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OK, Francona is likely gone according to this Fox story by Rosenthal that just went up on the Web. How can the White Sox NOT hire this guy. This could work out GREAT in the long run. As much as I LOVE Ozzie, Tito HAS TO BE the man. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/manager...-red-sox-092911 Tnis guy has won TWO WS and we don't want him? Over a couple million bucks? If we don't hire him this has been a s*** time for me. Lose Ozzie and my favorite team won't hire a 2-time WS champion manager who is just 52 years old??? f***.

So Boston lost. The complaints in this story ... team had no fire, no passion, etc. It's the same in every city when you lose. Cliches, cliches. Boston globe BALTIMORE - Theo Epstein put this all together. Oh, not the collapse, but the players who authored one of the greatest collapses of all time. And so the Red Sox general manager painfully watched on a clubhouse TV last night as his team blew a 3-2 lead to the Orioles in the ninth. He watched as his players walked in from the dugout with their heads bowed in anger, disgust, and embarrassment. Epstein and his players watched the Rays beat the Yankees on Evan Longoria’s homer in the 12th inning, ending Boston’s season. Was this worse than 2003? Related Photos Fans watched the Orioles celebrate on the Camden Yards infield after beating the Red Sox in the final game of the regular season. Red Sox complete collapse after dramatic loss Red Sox’ collapse is complete after Orioles’ comeback The Big Story: What went so wrong for Red Sox? “Sure, this is one for the ages isn’t it?’’ Epstein said. “What was going on in those two games . . . How poorly we played in September . . . We can’t sugarcoat this. This is awful. We did it to ourselves and we put ourselves in position for a crazy night like this to end our season. “It shouldn’t have been this way,’’ he continued. “Seven and 20 in September. If we go 9-18, we were where we want to go [playoffs]. That’s a third of our games. The worst teams in baseball win a third of their games. There are no excuses.’’ Epstein promised an evaluation of the organization from top to bottom. If Epstein stays - his future in Boston is in doubt after reports he may flee to the Cubs - he will face difficult decisions, such as the one he made when he fired manager Grady Little following the 2003 meltdown in the American League Championship Series against the Yankees. Will manager Terry Francona survive? Will his two-year option be picked up? That is one of the decisions Epstein will mull the next few days. Was it Francona’s fault? Probably not, but managers get blamed just because. Epstein is the first to kick himself for the high-priced free agents not working out. That couldn’t have been more clear than in the ninth inning, when Gold Glove left fielder Carl Crawford couldn’t come up with Robert Andino’s sinking liner, a play he would have nine times out of 10 in his days in Tampa Bay. But since coming to Boston, Crawford hasn’t been able to live up to his fielding standards. That play allowed the winning run to score and kept Boston out of the postseason for the second straight year. There was the John Lackey signing two years ago, which hasn’t worked out. Lackey also had a trying year off the field. The Red Sox wanted to avoid pitching Lackey in a one-game playoff so much that Epstein tried to make a deal at the last minute for Royals lefty Bruce Chen. The Sox often seemed disinterested and not well conditioned. There were players who were too easy to fold their tents and miss games for the slightest injuries. The Sox became a soft team, not a hungry, tough team like the Rays. Epstein was asked whether there was a chemistry problem on the team and he refused to answer so soon after the loss. What stood out for him? “Disappointment,’’ Epstein said. “We had a real bad start, 2-10, went 81-42 and then September happened - 7-20 impossible to explain. A huge disappointment. Nobody to blame but ourselves. We did this to ourselves. “We don’t have any excuses. Things went wrong with injuries, but whether it was luck or fate or whatever, the over-riding factor was poor play. We have no excuses. We’ll have time to dissect it and move forward.’’ Epstein did say the organization tried to come up with solutions to turn things around before they reached this point. “We were doing little things behind scenes,’’ he said. “Watched games over and over to see if there’s something we could help with. Talked to players. Talked to the team. We addressed the team at one point. We never wanted to give in to the inability of fate. You try to turn it around. “We didn’t play good baseball,’’ he said. “And the pitching led the way as far as not playing good baseball.’’ After missing the playoffs two straight years there will be more reflection, more self-analysis. “I think every year you have to look at where you are as an organization,’’ Epstein said. “The trends . . . where you’re going in the future. It’s our responsibility to do that every year and when you have a month like we had you only intensity that effort.’’ How do you evaluate a team that was nearly 40 games over .500 at one point to the one which finished 7-20? “You can’t deny this month happened,’’ Epstein said. “Even though it was preceded by being the best team in baseball for fourth months, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. “So we’ll have to take a close look at everything that’s not right. We have to fix it and that includes the entire organization. If there’s any silver lining it’s that you can’t look the other way. You have to address it now. That’s process will be difficult but it’s something we need to do.’’ Epstein looks for fatal flaws in every season. When asked what the fatal flaws were he said, “It was more complicated. There were a lot of factors that went into what happened here.’’ Yes there were. This was a team that had no fire. It was a team that had no urgency. It’s a team that needs to be hungry again. How you do that on a team with big contracts and comfortable players is the challenge that lies ahead for Epstein. Nick Cafardo can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.

I can't believe a lot of you take literally all the motormouth stuff that comes from Ozzie's mouth. Read this great blog on Ozzieguillen.com. Gracious man. I don't understand the venom toward him. Oz writes. ... This has been a tough couple of days for me and my family. Change is never easy, especially when you are leaving an organization you spent 22 years of your life with. The Chicago White Sox were the first organization to give me the opportunities to both play and manage in the big leagues. For 22 years, I tried to give them everything I had every day. In 2005, we were able to do something that hadn’t been done in 88 years — bring the World Series trophy back to the city of Chicago. Handing that trophy over to Mr. Jerry Reinsdorf is something I will never forget because I knew how important it was to him. That was a dream of both of ours, and no one will ever be able to take that away from us. I want to thank everyone that made my years in Chicago special. First of all, I had the opportunity to manage some great players and need to thank them for coming to the park ready to play every single day. Thank you to my great coaching staff, the front office, Minor League department, security, grounds crew, everyone that works at the ballpark and everyone that worked for and played for the White Sox from 2004-11. I also can’t thank the fans enough for the love and support they showed me and my family throughout my career. I hope that support can continue in the future. Chicago will ALWAYS be my home, and my message to all the fans is simply this: I will forever love you and will never forget you. As I’m sure most of you know, a new chapter in my life began today. It’s hard to explain how happy and excited I am to be joining the Miami Marlins organization. I’m honored that they wanted me to be a part of this new era in Marlins baseball. I want to thank Mr. Jeffrey Loria, Mr. David Samson, Mr. Larry Beinfest, Mr. Michael Hill and Jack McKeon for everything they have done for the Marlins organization and the opportunity they have given me. My goal is to make them and Marlins fans everywhere proud of their team. I can promise you that we are going to play the game the right way. I am really looking forward to the future and can’t wait to get started!!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 30, 2011 -> 02:01 AM) How come Daryl Boston isn't getting mentioned? I thought Cowley said he'd be KW's puppet. I did get a laugh when Ozzie told the Miami media his situation wasn't about money. I guess he forgot what he said a couple days before. I don't know why u guys care what Ozzie says. Ozzie is Ozzie. He talks a mile and minute and even he has no idea what's coming out of his mouth. I loved the Miami Herald story. They asked his wife if he's ever quiet. She said, 'When he's asleep.'

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 30, 2011 -> 01:48 AM) I never said anything of the sort. Evan Longoria is a monster player, and most-likely would be regardless of who had the pleasure of drafting him. What I said was that Martinez has been part of a culture that has handled several young players extraordinarily well. This probably occurred as a matter of necessity more than anything, but the fact is that Tampa managed to make the playoffs in a division where the two biggest superpowers in baseball reside with an abundance of young players coming through their system. Not to use a college basketball analogy but Roy Williams at Kansas had a winning "culture" to the tune of about an .820 win percentage. Virtually all of his assistant coaches were huge flops when they became head coaches including Matt Doherty who just about killed Carolina's program he was so bad.

Hope the Blackhawks take us thru the offseason cause the Bears look average with Cutler getting killed back there and the Bulls may never play. I guess we'll know after this weekend whether the NBA will play before January. Let the offseason begin. It'll be quiet til after the WS. My guess is we'll find out soon on Alomar, but Sox can't name him or anybody else til after WS, right?? One good thing, for me the only good thing, about getting rid of Ozzie is the fact the team shouldn't be as dysfunctional like it was the past year and a half. We can look forward to Opening Day without fearing a lot of weird s***, like ... - Leading 12-0 and almost losing the opener. - Inability to win Central Division games even tho our division sucks. - Inability to win at home. s***, even bad teams go .500 at home. - Inability to have a blowout win, but have a ton of blowout losses and close-game victories. - Inability to lay down a simple bunt. - Inability to have one simple winning streak (did we get one all the way to 7 games this year? Or was it 5?) The crazy dysfunctionality should end or better end. GO SOX! (of course we could turn into the Royals or Astros and lose, lose, lose, dysfunctionality be damned).

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 11:33 PM) From the desk of JR Organizational plan 2012 White Sox 1. Raise parking up another $1.00 being highest in majors already is not enough. 2. Raise ticket prices and make all games premium games no more half priced Monday's, it worked so well in 2011! I love mid 20,000's for Yankees & Boston 3. Lower payroll ASAP. 4. Offer 13 games Kenny Williams is back again and again plan. 5. Spend even less in 2012 draft and player development, being last now is fun and makes our minor league system the envy of MLB. 6. Sign no free agents this winter, but check waiver wire weekly. 7. Have Kenny b**** about attendance each month starting in May and having no money at the trade deadline, put focus on the fan's rather than Kenny's performance. Excellent post. If Cowley wrote this he'd prolly get a raise. Good stuff.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 08:48 PM) And what if that does happen? We'd all be happy. If Dunn starts hitting the ball over the outfield walls regularly and Rios hits .300 and slugs like he did 2 years ago, our new manager likely will be the face of the franchise quickly.

QUOTE (Cali @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 08:39 PM) Huh, I always assumed a team's relevancy was dependent on you know the PLAYERS, not the manager... QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 09:14 PM) I think some are deluding themselves about the appeal of the managerial job for the Sox. The good side of working for the Sox is that you have a really long leash and the organization is loyal to a fault. There is some nice young talent on the roster between Viciedo, De Aza, Beckham, Sale, Stewart, Reed, and Santos that are all pre-arb players so will likely be around for a while. The other side of the equation is that JR is still owner so the GM is handcuffed to select signable talent in the draft. There will be no Boras clients (often the best players in baseball). Secondary team in the media market. Payroll will be getting slashed and Sox will enter a rebuilding phase. The Sox are on the hook for overpriced vets like Dunn, Rios, and Peavy. You are likely losing the top two-three pitchers in the rotation going into next season. I just dont see any top candidate taking a look at that and thinking that is the situation they want to put themselves in. Dave Martinez is going to get to pick his job when he leaves TB. Tito would sit out and lick his wounds before jumping in with the Sox. The Sox are going to have to roll the dice on someone. While I like Sandy Alomar, the more I think about it the more Sandberg makes sense. He has experience in player development as he has coached at every level of minor league baseball. He has a little competitive fire in his belly as a manager. I think that the Sox should look at someone who has worked in the minors if they are serious about going into rebuilding. QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 10:05 PM) So dull manager = bad team? 1.) I agree players win games, so I guess Alomar could be great if everybody has career years. 2.) Nice post IMO. I agree they are rolling the dice on Sandy. He'll come relatively cheap and be calm if we suck next year. 3.) No, but I think if you have a chance to get a personality who has won a WS like Francona, you'd be stupid to not take him over what, a couple million dollars? Pay the money, steal the headlines. I just have this gut feeling that Sandy will be the calm guy who is in charge as our team takes over KC's role as doormat in the division.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 09:31 PM) Jon Heyman doesnt sound like #chisox would be legit landing spot for francona. folks think they may go younger 2 minutes ago via web KW should be fired if he doesn't go after the best available guy. I have this weird feeling some guys may turn the job down, though. You got a pretty boy GM with an ego and an owner who at any moment might go on the cheap again. And you got the Dunn problem.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 09:29 PM) Trust me. No matter who the manager is, until the end of time or the MLB goes belly up, any manager for any team will be b**** and argued about... Exactly. Next season a few people might wait a few games before leveling the new manager, cause it'll seem like they are praising Ozzie or something, but the second guessing will be strong if the team stinks. Or maybe everybody will turn on Kenny and he'll be the whipping boy. I'll be able to take part in that as I despise him even though I give him credit for 05.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 09:30 PM) This is considering we don't acquire anybody that will contribute to the ML roster next year. Lineup 1. De Aza CF 2. Ramirez SS 3. Dunn DH 4. Konerko 1B 5. Viciedo RF 6. Pierzynski/Flowers C 7. Rios RF 8. Morel 3B 9. Beckham/Lillibridge 2B If Dunn and Rios actually play like they're paid, then that won't be such a bad offense. You can trade Quentin for prospects for all I care. This is considering we don't trade Danks away and Buehrle won't be brought back. Rotation 1. Danks 2. Floyd 3. Peavy 4. Sale 5. Humber/Stewart/Axelrod Bullpen LR Stewart/Axelrod MR Filler RP MR Ohman MR Reed SU Crain SU Thornton CL Santos If things go right next year, this team still has a chance to succeed. There is still a decent amount of talent on this team, it just has to perform. That's why I want Francona. BTW rightfield is crowded in your scenario and left is left vacant.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 07:31 PM) Dunn will not walk away from $28M under any circumstances. Foolish to think so. The new manager will properly motivate him and it's 45 homers again from Mr. Dunn! And .325 from Rios!

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 07:23 PM) FWIW, Terry Boers just said his source told him there is only one name on the list: Alomar. No offense to Sandy, but this truly is our return to irrelevance. Francona would be making a statement. Sandy? Nice dull man to manage a dead team as it rebuilds and hopes the rebuild isn't Royals or Pirates like.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 07:50 PM) I didn't realize that 2010 was a contract year. You got me there, but Rios' career stats scream "average player" to me. 21 homers, 88 rbi's last year, good slugging percentage, nice year especially for him. 17, 71 the year before 14, 62 the year before 15, 79 theyear before 24, 85 in 2007. His other "good year." I guess conceivably he could bounce back next year at the age of 31. I don't think it'll have anything to do with the manager. It'll have everything to do with what's in that guy's head. I wonder if he has performance bonuses in his contract. He's the guy who needs some.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 06:46 PM) Rios had a good season in 2010. I don't know how Ozzie's supposed to get him to play harder. I'm not a manager. But I do know that it's his f***ing job to get his players to play hard. If they don't, it's on the manager and he will be let go. The only way to get Rios to play hard is with money. If it's a contract year, look for him to perk up.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 06:36 PM) He had a good season last year. The talent is there. The guy just didn't give a rat's ass this year, and it's on the manager to get the most out of him. As much as you hate me, this is why I hate your posts sometimes. That's just insane reasoning. The manager has to try to get something out of a bum like Rios? History of sports on all levels show that a turd is a turd. Polish it all you want it's a turd. You hate Ozzie, fine. But to put Rios on Ozzie is unfair and in my opinion, totally unfounded. What's Oz supposed to do to fire him up? Put $10,000 in his locker and say he can keep it if he hits .280 and actually hustles? You get on me for not posting stats or things to back up my arguments that are based on theory. This theory of yours blaming Ozzie for Rios is so off base. Do you stand by this post of yours?? Good luck to the next manager in "getting the most" out of Rios. It's a miracle a manager can get Rios to show up to the park every day. Oh wait ... Rios wouldn't get paid if he didn't show up and might get suspended which would affect his pocketbook. So he shows up.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 08:18 AM) 1. Tito 2. Martinez 3. Sandy Considering the fact that La Russa is likely no longer in play, anybody else besides the above 3 would almost guaranteed be a shocking hire. And by shocking, I mean bad. Seems like the right order to me. I wonder if Francona would want the Sox job though. Is he buddies with Jerry? Sox are a few salary dumps away from being a last place team on paper.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Sep 28, 2011 -> 08:11 PM) No I mean they should keep Danks if they can finally sign him to an extension. If not, then trade Danks and (ugh) keep Buehrle. Didn't Mark have some insane amount of quality starts in a row to start the season? Tough crowd.

Not really. I saw some of the Florida interview and he referred to Chicago as "home." The stuff Ozzie says has never bothered me. I truly chalk it up as "Ozzie being Ozzie," and also the fact he is a former spoiled ballplayer who is now a manager. I think it's funny to see an egomaniac manage a team, I really do. I'd probably eventually have tired of his act had I thought he was a buffoon as a manager as you guys do. I had no problem with his moves for the most part. I don't give a f*** if he lost his passion. I think that's bulls*** again of Ozzie being Ozzie. You ever watch dugout shots when his team wins or does something good? He's into the game. He wanted to win. It was the inevitable divorce. Managers are hired to get fired. Yes, I guess, Jerry would have let him stick around the final year of his deal which is pretty damn gracious cause it would have been a disastrous year with Oz's mouth and the fact he has to do a pregame dugout chat with the media as well as postgame every single gameday. He wanted his extension and payday. As a loudmouth, Ozzie couldn't let that slide by. Only way to keep him happy is keep making sure he has a minimum of 2 years left on his deal. I am a Sox fan more than an Ozzie fan but this is tough for me as a fan cause Ozzie did win me over especially in 05. I think the guy was funny and even a good manager. He probably should have told his kids to quit acting up, but whatever. This Loria guy is truly bizarre, appears to be an asshole, so I don't know what will happen in Florida. There's something to be said about bosses like Jerry who apparently doesn't meddle too much (in terms of day/day strategy, etc). Loria seems like a prick. I don't think Sox fans will support a rebuild, at least attendance wise, so I don't know what will happen in Chicago. I can't even think of a former Sox manager I truly liked, so I would guess after the new guy is named, I won't defend him or even care about him much. I'll just want to win.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 04:08 PM) If we're rebuilding how could anyone see Francona as a real possibility? Hoping it's Alomar. How is it rebuilding when you have AJ, Lexi (33?), Konerko, Quentin, Rios and Dunn as everyday players? What are we rebuilding? Our pitching staff? Bring in Francona, keep Buehrle and see if the new regime can win a pennant.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 08:08 AM) Oh right, exactly... Honestly, people need to stop equating talented Managers and FO executives with winning a title in the previous three years. That basically means there are only about 10 people in the entire industry that have a clue what they're doing... And if that were the case, do you really think their current employers would ever let them go? Great great post. Post of the season.

QUOTE (Papa Tru @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 07:10 AM) Its just funny that the Red Sox won a world series and have 1 playoff appearance and a huge September fade since and that's pretty much what we've seen here recently.. and now people want that manager I wanted to keep our manager, Ozzie Guillen. But since he's gone, it's a no brainer. Francona is available. GET HIM! I'd take their regular season record in the Central Division any day.

QUOTE (knightni @ Sep 28, 2011 -> 11:09 PM) Buehrle getting saluted yesterday. The Pierre walk off extra innings hit earlier this month. Viciedo and Flowers going on a tear after they came up. Soxtalk getting Paulie in the All Star Game. Lillibomb's great OF plays vs the Yankees in April. Humber coming out of nowhere to pitch well. Santos and Sale helping a beleaguered bullpen after the blown saves of April and May. Morel picking it up at the end of the year - hopefully carrying that into 2012. QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 01:07 AM) here is an honest one for you guys: my favorite part was Hawk and Wimpy reuniting in the booth and letting bygones be bygones. it was very nostalgic for me listening to those two again 1.) Good post. I was going to say Opening Day as the only highlight but you pointed out some good moments. 2.) Hawk with Wimpy was the best. You are right there. I heard it and it was great. Wimpy even joined in on the home run call which Stoney won't do. Which is cool of Stoney but it was neat to hear Wimpy say, 'Yes.'

QUOTE (Papa Tru @ Sep 29, 2011 -> 07:04 AM) The only thing anyone talks about here is how this team always falls on its face late in the season, so naturally we should sign a manager that just had one of the worst fails in baseball history.. What exactly have the Red Sox done since their last World Series? The exact same as we have pretty much.. He's a proven manager. s*** happens. Why do people think Martinez is so great? Oh I know why. He's the unknown again. The sexy unknown. He's never been a manager so we want him as the sexy choice. Just because things fall apart doesn't mean Francona isn't a baseball god! He's experienced and should be our next manager IMO. If Sox are too cheap that's just crap. Have fun drinking your $10 beers next season at the Cell and paying a ransom for parking as we rebuild with a rookie manager.