Terry Francona may have managed his last game for the Boston Red Sox. After Wednesday night's 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles and a heroic 8-7 win for the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox completed a historic collapse that saw them blow a nine-game lead with a month to play in the regular season. Francona was at the forefront of it all.
"Every time you lose, it hurts," Francona told WEEI.com. "When you go home before you're ready, it hurts. As tough as it's been this last month, we weren't ready to go home," said Francona. "You want to go home when you dictate. Not when somebody makes you. It's extremely disappointing."
Francona's job security has been in question throughout the latter half of the Red Sox' collapse, with some wanting the manger to leave town and others wanting him to return for another season. Curt Schilling, who played for Francona from 2004 to 2007, chimed in and said that firing Francona would not be a smart move for the Red Sox.
"I guarantee you he did as much as a manager can do there," Schilling said in a radio interview Thursday morning on WEEI. "You're going to have the same team next year. I promise you, for whatever it's worth, there's not a guy in that clubhouse that doesn't swear by this guy, doesn't want to do everything he can do to win for this guy."
Francona has a record of 1,029-915 in 12 seasons as a manager and is 744-552 in eight years at the helm of the Red Sox. Prior to his time in Boston, Francona had a record of 648-285 in four seasons managing the Philadelphia Phillies. During his tenure in Boston, Francona has won two World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.
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