I'm still upset that the Boston Red Sox fired skipper Terry Francona. Even more irritating, was the hiring for one year of Bobby Valentine, which everyone with a pulse, knew was going to be a disaster. While we do have John Farrell now, who was a solid choice, the Cleveland Indians are thrilled to have "Tito." He does not get the respect he deserves, even though he guided a bunch of youngsters to somewhere near decency in Philly, and of course was the manager of two World Champion Boston teams. Eighty six years without rings, and this guy gets two of them within four years, in 2004 and 2007. His reward is he gets fired. Huh?

You learn a bit about that in here, and I agree with his sentiments, in that the ownership felt he was "too friendly with the players." That's how he's always been as a manager, and is not the type, that mocks one of the guys on his teams in front of the media. At the same time, he doesn't get all wired up, intense over matters that its not needed, which can make him appear to be too laid back. That is far from the case, because seeing his eyes, along with his aggressiveness have proven that assertion to be false. However, the team owners of John Henry and Larry Lucchino made a decision. I'm still angry, but I'm just a fan.

This could have been a good book, because there's plenty of material in here. A lot of the problems with it, were how it was presented. It bounces around from year to year, without much of a direction guiding it. Even with Dan Shaughnessy's talents, they are put to waste, as you will not learn as much about Tito as you would think. Some of this, is I think he's a very private person, but an autobiography is supposed to have revealing information. There's not much of that, and while you do learn about his relationship with former General Manager Theo Epstein, that was about the best part of the book.

I appreciated the funny stories. Yes, looking back at the "idiots" of 2004 was a stroll down memory lane, and the 2007 season was fairly well documented here. Yet it all seemed to mesh together, whether the team was winning or losing, along with whomever the players were. I got so sick of "Manny being Manny," even more so then when he was on the team. This book could easily have been a partial biography of Ramirez. I know he was one of the stars, and to Francona's credit he discussed Ortiz and Pedroia at length, I felt as if Manny took up far too many pages. While I'm thankful for his clutch hitting, his fall from grace with steroids, along with his behavior didn't need to be brought up again.

The best part about the book, was learning a bit more about the leadership techniques Francona employed. Often he would find unconventional places, to talk to players who needed guidance. Some of these were either in the back of the team plane, behind the screens in the bullpens, or even while the boss was on the toilet. Yes, I laughed during this, along with some of the juvenile antics Francona and his coaches and team were known for. There is one scene, where Tito is mooning his fellow coaches, and does not realize that a lady working in the public relations department is there. That's just one amusing one, but there are others, that will have you laughing.

There's no denying Francona and the Red Sox, were a gritty group under his presence. That's not the case anymore, but time will tell, how things go in Bean Town. I have to say that this book was a bit of a disappointment, and no where close, to some of the other works written by managers and players of America's past time. You could do worse than this, but there's just too much about the focus on statistics, and again Manny's episodes that will drive even the most passionate fan nuts. I have to say that I'm a huge fan of this Major League Baseball Manager, and wish him the best, provided that he's not playing the Sox. He will certainly have the Indians improve under his tutelage, but should stick to the field, instead of penning books that leave you bored for the most part.
 


*Thanks to Dramastef(Stef) for adding this to the database******

Recommended: No