 shooting day. Anytime he got near the rim they fouled him and made him earn them at the charity stripe. Once again give Rivers credit. His game-plans have worked to perfection.

So did the Celtics sell us a bill of goods during the regular season? Probably so. But as they've now taught us. What happens in the regular season doesn't matter. It's all about what you do come playoff time.

Celtics-Cavs Game 5 Blog

Breaking Down the Celtics-Cavs Series

Congratulations Boston Celtics. After dispatching of Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat in five games in the first round, your prize for round two is LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The best of seven series should be a good one. There's no doubt these teams don't like each other as witnessed in their final regular season meeting of the season. Who could forget Kevin Garnett mouthing off to James and James talking right back. Expect more of the same throughout the series, except this time the Cavaliers will win.

The die-hard Celtics fan will tell you the C's have a legitimate shot at winning this round. They'll say if the Big 3 (Allen, Garnett, Pierce) are clicking, to quote Garnett, anything is possible. They'll say James is overrated. I'm here to break it to them. No way outside of James being injured do the Cavaliers lose this series. And here's why.

First off James is the best player in the world right now. I've long put Kobe Bryant ahead of him, but what he's been able to do this year is remarkable. At the moment James is better than Bryant and the Celtics have no answer for him. Dwayne Wade averaged better than 34 points a game vs. the Celtics in the first round. James is a bigger, stronger, and better shooting Wade. His passing is also underrated so if you collapse on him, he'll find his teammates. The C's will try Pal Pierce and Tony Allen on him. We may even see some Marquis Daniels in this series but LeBron is going to get his no matter who's guarding him.

Another reason why the Cavs have the advantage in this series is their bigs are better than the Celtics. If we just look at the power forward and center positions it's not even close. The Cavs can throw two seven-footers, Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas at you in the middle. Then at the four spot they have Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao, and J.J. Hickson. The Celtics on the other hand have Kendrick Perkins at center and Kevin Garnett at power forward. Rasheed Wallace and Glen "Big Baby" Davis spell Perkins and Garnett, but they're average at best. During the regular season the Celtics were routinely outrebounded by their opponents. I see Cleveland giving them fits on the boards.

Lastly Cleveland's depth will be too much to handle. They have 7 players who average more than 20 minutes a game in the playoffs. Delonte West, Varejao, and Moon can impact the game in different ways. Conversely the Celtics play six guys 20 minutes or more in the postseason. In Tuesday's series clinching win Celtics coach Doc Rivers basically went with a six man rotation. The Celtics need a few things to happen for them to win this series. They'll have to get more production out of their bench. Wallace and Tony Allen will need to be factors.

Also Pierce will need to replicate his 2008 playoff performance. He can't have games where he performs like a role player. When he's hitting shots the Celtics are a tough team to beat.

And Ray Allen needs to continue his hot shooting. He averaged 19.6 points a game in round one vs. the Heat. In game five when Miami made a run to get back in the game it was Allen who took over. His 20 second half points was the difference in the game. He'll need to remain engaged on the offensive end if the Celtics have any chance at winning.

With that being said I still think Cleveland is just too tough. When you have the best player in the world (James) and a more than capable supporting cast it's hard to go against Cleveland. The Celtics will make it interesting but in the end the Cavs will move on in 6.

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Jets Making Moves, Should Patriots Be Scared

You have to give Rex Ryan and the New York Jets some credit. Even if you're not a fan of Gang Green. Even if Ryan just rubs you the wrong way with his cockiness. You have to give them a pat (no pun intended) on the back. It would be easy for the Jets to just stand pat after playing for the AFC Championship a season ago. Return the nucleus of your squad and challenge once again. But Ryan and J-E-T-S, didn't do that. Instead they've been aggressive in the offseason, signing LaDainian Tomlinson, and trading for Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie.

On paper you would think (apologies to Patriots fans) this makes the Jets the favorites in the AFC East. The Pats have been the gold standard of the division the last decade. But with the injury to Wes Welker and the organization's failure to make a big free agent splash I have to give a slight nod to New York over the Patriots. New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork was asked about the Jets moves and had this to say,

"The game is played between those lines out there. On paper, (the Jets) are making great moves. But you know what, at the end of the day, it's played between the lines. It don't mean anything to us one way or the other. We see each other twice a year. Sometimes three. It don't bother us whatsoever. We can only control what the Patriots can control, we can't control what some other team is doing. Hey, more power to them."

What Wilfork is saying is true. Championships aren't won in the offseason. Ryan and the Jets still have some question marks. But as far as offseason moves go, the Jets are the clear winners.

Jennings Releases Statement Following Arrest

The attorneys for UofL basketball players Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith have released statements about their client’s recent arrests. Here's the full transcript of what they had to say.

From: Larry Wilder, Attorney
Scott Roby, Attorney

On Saturday the Jeffersonville Police arrested two (2) University of Louisville student athletes at a social function at Kye's banquet hall in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The two athletes, Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith, were taken to the Clark County jail where they were booked in and charged with Resisting Law Enforcement as a misdemeanor.

As of this time charges have not been filed however, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney has indicated that his office will move forward with charges within the next several days.

In light of these circumstances, Terrence Jennings would like to offer the following public statement:

"I want to first apologize to the police and to the organizers of the event. I was minding my own business and unfortunately, was provoked by another person that I was unfamiliar with. That's where this all started. At first, I did not know the individuals who approached me were off duty police officers working security. My teammate Jerry Smith was trying to help me from being physically harmed and I know he did not mean any disrespect either. I hope that I have shown in the past that these actions are uncharacteristic for me and I look forward to showing everyone that I am a person with good integrity."

Jennings' attorney, Scott Roby, stated that, "It is our hope that this matter can be dealt with in a reasonable manner and we can put this incident behind us. Terrence is a fine young man and he is looking forward to continuing to contribute to the University and the city of Louisville during his college tenure."

Larry Wilder, attorney for Smith, re-iterated Roby's position. "This is an unfortunate incident. Jerry's sense of loyalty and comradery to his teammate lead him to react and as a result we are faced with the circumstances placed before us." Wilder concluded, "These are two very soft-spoken, intelligent, kind young men and it is my personal hope that the media and public allow them to move forward with their lives and careers."

Wilder went on to point out that, "Neither Jerry or Terrence have ever been in trouble with law enforcement. The events that took place last Saturday are clearly not an indication of what they are as people, students or athletes."

Yankee Bowl Set to Be Announced

Wednesday the New York Yankees will announce Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, will host a college football bowl game. The Yankees have called a press conference for 1030am Wednesday to announce the Yankee bowl. It will match up the 4th place Big East team against the 7th place Big 12 team beginning next year. The inaugural Yankee bowl will be played December 29, 2010.

Excerpts From Pitino Press Conference

Rick Pitino held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to voice his frustration about the way the media is reporting the story of his involvement with Karen Cunigan Sypher. I was in the front row and here's a portion of what he had to say:

"Everything that's been printed. Everything that's been reported. Everything that you're breaking into the news on a day that Ted Kennedy died is 100 percent a lie. A lit. All of this has been a lie. OK. A total fabrication of the truth. Except what I told you. The mistake that I have made. Everything else is a lie."

"I couldn't say anything because my lawyer said don't say anything. And the University said don't say anything. The authorities said don't say anything. Well enough's enough. I am saying something. It's a lie. It's a 100 percent lie. You've known that it's a lie. You've all known it. You haven't printed it, you haven't said it. You've known the background. But you haven't said it."

"It hasn't hurt recruiting one bit. We will still bring in top 10 players. This program has been a top 10 program the last two years. It will continue to be a top 10program. Our fans are the greatest in college basketball. My opinion I work here. I'm sure there's great fans everywhere. We will continue to bring in great players. We will still run this program with great integrity."

"No question I admitted to you I made a mistake. and believe me I will suffer that mistake. My wife and family do not deserve these lies. You shouldn't be reporting these lies. You want to report the truth go ahead and do it. Report the truth. Do your investigative reporting. Get the open records. Get anything you want that you can get. When it comes to trial you'll know the truth. That's why I haven't gone around to Inside Edition, and this station, and this station, and this station because I know it's going to come out. The FBI and the US Attorney's office don't go after jaywalker's. Thank you very much."