Tito’s farewell season

[DCTribefan]

Wouldn’t be a Tito story without mention of cribbage. Already posted but I wanted to highlight this except from the article.

"You can learn a lot about a guy watching a guy play something other than baseball, even cribbage," Francona said. "You see how someone takes a risk and wins, and you think, 'I might be able to trust him in the ninth inning.' I played for fun, but I also learned about my players."

Dustin Pedroia and Josh Tomlin were among his regulars, and at one point in Boston, closer Jonathan Papelbon, who had never played, asked to play for money.

With his winnings, Francona said, "Pap built me a finished basement in my house."

As Francona prepares to say goodbye, a tribute to his humor and humanity

When Terry Francona retires, his legacy will be less about his almost 2,000 wins and more about his ability to connect.

www.espn.com

In recognition of Tito’s dedication and service, I will set aside my vitriol for his baffling lineup decisions this season and rightfully applaud the man. His successor will certainly have big shoes to fill.

 

[DCTribefan]

 

[FrontPageNews]

Man this sucks. He’s still young for a baseball manager. Hopefully he takes a front office role and comes back to managing if he gets healthy and his replacement sucks.

 

[bushwick_bill]

 

[macbdog]

Man this sucks. He’s still young for a baseball manager. Hopefully he takes a front office role and comes back to managing if he gets healthy and his replacement sucks.

I doubt he gets healthy enough for the travel grind again, but hopefully he sticks around in the FO

Spoiler

As long as he wasnt responsible for the Jones/Benson trades. Or Junior.

 

[macbdog]

Francona had a unique relationship with his players. He poked fun at them, and vice versa. Francona and Pedroia were especially close. Francona thought that ESPN's John Clayton, the late, great Hall of Fame football writer, looked like Pedroia -- because they were both thin and balding. So, Tito arranged to have Clayton, pretending to be Pedroia, videotape a pep talk to the team before a big game. The whole team, including Pedroia, exploded in laughter.

Now this sounds amazing.