Paradise Lost

Mike:
Well, score one for the wisdom of the crowds theory...

 

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Mike:
Turns out that we were right, there was something terribly wrong with the Red Sox soul this season.

 

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Doug:
Yeah, anytime the skip has to call a team meeting aftah a 14-0 win, you know it can't be good.

 

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Al:
This just in: Francona Shit Canned.

 

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Mike:
Well, heads were gonna roll, but of all the heads, Tito's seems the least to blame.

 

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Al:
Maybe Francona actually wants out, though? Per this quote: "'He has had his fill of the whole thing,' a source told the Sun-Times."

 

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Mike:
Well, eithah way, I think Theo captures it perfectly when he says "we’ve gotten away a little bit from our ideal of what we want to be on the field and off the field."

 

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Doug:
Yeah, let's face it, despite the World Series win in 2007, the whole thing has been in one long decline evah since the Duck Boats were pahked aftah the '04 victory parade.

 

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Al:
Well, but what do you expect? Even Adam and Eve were kicked out of heaven. Nobody gets to stick around in paradise forevah.

 

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Mike:
That's a good theory and all, but then how do you explain the Yankees?

 

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Doug:
Fuck the Yankees.

 

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Mike:
"Nevah can true reconcilement grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep." *

 

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Comments

[Bob]

Before it can rise from the ashes, the phoenix must burn. And I think this is going to be a 6-alarm fire.

[h.b.]

Am I the only one who is sick of seeing Theo's dour mug haunting up the place?

I'm not saying I think he should get canned, just saying I've lost whatever idolatrous sentiment I had for him. He's just another GM now, not "the One."

And I'd really like nothing more than to slap that fucking look off his face.

[Harwich Rich]

I liked him better in the Gorilla suit ;)

[Bob]

I'd rather be looking at this mug:

http://www.jimrome.com/cimages/var/ezjimrome/storage/images/repository/photos/andrew-friedman/202821-1-eng-US/Andrew-Friedman_photo_medium.jpg

[Natalie]

Oh man, first TS Eliot and now Milton? Awesome. Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso are just exceptional pieces of literature and Milton's political works sublime. If not for that fucking fire, you'd have me hauling out my college lit books again.

Bummed about Tito, I really like him as skipper and it was NOT his fault. I wish they were more forthcoming about who in the clubhouse were cancers (aside from Lackey). Where was Kevin Millar when we needed him?

[Natalie]

Oh, and hb, TOTALLY with you on Epstein. I'd kinda be stoked for him to go to Chicago, let him work some new mojo there and get us new blood here. Lord knows the man can't sign a decent shortstop and ultimately he's most accountable for the debacle of 2011. Can we get DePodesta from the Mets? (I just saw Moneyball and he's a good Harvard man ;)

[Harwich Rich]

Has Ozzie signed with the Marlins yet??

[COD]

Thankfully, the Marlins already took Ozzie Guillen off the market.

[Natalie]

I swear to God, I'd rather become a Yankees fan than have Ozzie Guillen as skipper. That that man is still employed in MLB is insane to me.

[pseudosanity78]

As I read all the news this morning I have to say not much of it surprised me.

I, weirdly enough, found myself thinking for a lot of the season 'where is the heart'?

This is one time where there was a whole lot of smoke (typically being blown up asses, as it were) with no fire.

[soxinsix]

Bye, Tito. After 2 WS titles you deserve to go out gracefully, which, sadly, isn't going to happen. I just hope something more than that is done to shake this team up.

[Soulie]

How nice of the Globe to tells us now about the Sox chemistry. Isn't that supposed to be one of the perks of being In The Room that the bloggers can't get from their mom's basement?

Disagree that 2004 was the high water mark. ALCS in 2008 is it for me. 2005 was the hangover, 2006 was a rebuild year, and 2008 was the last ride of the 03-08 Sox. I'll happily admit we've lost the thread a bit the last two or three seasons. But it's very fixable.

[pseudosanity78]

Do the phrases 'not going to play the blame game' & 'not making anyone a scapegoat' ring false to anyone else?

[yazbread]

Beisbol been very, very good to Ozzie.

[Bob]

So has Four Loco.

[Kaz]

Terry Francona was the manager the 2004 Red Sox needed but not the manager the 2011 Red Sox deserved. He stands above this fray in my mind. It's clear that he was happy to go because Theo and all have saddled this team with a lot of dissident personalities.

Now, you might say that the best manager in the world gets dissident personalities to come together into a team...so Tito might not be the best manager in the world. But at some point, multi-million dollar atheletes need to stop acting like babies (Lackey) and emo kids (Crawford). I hope wherever Tito lands next, he gets the team he deserves. I also hope whoever coaches the Red Sox next is the coach we need.

[pseudosanity78]

Can we nominate you for the positon Kaz? Because you seriously got the butterflies going just then.

And Bob? BWHAHAHAHA!

[Kaz]

Pseudo:
"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a manager."

--Groucho Marx

[Yossarian]

While I have questioned some decisions Francona has made on the pitching end of things, exactly who will they get that is better than him?

[da kine]

Eff that noise. Tito should stay, Theo should go. I'm as sick as hb of his fucking Sad Keanu face and annoying corporate-speak. Joe Torre for Manager 2012!

(And no, I'm not kidding. You want someone to handle a shitload of overpaid children, Joe's your man.)

[Natalie]

Hear hear on all points, da kine.

[COD]

I think the front office will go with somebody younger, less experience, and more likely to manage like Theo and John Henry thinks they should manage.

[COD]

I think the front office will go with somebody younger, less experience, and more likely to manage like Theo and John Henry thinks they should manage.

[h.b.]

! Important !

The Surly But Loveable LouClinton has emailed to say his comments are being blocked. I cannot find anything in TypePad causing this nor are any of his comments getting flagged as spam.

If anyone else is encountering similar probs with comments, email me directly so I can let the TypePad people know.

[ParkerStPete]

On the gastronomic front, Bartley's has added a Sweet Caroline No! No! No! burger to its menu. Is there are a sneaky Brian Wilson reference within the Neil Diamond reference? "It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die."

[louclinton]

uncontroversial post

[Harwich Rich]

If Tito must go,can they at least throw in Lil(everyone knew him as Nancy)Drew??

[Natalie]

I know that the above comment by lc is probably a test post, but can I say, I think "non-sequitor louclinton" could be my favorite of all.

[Bob]

Okay, so the Sox need to think outside the box, right? They need a manager who is used to dealing with a room full of prima donnas, and somehow making them all happy.

I nominate H.B.

If he declines, Scott Boras.

[Harwich Rich]

Karma's a bitch,Scotty :D

[Scott]

It should have been Theo that was fired. He won the WS in 2004 with Dan Duqette's team. The only move he made that really had an impact was Schilling.

[Scott]

It should have been Theo that was fired. He won the WS in 2004 with Dan Duqette's team. The only move he made that really had an impact was Schilling.

[louclinton]

things change, and so forth.

lc

[LarryE]

h.b., I agree with the essence of your strip today very much. I was very sad to initially learn that Francona was going until (if we can believe it) it was his desire to leave and that he wouldn't have wanted the Sox to pick up next year's option. The bud is off the rose with respect to Theo and his alleged genius. Except for Schilling, which may have been more than just Theo, there is a string of pretty unsuccessful free agents (Renteria, Lugo, Drew, Dice-K, Lackey, to name a few, and the jury's still out on Crawford). Francona is a very decent man and I'd like to see who they bring in that would be better. Maybe they want someone to be the front office's lackey (no pun intended) because if they're too much into the sabermetrics to worry about team chemistry, it might be a long time until another championship. Hopefully, that's one of the things that Theo is talking about when he says that they've gotten away from their standards. Hopefully another is the physical fitness of the players. I guess we'll find out relatively soon.

[Bob]

Has it really only been two days since the loss? Feels like it's been a month already.

Anyway, have a great weekend all. Hopefully we'll have something (fun? interesting? something other than depressing?) to yak about on Monday.

[louclinton]

Monday, April 2nd, you mean.

[Bob]

I not mean. I surly. Like you.

[Harwich Rich]

...unless your last name is Francona

[buckner was framed]

well, Monday WILL be T-minus 72 hours until the banner raising. I for one cannot wait.

But how effed up is this crazy sports world of ours when Claude (pronounced Clode) calls Terry (pronounced Tito) and offers support for missing the playoffs?!? "I been dere, eh?"

[ratherdrunkdownunder]

It is raining in Melbourne. 2.5 hours to the first bounce. The 8 year old 'Sox fan, mrs sdu and I have it in hand so try not to worry.

[soxdownunder]

I'm actually not drunk...
...
...
yet

[soxdownunder]

Yeah well fuck this:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114892006575203579224/PiesThumped2011

[Bob]

Damn. I wore my hat yesterday, too.

[Jim Loomis]

So who is or are the clubhouse culprits? Surprised there hasn't been more in the voracious Boston media about the root cause of poor Tito's departure. Best guess is Beckett, but who else? Got to be more than one. Lester? Oh, great ... our two supposed aces!

[Lazlo Freem]

8 years, 2 rings. I wont see that again in my lifetime. The accountable is held accountable. This is bullshit.

Thanks Tito, and best of luck to you.

[Rob in CT]

Damn, sdu. Too bad! We are not having a good sports week collectively. Looks like a fun event though. That fine boy of yours is getting big! What a handsome lad. :)

[louclinton]

gonzales is a cunt of mammoth proportions

[Kaz]

Lou, it just isn't in God's plan for you to like Adrian.