Francona: The Red Sox Years

by Terry Francona, Dan Shaughnessy

From 2004 to 2011, Terry Francona managed the Boston Red Sox, perhaps the most scrutinized team in all of sports. During that time, every home game was a sellout. Every play, call, word, gesture—on the field and off—was analyzed by thousands. And every decision was either genius, or disastrous. In those eight years, the Red Sox were transformed from a cursed franchise to one of the most successful and profitable in baseball history—only to fall back to last place as soon as Francona was gone. Now, in The Red Sox Years , the decorated manager opens up for the first time about his tenure in Boston, unspooling the narrative of how this world-class organization reached such incredible highs and dipped to equally incredible lows. But through it all, there was always baseball, that beautiful game of which Francona never lost sight.

As no book has ever quite done before, Francona escorts readers into the rarefied world of a twenty-first-century clubhouse, revealing the mercurial dynamic of the national pastime from the inside out. From his unique vantage point, Francona chronicles an epic era, from 2004, his first year as the Sox skipper, when they won their first championship in 86 years, through another win in 2007, to the controversial September collapse just four years later. He recounts the tightrope walk of managing unpredictable personalities such as Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez and working with Theo Epstein, the general managing phenom, and his statistics-driven executives. It was a job that meant balancing their voluminous data with the emotions of a 25-man roster. It was a job that also meant trying to meet the expectations of three owners with often wildly differing opinions. Along the way, readers are treated to never-before-told stories about their favorite players, moments, losses, and wins.

Ultimately, when for the Red Sox it became less about winning and more about making money, Francona contends they lost their way. But it was an unforgettable, endlessly entertaining, and instructive time in baseball history, one that is documented and celebrated in Francona , a book that examines like no other the art of managing in today’s game.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Autobiography

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Terry "Tito" Francona was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons. In 2004, Francona was hired to manage the Boston Red Sox, and that year he led the team to its first World Series championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. He is now a commentator for ESPN, joining in on their Sunday Night Baseball telecast and contributing to ESPN.com.

Reviews

[Deacon Tom F. (Recovering from a big heart attack) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed, "Francona: The Red Sox Years." It's an incredibly interesting view of behind-the-scenes highs and lows of one the world's most famous. Baseball teams.

It takes the cover off sensitive areas was like manager-player relations and management conflicts. Also it covers saber-metrics (statistics), steroid use, and Michael Jordan’s time in the minor leagues.

A good read, well worth it for any Red Sox or baseball fan

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must-read for all die-hard Sox fans. No bombshells dropped by Francona, but a good number of water balloons. He is almost as diplomatic in this tell-almost-all as he used to be as skipper of the Red Sox, so don't expect a lot of dirt.

Among the water balloons were several references to his disappointment with Sox ownership. (All right - not disappointed. In the end, he was pissed.) First, over the way they fired him: without telling him he was fired, but refusing to pick up his contract option, then dancing around it trying to coax him to quit. The implication (by Francona and/or Shaughnessy) was that he was so popular in Boston, ownership would certainly look like the bad guys if it got out that they fired him. In the end, Francona publicly took the bullet and quit. But now he's clearing the air, and the quotes in the book from interviews with Lucchino back up Francona's story. The other big water balloon from Francona concerning the owners was their broken promises regarding the leaks from somebody inside the Red Sox about Francona's alleged abuse of pain meds in recent years. Lucchino and Henry promised to find the source of the leaks. They really couldn't do this - practically or legally. But they promised, then never got back to Francona. So in Francona's eyes, this stain on his reputation will never go away - and it's ownership's fault.

A few other gems are worth pointing out:

After the amazing 2004 season, the best endorsement deal Francona could get was for Metamucil.

Catchers' throws to second on steal attempts are routinely timed. Coaches have easy access to this stat for all catchers. Posada's throw in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS on Dave Roberts' steal-of-the-century was timed as the quickest throw of Posada's career - but Roberts still beat it.

In the '04 World Series, on one play, Manny Ramirez was at bat, but got into a heated argument in Spanish with the Cards' catcher, Molina. The ump (Chuck Meriwether) stopped play and called Francona from the dugout. Francona asked Meriwether, "What do you want me to do about it? I don't speak Spanish either." Francona turned to Manny and asked what was going on. Manny said the catcher accused him of stealing signs. Francona laughed, and turned to Meriwether: "Manny doesn't even know our signs." End of argument.

Francona respected Manny's abilities greatly. But Manny's crap - euphemistically called "Manny being Manny" - really wore thin near Manny's final year with the Sox. In the end, Francona couldn't wait for Theo to unload him.

Francona and Epstein developed a trust and a close working relationship during their joint tenure. This seemed to sustain them both through the rough times.

Beer and chicken notwithstanding, it was concern over declining television ratings that did the most damage to the team starting around 2009 - affecting every key decision throughout the Sox organization, and leading to clouded judgement about baseball operations matters, and contributing to events leading up to the September 2011, and entire 2012, collapses. Case in point was the $100K marketing study that led ownership to seek "sexy" players (Crawford, Gonzalez) rather than those who might fit the baseball needs and culture of the team.

Several interesting insights from Francona on the evolution of the club house culture from the "Idiot" days to the last year he was with Boston. By the end, the guys on the team just didn't like each other much. And Francona's voice was indeed not heard in 2011 the way it had been earlier in his tenure.

Shaughnessy did a great writing job on this book. Not the same smart-ass tone as his Globe columns (which I like). Instead, he was an effective mouthpiece for Francona, but always (almost) staying in the background himself. That said, Dan did get in a few digs of his own - especially about ownership's whining about the Boston media for one reason or another.

[David Drysdale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what I actually expected out of this. I'm a Red Sox fan and was a big supporter of Francona, and was disgusted by the way he was unceremoniously ousted after his tenure in Boston. I guess I hoped that this book would add some depth and context to what happened. Instead, the book was, well, pretty boring. It doesn't help that Shaughnessy's simply not a very good writer (and he quite obviously wrote this, though it is interspersed with passages of dialogue from Francona). But for the most part, it's a lot of standard summary of the last few years of Red Sox baseball, the likes of which you've probably read in many other places (or lived through) if you've followed the team. The book does suggest that the seeds of what transpired between Francona, Epstein, and the ownership at the end of 2011 were planted a bit longer ago than some might have believed, but beyond that there's not much in this book to make it worth the time and effort it took to read it. Even when things start to get interesting, there's nothing all that too salacious though one gets the impression Shaughnessy wishes it were. Overall, very underwhelming.

[Jeff Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very generous three stars, as it's merely an extended recap of the Red Sox under manager Terry Francona over the previous eight years. It's similar to Joe Torre's book The Yankee Years in that it's less about Francona and more about the writer (in this case, Dan Shaugnessy) interspersing years of game stories and sports reporting with Francona's commentary.

As it's Dan Shaugnessy, you know what you're getting coming in. If you're a local Boston reader, Shaugnessy's writing style and themes are pretty obvious throughout, and you're forced to wonder if the otherwise-diplomatic Francona was okay with some of the spin here and there.

Otherwise, though, in a market that's been inundated with Red Sox books since the 2004 World Series win, this is a surprisingly inessential entry. Lacking significant insight and providing little more than a cursory look at the inner workings of the Red Sox, the book is really only worthwhile to the casual Sox watcher or someone who hasn't spent much time with the team on a whole.

[Hnewberg Newberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love baseball. This book explains a lot, but I suspect not entirely, of why I have reached the conclusion that my loyalty to the sport transcends particular teams, broadcasters, managers, or players. Accidents of history place me in Red Sox nation and I am ok with that. The rivalries are fun. My loyalty lies with the sounds of the game, the thought that as long as baseball is being played the world is reasonably ok, and with the hustle and work ethic that occasionally shines through with gifted athletes playing a game the right way.

This book is an easy read, researched enough to explain some things from some perspectives. Probably the subtext here designs to keep the faithful of RSN from completely jumping ship.

[Haley Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The further I got into this read, the more I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about Terry Francona and now have a deep respect for him. It seems that he always tried to do the right thing no matter the cost. It was unfortunate to see how he was treated in the last part of his career with the Red Sox but also oddly comforting to see how he handled the mistreatment with dignity and pride. He still remained true to who he was. I think this is why he will always be respected in the sport of baseball. I loved the inside stories about the players, coaches, and the inner workings of the mind of a true great.

[Jeremy Trevors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the Red Sox two championship runs. I saw the Red Sox play in Toronto prior to their September collapse in 2011. They looked like an unstoppable machine, only to completely fall apart a few months later. This is a great read, even for anyone who isn't a baseball fan. It also shows why Terry Francona was so successful until his retirement from managing at the end of the 2023 season.

[Jim Leffert · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re a serious member of Red Sox Nation, follow baseball intensely, or wonder what it’s like to manage a Major League baseball team in a big media market such as Boston, you will find much of interest in Francona and Shaughnessy’s account of Francona’s eight seasons as Red Sox manager. While not a legendary manager like Leo Durocher or Casey Stengel, Francona is interesting enough to deserve a book: son of a major leaguer, he grew up in clubhouses; a baseball lifer, he has a tremendous love and respect for the game; a players’ manager, he does everything he can to support and protect the players; a profane, tobacco chewing man with modest educational credentials, he is people smart, a talented communicator, and someone who is knowledgeable about and interested in (although not always convinced by) statistical analyses.

The Red Sox story itself is also interesting; perennial “also rans”, the Sox finally won their first World Series since 1918 under Francona in 2004, and triumphed a second time under Francona in 2007. However, (according to Francona and Shaughnessy; the owners would no doubt tell it differently), as the team evolved into a money-making juggernaut, the owners’ commercial imperatives trumped baseball wisdom. This led to the Sox’s historic collapse of 2011, which precipitated the departure of Francona and General Manager Theo Epstein, followed by a disastrous season under new management in 2012.

From Francona’s perspective, the goal is to have a team of hungry players who have the chemistry and determination to play well and who pull for one another. Since Boston’s owners and, they believed, the fans would not tolerate an emerging team that might not be able to contend for the World Series every year, the Sox, like some faltering corporations, pursued the illusion of short-term profits over solid long-term growth. For example, the owners spent enormous sums of money on high-profile players whom, they believed, would excite the fans, boost TV ratings, and maintain the team’s international profile, Francona and Epstein had their misgivings but nonetheless went along with certain decisions because the tide of business imperatives was too strong to resist it.

We learn something of how Francona (who has since become Cleveland’s manager) works with proud, neurotic, and fabulously wealthy players and how he deals with the increasing influence of “baseball operations” staff in the front office on team decision-making. Francona insists that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts--what may seem like the best lineup on a given night, from a statistical standpoint, may not be the best lineup for the team because players play better when they feel respected and have predictable roles.

The book is constructed chronologically, reviewing each of Francona’s 8 seasons piloting the Carmine Hose. This makes for a longer and at times plodding read. Nonetheless, I found many interesting insights along the way, not least of all about the elusive qualities that create chemistry for a team and the pitfalls that can cause a franchise to founder--not to mention bunch of choice Manny Ramirez anecdotes!

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes, where to begin? I should have read the reviews first although I doubt it would have made a difference. I expected this to be a book written by Francona with Shaughnessy as a ghost writer or "by Francona with Shaughnessy" but it's not. It's a book written by Dan Shaughnessy from interviews with Francona. I had that suspicion almost right away. I mean, who writes an autobiography in the third person or refers to himself as "the manager"? Then the acknowledgement at the end pretty much confirmed it.

I cannot stand Shaughnessy's writing. I never could. There's a reason he has a nickname of "shank" and it's no mystery how there exists automated software that can write a Shaughnessy column. If you want to know what hack writing looks like, just pick up a Globe and read a Shaughnessy column. It reads as if written by someone trying to mimic what a old-timey meatball sports beat stereotype might writes like. With cigars and whiskey.

I can only imagine that Francona is listed as an author because athletes and others important to the story loathed Shaughnessy and liked Francona and would only cooperate if Francona asked them to and Francona was probably a damn good negotiator and without author credit, the book would not have been made.

That said...

There's not a lot new here. There is some background material I didn't know about and the story of Francona's younger life was interesting. I didn't, for example, know just how bad his health was, and it made some of what happened make more sense. It also does a reasonable job of getting across just how hard the feelings are all the way around, not just between Francona and ownership, but between all the players, owners, media and everybody else.

As a Red Sox fan, it's worth reading. You might come away with a slightly different perspective, but probably not. Anyone who has been watching the way ownership has been acting over the last 10 years or so really can't come away feeling any more dislike of John "Pink Hat" Henry and the rest than they already do. Some of it seems self-serving, but that's to be expected in any "autobiography", I suppose, but it doesn't come a surprise or change any opinions.

Terry Francona will always be loved by this town and there's nothing Sox ownership can do to destroy that, no matter how hard they try.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm giving tito and his story 5 stars, and deducting two stars for the stench of dan shaughnessey and his many bitter axes to grind that permeate through the pages. i'd love to read this book written in collaboration with tom verducci, seth mnookin, or michael holley. i'm die hard enough a fan that i couldn't put it down, but i'm the guy who will watch a blow-out because i love the sox so much. after all the joy of 2004 and 2007 in red sox nation, can i privately suggest that a return to earth, and a cleansing of the pink-cap bandwagon fans might not be the worst thing? anyway, go red sox in 2013!

[Dyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, but there is a sense of sadness throughout the entire thing. Francona really was not treated well :-(

[JPS · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best sports books I’ve ever read. So much information and insight, I loved every page. I was a fan of Francona as a manager and appreciate the two World Series wins. This book really changed my perspective on his management styles during his time with the Sox. I always thought he was too friendly with the players but this book really detailed his reasoning. A great read. Especially if you love baseball and the Red Sox. Reading about his departure was mind-boggling. Would have been a lot on any person much less a multiple time World Series manager.

Only fault, very long chapters. Good lord! Lol.

[Jacob Qua]

This book is all about Terry Francona; former manager of the Boston Red Sox and his experiences as manager of the Sox. Winning 2 world series championships in his time in Boston, he was beloved by many fans, and is one of the best known managers in the game of baseball today. He now serves as manager of the Cleveland Indians, also a team in Major League Baseball.

[Bookworman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too whiney. Couldn’t even get through the first chapter.

[Steven Belanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable, if not mindblowing or all-revealing, look at the life and times, especially 2004-2011, of former Red Sox manager Terry Francona. I read it in a couple of days, as most decent readers and/or baseball fans would.

I had put off reading it for a long time, as I very much liked and respected Francona (and still do) and did not want to read an airing of his grievances. He was always a "keep it in-house" kind of guy, and I didn't want to see him break from that and air his--and the Sox's--dirty laundry. But an uncle of mine let me borrow it, and I had some time off, so I read it. It was a nice distraction, but if you're hoping to get the nitty-gritty on his quitting / firing, or the real inside scoop on Manny, or Pedro, you'll be disappointed. There isn't much here that most serious Sox fans wouldn't already know.

In fact, Francona has a few more books in him when his stint with the Indians is over. I'd like to read more about his minor league coaching days, which are given very short shrift here--surprising, since he had so many minor league jobs, and since he was Michael Jordan's coach in Birmingham, the Double-A club of the Chicago White Sox. Managing Michael Jordan's baseball days is a book in of itself--a book he should get to, before Jordan's star starts dimming.

I'd also love to hear more about a baseball lifer: the minor-league coaching and managing; the bus rides; the fans; the management. The major league coaching jobs he had as bench coach with the A's, or the Rangers, or a few others. His days managing in Philadelphia. His one year with ESPN. All of that stuff would be more interesting to me than the stuff written about here, 99% of which I already knew. The Manny stuff, the Pedro stuff, the last days in Boston--all old news, and already known. (Though I did not know that the Colorado Rockies purposely had an famous country singer / ex-girlfriend of Josh Beckett's sing the National Anthem before Game 4--while he warmed up in the bullpen to start the game. He told someone: "For the record, I broke up with her." That's right out of Major League or Bull Durham, and taught me something else: That Beckett actually has a sense of humor. I still blame him for most of the catastrophe of September, 2011.)

And, despite the airing of some grievances--mostly about John Henry and Larry Lucchino--Francona and Shaughnessy clearly tap dance their way around every potential volatile issue, so as not to truly upset anyone. Theo Epstein comes out of it much better than he probably should--partly because he and Francona were so close. But there are no lightning bolts here, which is, in a way, too bad, because there are lightning bolts to uncover about Septemeber 2011, and about who leaked the private information that partly led to Francona leaving. But I'm glad there aren't any lightning bolts as well. As I said, I like and respect Francona (and was happy that his Indians made the playoffs [albeit for one game] and that he won Manager of the Year--a first for him, believe it or not) and so I am happy to not see any incredible dirty laundry being publicly shown. I'm guessing that, because he is that kind of guy, he only wanted to show in the book things that really are in the public realm, things that most serious Sox fans already know. He showed the dirty socks and shirts, and not the pants, if you catch my extended metaphor there.

So, good book. It won't be as memorable as Jim Bouton's Ball Four, but it'll pass the time. I read it mostly during the commercials of the 2013 ALCS and World Series games I'd DVRed.

P.S.--Getting the Cleveland Indians into the playoffs was a better showing of his managerial talents than anything he did with the Sox, in a way. The Sox always had playoff talent in all his years there. The 2013 Indians, on the other hand, is a team that he wrung every drop of talent out of to make the playoffs.

[Mike Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally I was able to knock this off. It took a little longer than expected to some craziness at work, and some other books I had finish. I really liked the look this book gave you into the inside of the whole Red Sox organization. While I did like book, there were some areas that I found lacking. One you first need to get past Francona's arrogance. He thinks he knows best, and he isn't afraid to tell you about. One example is when he was talking about 2007's ALCS. He was the only person who wanted to start Wakefield for game 4, down 3-1, according to him versus Beckett on short rest. It worked in Francona's favor and that should have been enough, but to prove his point he had to make sure that he mentioned that Tim Kurkjian, ESPN baseball guru, came down to his office after the game and told him how the move was the right one. That being said, the arrogance tended to be heavy at the start and end of the book with a little bit sprinkled in through out. I also found it a little confusing the way Shaughnessy uses quotes, sometimes he assumes the reader knows who he is quoting even though he hasn't specified who since the previous quote a couple of paragraph's back. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. It really showed the inner workings of the Red Sox organization, at least through the eyes of Francona. I really thought they did a good job offering points on how the Red Sox went from an organization that was obsessed with winning a World Series to an organization obsessed with earning more money. Not that you can blame them, since the cost of doing business in MLB is extremely high. It really seemed that 2008 was the turning point after 2007 brought the second World Series. Money and ratings began to matter more than wins. Going back to earlier in the book I found it really classy that the Cardinals in 2004 opened the gates free for the last couple of innings of the series, so that all the Red Sox fans that didn't have tickets could witness history. That pains me to say as the Cubs fan, but I have to admit that the Cardinals and their fans are always very classy. This book also did a job of showing me how Theo Epstein interacts with owners and Francona, his manager. This book made me even more excited to see what Theo can do in Chicago. He admitted that he had a few mistakes, and swears that he has learned from them. I also like a lot of what Theo did in Boston, with his drafting and building from within style. Francona, even with his arrogance, was a pretty interesting person and manager. I would says he is a mix between the new school managers who really rely a ton of stats, and the old school ones that refuse to use them. He sees their benefit, but sometimes still goes with his gut. I was also intrigued by the way the firing/resigning went down. They had a bunch of meetings that led to nothing because no one wanted to tell Francona he was done. It also led Francona driving in the meeting, driving home, and then turning around to drive back in for the press confrence. All the while he is being followed by a new helicopter. Overall I think this is an interesting baseball book, and you don't need to be a Red Sox fan to enjoy it. I look forward to following the rest of Francona's coaching career. Who knows, maybe there will be a new installment, Francona:The Cleveland Years.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a little tough to rate - I'd prefer 3 1/2 stars - 3 stars for the writing 4 for the content. Saying that this book is "by Terry Francona" is not at all accurate. Dan Shaughnessy is a sports columnist for the Boston Globe. He wrote the book using extensive quotes from Francona as well as Theo Epstein and some with Larry Luccino with a smattering from Terry's players, coaches and family. Shaugnessy is a sports columnist not a Nobel Laureate. As other reviewers here have noted - this is not an earth shattering tell all but it is a great book as a Red Sox Fan and in particular a fan of Tito in general. I think if his departure and subsequent mistreatment by ownership had been different this book wouldn't have been written so quickly. But this is clearly Francona explaining his side of the story. Epstein is figured prominently and you quickly see the mutual respect that they had. This is a strange pairing - Francona literally grew up in Baseball traveling with his dad, Tito, in the summer as he moved from team to team - then a college player, player and coach. Epstein, a Yale graduate who came in to MLB as a college kid - no playing experience and numbers driven. Saying Yin and Yang is accurate - Theo the numbers guy - Francona - the "feel" - he used the data given but went with his gut - this often caused issues with John Henry who wanted the strict numbers followed.
The unraveling of 2011 had its start in 2009 as ownership was running the Sox like a business which contrasted with Theo and Terry trying to win another championship.
Again although not a well written book there are great insights on his 7+ years as managers, his relationships with players. his thought on Manny, and how his time ended and the disappointment he felt in the team. Larry Lucchino is almost the antagonist here and he frequently disputes what Francona and other players and coaches say actually happened. Sahaughnessy frequently takes shots at him - almost comically - at one point writing that after hearing about a dispute between Francona and Epstein he rubbed his hand together with glee. No citing was done - a bit liberal with the poetic license.
However it's a very quick read and while much of it is a rehash of the facts of the seasons it was great to read.

[Shawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first few chapters, dealing with Francona’s early life and path to the Red Sox job, were much more engaging than the rest of the book. I didn’t know a lot about Francona’s background and how much, even from a young age, a part of baseball he was (and how much baseball was a part of him). The middle chapters were fun in terms of reliving the seasons and the last few chapters were interesting insofar as they detailed the collapse of the 2011 Sox. But the middle chapters read like season summaries, and they felt lazy. That is, Shaughnessy seemed to string together stories told to him, but without much scaffolding to give these stories context. Anecdotes and quotes were dropped in without much segue or setup. Throughout the book, the writing was clichéd and flat (I was never a big Shaugnessy fan). The last few chapters didn’t offer anything new on the Sox collapse, though the Sox owners were presented as major a-holes. Lucchino and Werner come off as dishonest, while Henry comes off as disengaged with the Sox. All three were shown as caring more for revenue and personal reputation than a successful baseball team. For my Cubs fan, Theo Epstein escapes fairly well. He has a few mea culpa/“we lost our way” quotes for the bad free agent signings, but otherwise is shown as consistently supporting Francona. In fact, one of themes of the book is Francona and Theo vs. Sox Ownership (usually Lucchino).

Overall, the book is not very strong. Baseball die-hards won’t find much to satisfy them. Red Sox Nation won’t find anything new and revealing. And the casual fan probably doesn’t care one way or the other.

[Bill S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revelations:

Grady Little distrusted numbers and went with his gut. Thus the decision to leave Pedro in in the ALCS. Lucchino wanted to fire him in the 8th inning when he returned to the dugout and left him in.

Francona Style - Worked like a dog to prepare and put players in best position to win. Took all of the bullets from the press. The ultimate players manager who let the "idiots" do what they needed to do. Played cards with players on the plane and here he would casually coach - Do you think you were not deep enough on that play? Never rip or embarass a player. Used numbers to make decisions but was against having non-baseball people tell him what to do. Welcomed the data, not the advice. Still a people business. Once told a stat guy, why don't you tell Mike Lowell he's not playing the Yankees tonight because Hinske has better numbers against the pitcher. A point of contention with Theo at times and Henry all the time.

Manny - Went to veterans when he transgressed and asked them what they wanted him to do. They would say, we'll take his numbers. Great Story - In world series Manny and Molina got into an argument with the catcher claiming Manny was stealing signs. Francona told him that Manny did not even know the Sox signs. Worst problem was his habit of claiming hamstring problems to get days off. Gave up in 2006.

Pedro - Was on decline in 2004 and hated to hear that Schilling was the guy. A pain in the neck. To him money meant respect.

Management - Lucchino is President and runs team on a daily basis. Werner is chairman and does NESN mostly and plays smallest role, which bothers him. Henry is principal owner and brought in most of the money.
His vote is the only one that counts and he was frustrated that Francona did not do more with data. Francona Saw Lucchino as something of a bully. Felt they became more interested in money than championships. For example in 2005 they had them do spring training games in Arizona right before the season to spread the brand. Also, given the chance to make up a rain-out at the end of the season if needed or take the only day off they had in September, they picked the guaranteed game in September. Luccchino and Theo feuded. Theo wanted a great farm system and would concede short term pain to build. Lucchino wanted to win every year. In 2010 declining ratings led Werner to say "we have to win in more exciting ways." They hired a consulting company to figure out why ratings were down. They concluded that fans liked big signings, trades, and drama. Dramatic big time players which led to a spending spree for 2011. To Franconan, the problem is that the owners like baseball, but they don't love it. He and Theo had a great relationship and agreed 90% of the time.

2004 - Got Schilling, Foulke and Francona in off season. The trade of Manny for Arod which also sent Garciapara to ChiSox was voided by MLB because ARod's compensation was reduced so much. Great spring, but Played .500 ball for three months including for two weeks after the Veritek - ARod dust up and the Garciaparra trade. He was not happy in Boston. Could not take the scrutiny after his injuries. Best team in baseball from August on. Offense remained strength but subbed in defense - pokey Reese and Meinkavich when ahead. Roberts added speed.
2004 ALCS - Game 4 - the throw to second was the fastest ever timed by the Sox. Roberts just beat it. Francona had winked at him as he left the club house.
Ortiz 2 run homerun in 12th won it. "IF NOT FOR ONE STOLEN BASE, I'd PROBABLY BEEN FIRED."
Game 5 - Longest post season game ever. Ortiz single in 14th in an epic at-bat won it.
Game 6 - The bloody sock game. Injured in first round and crushed in game 1. The pregame ritual of Jack Daniels started this night.
Game 7 - Kevin Brown had nothing. 6 runs in 2 innings. Lowe, who was a party guy that did not reach potential, was brilliant.
GREAT STORY - St Louis was so gracious that they let ticketless sox fans into the stadium to celebrate.

2005 - Everyone they traded for in 2004 and Pedro walked. Plenty of distractions including Francona admits too many speaking engagements for him. Had to use Schilling on last day of season to make playoffs which screwed up rotation. White Sox swept them. Theo, fed up with Lucchinno quit and walked out in a gorilla suit on Halloween but returned by January.

2006 - Traded Ramirez and others for Beckett , Gonzalez at SS and Lowell was a throw in. Coco Crisp traded for and Renteria sent away after one unimpressive year. Arroyo traded for Wily Mo Pena which went bad. Pappelbon replaced Foulke as closer. Fantastic start - on pace for 100 wins. No trades at deadline as Theo was protecting farm. Team wilted and Manny gave up. Francona was a second father to Lester as he underwent cancer treatment.

2007 - Paid big money for Dice K because they would not have to give up players and big money for JD Drew because despite what was seen as a lack of heart, he had the moneyball numbers. Won division for first time in over a decade. Fell behind 3-1 to Cleveland and then won next 8 games. Padroia, Ellsbury, Bucholtz proof that farm was producing.

2008 - Felt this was their best team. Great talent and by the end of the year, had people who wanted to win. Manny traded after pushing a club house employee to the ground and again claiming hamstring issues when he did not win. He went on a tear with LA, but Sox had second best record after his trade and he tested positive next year. Lost in 7 to Tampa in ALCS.

2009 -2010 - The start of the end. Bad signings, concern about falling ratings, and a feud between Theo and Luchinno. Lugo, Cameron, Lackey, all underperformed. Beltre was great but forced Ortiz and Lowell to split DH which left them both angry.

2011 - Losing 20 of last 27 games the worst collapse in MLB history. Never had a team lost a 9 game lead for a playoff spot. Lost it on the last day when they could not beat Baltimore and the Rays rallied from 6 down to beat the Yankees. Players were more interested in themselves than the team (Ortiz interupted a press conference to swear at Francona about the scorer not giving him an rbi). Theo regrets that he got caught up in big signings and traded Rizzo for Gonzalez. Franconaa knew it was time to go because he was not going to change his style. Owners wanted him to quit which it seems he did.

Aftermath Beer and Chicken - Lackey, Lester, and Beckett. Believes that there was more drinking in other clubhouses. What bothered him is that it got out. That means the team was not unified. What bothered him more is when the Globe published an article arguing that he was distracted by his divorce and had trouble with pain killers. He had had multiple operations and had gone to team doctor at urging of his daughter to help manage his pain. Under league rules this was supposed to be kept confidential. Somebody talked. Luchino and Henry both said they did not and would find out who did. Never found out.

[Robert Thacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy, fun read for baseball and Sox fans comprised almost completely of behind the scene stories and eyewitness accounts of the exciting Boston Red Sox saga from 2004-2011. Chronological, well organized, and pretty well written, but spoiled somewhat by the well known anti-ownership, anti-management anti-this-one and that-one agendas of the ghostwriter, Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, which are liberally sprinkled throughout the narrative.
Disappointingly, this is not an autobiography. The story is mostly told in the third person like a long newspaper article or magazine story, which, while making for smoother reading, is not the "in his own words" account that I was hoping for. The author is interviewed and quoted frequently but it's not much different than the players, coaches, and executives that are also interviewed and quoted for the book. A true autobiography would have made this book something completely new and would have given us a deeper insight into Francona, the man beyond the box scores and newspaper stories. And it would have been a lot more difficult for the author to give such a cursory account of his personal life if he sat down and wrote it himself rather than just telling his stories to a writer. Decades of protecting your privacy from sportswriters is a habit not easily broken. We know Francona professionally, but not personally and this book doesn't change that.

[Ben Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Red Sox fan, this was a must-read. However, the cover presents the book as an autobiography, when in reality, this is more of a documentary on Francona written by Dan Shaughnessy. By the time I was done, I felt as though I'd just read a VH1 "Behind the Music" about a Major League Baseball Manager.

The stories from inside the dugout and the clubhouse are the draw. Finding out how Francona handled David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez, etc keep the pages turning. The front office drama held strong as the over-riding factor throughout the book which no doubt was the over-riding factor through Francona's tenure in Boston. Similar to many documentaries, the clashes with the front office were primarily (and expectedly) viewed through Francona's eyes and thus were skewed to his impression of those particular situations.

Perhaps the biggest slight I'd hand the book was Shaughnessy's unnecessary slam of the writers who took advantage of the Sox' 2007 series win by writing glorified books, when he turns around and jumps all over this opportunity once the announcement comes that Francona doesn't return to the Sox.

Francona: The Red Sox Years is a fun look at the inside of the clubhouse and how baseball management works in a world of mega-stars and mega-contracts. Take a grain of salt with the stories to help distill the personal feelings you're bound to encounter as you learn who Francona saw as the "badguys" during his tenure.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the Francona years of the Boston Red Sox (2004-2011), which encompassed 2 World Series victories (including the first in 86 years) as well as the biggest collapse in baseball history in September of 2011. Many people were obviously exhaustively interviewed by Dan Shaughnessy for this book, and his many hours over many years in the clubhouse as a reporter are obvious- Shaughnessy clearly knows his way around this organization. The book is well written, though I did find it to be repetitive- I found myself often reading about a situation or a conversation, only to have it re-expained only a few pages later. I wondered if this was a newspaper thing- if people are going to be reading articles that are published days or weeks apart, then you have to go back and recap things that might have been talked about earlier... but in this case, the book is such a quick read that it was a detriment, though only a small one.

Francona is the real star here, and his quotes are funny, insightful, and honest. I felt very sympathetic towards him anyway before reading this (the way he was dissed and dismissed was, in a word, gross), and his book only makes me feel even more strongly in his corner.

Obviously this book isn't for anyone. I don't even really know how people outside of Boston would feel about it. But for Red Sox fans, it is very, very good.

[Gutman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so if you're a Sox fan you have to read it. But outside of Tito firing a few shots to settle some lingering scores, there's not a heck of a lot there.
Dan and Terry made a few bucks, and attempted to make the case that Terry and Theo were the good guys. They didn't really give us much of a peek behind the clubhouse curtain, they didn't tell much in the way of anecdotes (that's on Dan, who was apparently not in top storyteller mode) -- I don't recall a single developed story that elicited the slightest emotional response -- and the message they gave us could have been written as a long magazine article instead of a book and nobody would have noticed the difference.
The book in a nutshell: Tito (who I still really like) felt slighted, mistreated, overburdened, unloved and unappreciated during his Red Sox tenure, and maybe he has a lot more of that ballplayer-type immaturity than I had realized until now. Oh, and he likes the word "fuck" a whole lot. But I miss him in the Boston dugout.

[John Downer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Loved the stories from the clubhouse and the behind-the-scenes look. It added so much to my knowledge and view of the 2004 to 2012 seasons, which alternated between exhilarating and maddening. This book made me dislike Manny more, respect Jeter even more and brought a deeper, more nuanced view to dozens of players and coaches and officials. The whole cast of characters became much more three dimensional. This is must reading for a Red Sox fan. It started oddly though because I expected it to be written in first person and it wasn't. But in the end that was good because it allowed for other voices, which was particularly important when dealing with the conflicts that peppered Tito's 8 years as manager. What you get is not just Francona's view, but Epstein's, Lucchino's and Werner's, among others. So it presents multiple angles. I enjoyed reading it in the early months of 2014, with the championship 2013 season freshly on my mind. I can endure the sour note it ends on, knowing that the sun would rise again.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so anxious to read this book looking for some clues to the Red Sox collapse of 2011. Although it was well-written and entertaining, it was not surprising or informative to anyone who closely watches the team. Instead it was Francona taking what seemed like petty cheap shots at Red Sox owners and Manny Ramirez. Although they (especially Manny) may have deserved it, I think what is missing is Francona's real story -- the one reporters have failed to tell us -- and the one Francona leaves out of this book. Perhaps he continues to cover for the players -- and also for himself. Francona comes out smelling like a rose in this story since he and co-writer Dan Shaunnessy generously quote former GM Theo Epstein throughout the book -- especially whenever negative things are said about anyone. Perhaps the title of the book should be: Epstein--The Red Sox Years. I hope Theo gets a share of the royalties!

[Fred Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a member of the "Red Sox Nation" for 60 years, it would be tough for me to miss this book by the best manager they ever had. Great to relive the World Series wind of '04 and '07 and tough to live through a recap of the last two years. Still, excellent book by Terry and sports reporter Dan Shaughnessy.

[Krystle · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a pretty decent book. not at all a revenge book, but just your basic "this is what goes on in baseball" book.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to believe, but I actually read (and enjoyed), a book entirely about sports :-) This was surprisingly well-written and a good read.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading...what happens when a team exceeds all expectations and then flies too close to the sun.

[Cnelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read! Couldn't put it down.