Apologies

After some thought, reflection, and experience watching the debate at OverTheMonster.com unfold around my criticism of Terry Francona, I've come to a few conclusions and would like to make amends for past statements.

First of all, I like Terry Francona. I know, the last post was a fairly serious indictment of the man I held responsible for all that has happened in the last couple weeks. Fact of the matter is, though, that it's not his fault. I do believe he should be held accountable for Mirabelli/Beckett, but really, there isn't much better than Mike Timlin in the bullpen.

He's a pretty solid manager. He does appear a little less than inspirational during the in-game camera shots on NESN, and he's not as well-spoken as Tony LaRussa or Joe Torre, but he's the right kind of manager for Boston. He's a player's manager, giving guys the day off when they need it and rarely pointing the accusing finger. He could be better, it's true, but not too much.

Bob Ryan wrote a great piece in the Globe today that basically sums up the way we should be seeing things. He's got his finger on the pulse of things, and I think we could all use a little perspective, don't you?

Sorry, Tito.