Terry Francona - Francona's Farm - Boston Red Sox on MLN Sports Zone

Francona's Farm
Boston skipper Terry FRANCONA attributes the Red Sox' World Series success story to leadership from his farmhands.

Maureen MULLEN
MLNSportsZone.com

NASHVILLE, TENN. - Red Sox skipper Terry Francona has been described as a players’ manager. In some quarters that can be interpreted to mean someone who lets his veteran players run roughshod over him, the young guys, and the clubhouse, setting their own rules, adhering to no one else’s. In the context of the Boston Red Sox with Francona at the helm, it means coaxing the best out of everyone: The veterans and rookies of varying personalities and egos; The differences in skill and language abilities; The many wants and needs.

The Boston Red Sox farm system is a winning blend of old and new that has rattled the MLB world. The Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been scrambling to keep up with the Boston Joneses and build up their long-dormant farm. Teams like the Los Angeles Angels are working to shore up their talent-rich minor league systems with more veterans to reach a similar mix.

Sox GM Theo Epstein’s careful planning, and exceptional player development department, is producing a perennial crop of young players. That pool, along with Epstein’s big-ticket free agent signings, are molded into championship baseball by Francona, who blends the experienced veterans with the energetic rookies.

“I'm very confident that when we go to that first day in spring training, we'll have a team that everybody's pretty excited about,” he said. “Our [front office] guys do a great job of giving us a team where the people in uniform, we feel the responsibility to get [players] ready to play because [the front office guys] do a great job of getting players.”

Francona, who has won two World Series in four seasons, while not losing a single World Series game, demonstrated that he is not afraid to use the riches of young players that continue to emerge from the PawSox and the Portland Sea Dogs.

“I thought our team actually started playing better baseball when the young kids got more involved. Our defense was better. Our base running was better. We seemed to have more energy. It seemed like the veterans got a little bit more energized with those guys around. It was a good mix.”

Sticking with the Rookies

Diminutive Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia struggled at the plate early in the season before finding his comfort zone and his swing, hitting .317 with eight home runs and 50 RBI. Named the American League Rookie of the Year, he was the the first Sox player to claim the honor since shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in 1997.

The postseason became a microcosm of the regular season for Pedroia, as he again got off to a slow start, hitting just .154 in three games against the Angels in the ALDS, before rebounding to hit .345 with a home run and five RBI in the seven-game ALCS against the Indians, and .278 with a home run and four RBI in the World Series sweep of the Rockies.

“I agree with that, it was just like the season,” Francona said, after the Sox beat the Indians in the ALCS. “And that's why we don't run away from guys like that. He's a winning player. Again, that doesn't assure that you're always going to get hits, but he still knows how to play the game, and his hits were welcome and they were clutch. But again, you play the guys that you think...They're your guys, and either you're good enough or you're not.”

Jacoby Ellsbury (“Speed Kills”, SZ, 01.12.07) proved he was good enough. After hitting .361 (35-for-97) with three home runs, 17 RBI, and going 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts in September, Ellsbury supplanted incumbent center fielder Coco Crisp in Game 6 of the ALCS and for the remainder of the postseason. In the playoffs, Ellsbury hit a combined .360, including .438 (7-for16) with three RBI, four runs scored, and a stolen base in the World Series.

“What he brought was pretty much the same thing he brought the month of September,” Francona said. “A...

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