DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Terry Francona Hired as Indians Manager

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ap-source-indians-pick-francona-215140493--mlb.html

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Terry Francona is getting back with one of his baseball families.

Francona, who guided the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles, has been hired as manager of the Cleveland Indians, a team that collapsed in the second half this season after a promising first four months. The sides continued working Saturday night on the length of Francona's contract.

The 53-year-old will be formally introduced as Cleveland's 42nd manager during a Monday news conference at Progressive Field.

''I'm really excited,'' Francona said on the air as an ESPN analyst, his job for the past season. ''People who don't know me may have thought I was looking for something different.''

The Indians chose Francona over Sandy Alomar Jr., who served as the club's interim manager for the final six games after Manny Acta was fired on Sept. 27. Francona and Alomar, who spent the past three seasons as a coach in Cleveland, were the only candidates to interview for the Indians' opening.

Alomar has been offered a spot on Francona's staff, most likely as bench coach.

The Indians have always held a special place for Francona. After he was fired as Philadelphia's manager, he worked in Cleveland's front office as an adviser in 2001. He also spent a portion of the 1988 season on Cleveland's major league roster and his father, Tito, played with the Indians from 1959-64.

Francona has stayed close with Indians president Mark Shapiro and general manager Chris Antonetti over the past decade. He said the chance to work with them again is what intrigued him most about the Cleveland job, which will have its challenges because of a much smaller payroll than he enjoyed in Boston.

''It's a good story, almost a family feeling,'' Francona said after his interview on Friday. ''I don't think you can take a job because of that, but it still means a lot to me. Because of Chris and Mark and my relationship, I am excited to try to tackle, or attempt to tackle, every challenge that comes our way and do it together.''

There are some major challenges in Cleveland, where fans have been waiting for a World Series winner since 1948.

The Indians were a major disappointment this season, going 68-94. They were within 3 1-2 games of first place on July 27, but went 5-24 in August - the worst month in the franchise's 112-year history - and finished 20 games out in the AL Central. Acta didn't get to finish his third season with the club.

''We have better talent than our record shows,'' Antonetti said earlier this week.

With shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, second baseman Jason Kipnis, center fielder Michael Brantley and catcher Carlos Santana, the Indians have a solid core of young position players to build around. Cleveland's bullpen was the strength of the team this season, but All-Star closer Chris Perez caused distractions with his comments and actions.

The Indians lacked a proven power hitter - DH Travis Hafner was injured much of the season - and it remains to be seen if Cleveland owner Paul Dolan will spend in free agency to add talent.

Francona interviewed with the Indians one day after Alomar, a six-time All-Star catcher for Cleveland and fan favorite. Alomar managed the Indians to a 3-3 record after Acta was dismissed. Alomar will likely be courted by other teams seeking a manager. He interviewed with Boston last year before the Red Sox hired Bobby Valentine.

Francona spent eight seasons with the Red Sox but was not brought back after the club fell apart down the stretch in 2011. This season, Francona worked as a TV broadcaster and said it was while preparing for telecasts that he realized how much he missed managing and being around players.

''We appreciate Terry's great contributions to our baseball coverage and we wish him the best,''? ESPN said in a statement, adding Francona will appear as a guest analyst during the network's World Series coverage.

Francona has managed for 12 seasons in the majors, compiling a 1,029-915 record.

''I played for Tito (Francona) and everybody knows his track record is a good one,'' said Indians pitcher Justin Masterson, who was with Francona in Boston for 2008-9.

Antonetti said part of Francona's appeal was how he developed young players like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester as they came up through Boston's system.

''In addition to that, he's a great communicator and an accomplished leader,'' Antonetti said.



Great Hire!!!!

I have mixed feelings. I like that we went out and got an established manager, with a history of sucess, bit I am a huge Alomar fan and I really hope he stays with the team.

King

I just hope Francona never loses the clubhouse here like he did in Boston.

If he loses it after a couple of world series titles, that's fine by me.

New Manager , same owner and front office . Just what do folks think is going to change ??

As a Yankee fan, I have to say this is a good hire for Cleveland. Francona really helped build that team in Boston. He can develop young talent, which is what he said he really wants to do. I mean who else could the Indians hire who would be any better?

Indians stop playing games, bring in a winner with Terry Francona: Bud Shaw's Spin

Sunday, October 07, 2012,

By Bud Shaw, The Plain Dealer


Winner, winner, but hold the chicken dinner.

Terry Francona says he is excited to “tackle challenges.”

Perfect timing.

Three 90-loss seasons in four years for the Indians. Next-to-last in attendance.

Shin Soo-Choo approaching free agency with Scott Boras as his agent. No immediate help coming from the farm system to fill the void.

Francona, who Saturday night was named the new Indians manager, doesn’t need a bench coach as much as he could use a Sherpa. He’s got the résumé. Now he needs the oxygen canisters for the climb ahead.

Francona did his best work with a high-priced veteran team in its prime in Boston. Surprise. Who wouldn’t? But it fell apart on him in his final year amid reports of players eating chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games.

That he failed in Philadelphia with a lesser roster before he landed in Boston is no reason to discount what he brings to the Indians, who need his experience and credibility the way the Dolans could use an investor or four.

Ownership long ago lost the trust of the fan base. The sentimental value and forward thinking inherent in hiring Sandy Alomar Jr., who hasn’t managed at any level, might have been enough at another time in the organization’s history. But not now.

Hiring a manager in Francona with two World Series rings suggests the Dolans could actually be as serious about winning as they said they were when they bought the team.

It’ll take more than that to be convincing, of course. Nobody’s buying that alone. No one is that foolish. Not even Chris Perez, who suggested that many problems with the team in 2012 walked out the door when the Dolans fired Manny Acta. If it were that easy, even more reason to shower Francona with money to bring him on board.

But it’s not that easy. Being serious about winning requires the Dolans to spend enough to cover the general manager’s mistakes. And that may never happen here. So the only other apparent option: cutting down on the mistakes.

After all, Oakland won a division title this season with a smaller payroll than what Indians GM Chris Antonetti had to work with.

Francona’s perspective gives Antonetti a sounding board (and maybe a contrarian view) he can trust after a season that showed the need for a second opinion on the “culture” the Indians often cite as their driving force. Francona will be an asset for Antonetti, an asset in winning back fans and an asset in the clubhouse.

Players are paid to play. Can’t argue that. Still, tell me something the Indians did in 2012 to send a message to the clubhouse that management and ownership were intent on chasing a pennant.

Was it the Johnny Damon signing? Or the Derek Lowe deal? Or Casey Kotchman?

What was it before this season? The Manny Acta hiring?

Francona’s mere presence will not fix the roster, of course. Everybody gets that. But saying that what the Indians really need is a left fielder, a third baseman and a first baseman . . . that was no reason to pass on a credible leader in the dugout. They need it all.

Will Francona attract free agents? Yes. If he’s standing next to a Brinks truck when he waves at them. In the meantime, stability and experience in the dugout has many benefits, including removing one more excuse if the 2013 season doesn’t bring serious contention.

With Francona, there’s no talk of needing to let the manager grow into the position. Gawd, how often have we heard that in this town?

Hiring Francona puts the onus on the front office.

I like the hire but if the front office maintains this line of thinking:

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''We have better talent than our record shows,'' Antonetti said earlier this week.

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then the best manager in the world isn't going to do a thing for them.

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With shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, second baseman Jason Kipnis, center fielder Michael Brantley and catcher Carlos Santana, the Indians have a solid core of young position players to build around.

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Those four guys are, for the most part, good (I have my concerns about Cabrera's work ethic and Santana's mental acuity), but they are not what I'd call the core of a World Series caliber team.

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The Indians have always held a special place for Francona.

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...especially when you consider how they laid down for him in 2007

I'm glad they didn't hire Sandy. As much as I think he'd be good, he'd be a first-time manager and, as such, he would be much more beholden to the front office than a guy like Francona is. I'm afraid Sandy would've been ruined had he gotten the gig here.

I'm hoping that Shapinetti will listen when Francona speaks, and two rings should give him that sort of clout.

He had to be choice, you don't pass on a guy that's coached 1000 wins. You just don't do it.

But it won't mean a thing if they don't get them some players.. It just won't matter.

Kinda feel bad for Alomar.. Not sure he's really ready to be the skipper of an MLB Team.

But a couple of years working under Francona could get him there. he's young, he can wait a little while longer.

you know you are in trouble as a manager when you look at your roster and not one player hit over 20 HRs.
You can't win when you have players named Kotchman,Marson, and Shoo

I must admit that I am a little surprised at how quickly he was hired.

I know its been said, but the manager doesn't matter much without an upgrade in the roster.... our outfield was pathetic at the plate, first and third need to bat for power, and the pitching staff tired out in late spring as evidenced by the staggering winless streaks. 2012 was supposed to be the culmination of our latest 5 year rebuilding plan.... for me, the worst part of all is that there is no ace left to trade for prospects, and the minors aren't exactly producing major league talent any more.


they need to look closely at the scouts and bring in some new ones if possible...the free ride should be over.

I like T. Francona but like most everyone else, him by himself doesn't improve our roster, now if his buddy Shapiro/Antonetti will go out and get him a RH power bat for 1B, 3B, and LF the Indians might have a chance.

Here is my line-up right now:

RF: Shin-Soo Choo
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera
2B: Jason Kipnis
C: Carlos Santana
CF: Michael Brantley
DH: ???
1B: ???
LF: ???
3B: Lonnie Chisenhall, don't think we upgrade here

Don't even want to think about our starters right now, but I would gladly accept offers for Masterson, Jimenez, and C Perez. With $13 mill for Hafner, $5 mill for Sizemore, that $18 million should help fill those spots. After looking at a free agent list not much for the Indians maybe BJ Upton probably to expensive, Melky Cabrera could be had for a cheaper deal now, maybe Cody Ross, Mike Napoli could be had for 5 year maybe 50 million deal I've read, would you pay that for a C/1B?

Some of the pitchers maybe an Anibal Sanchez, Colby Lewis, John Danks, or a Gavin Floyd.

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''We have better talent than our record shows,'' Antonetti said earlier this week.

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which really means were not going after any FA this offseason

I just think it's amazing the blind negativity that some - really, a lot of people have - for the Indians. (and note to anyone, don't act like I don't get it - I'm a fan of a team that hasn't been .500 in two decades)

They got probably the best managerial candidate available and got it done quickly - just be happy for a day or a weekend and move on. No, they didn't get a cleanup hitting left fielder - but they got better today. And anyone that thinks they will now proceed to do absolutely nothing until March, smh, their's nothing that can be said to you.

If anything get a damn good pitching coach. Tim Belcher did a helluva job with the staff in 2011, but last year was a totel disaster with the exception of a few bullpen guys. Masterson and Ubaldo have proven they could win in this league before. If someone could straighten these guys out, that would be a start.

I thought Santana played well in the 2nd half, but Kipnis and Cabrera struggled mightly.

From Baseball Prospectus:

Potential Free Agents for 2013

The following players have contracts expiring or should have the six years of service necessary to become free agents after the 2012 season.

* – player whose current contract includes 2013 option

First Basemen
Lance Berkman
Jason Giambi
Travis Hafner *
Eric Hinske
Aubrey Huff*
Casey Kotchman
Adam LaRoche *
Carlos Lee
James Loney
Xavier Nady
Mike Napoli
David Ortiz
Lyle Overbay
Carlos Pena
Jim Thome
Ty Wigginton *

Second Basemen
Jeff Baker
Robinson Cano *
Mike Fontenot
Orlando Hudson *
Maicer Izturis
Kelly Johnson
Adam Kennedy
Jeff Keppinger
Jose Lopez
Freddy Sanchez
Ryan Theriot

Shortstops
Jason Bartlett *
Yuniesky Betancourt
Geoff Blum
Ronny Cedeno
Stephen Drew *
Alex Gonzalez *
Cesar Izturis
Jhonny Peralta *
Luis Rodriguez
Marco Scutaro
Omar Vizquel
Jack Wilson

Third Basemen
Geoff Blum
Miguel Cairo
Eric Chavez
Mark DeRosa
Brandon Inge *
Maicer Izturis
Chipper Jones *
Kevin Kouzmanoff
Jose Lopez
Placido Polanco *
Mark Reynolds *
Scott Rolen
Ty Wigginton
David Wright *
Kevin Youkilis *

Catchers
Rod Barajas *
Henry Blanco *
Koyie Hill
Chris Iannetta *
Gerald Laird
Russell Martin
Brian McCann *
Jose Molina *
Mike Napoli
Wil Nieves
Miguel Olivo *
Ronny Paulino
A.J. Pierzynski
Humberto Quintero
David Ross
Carlos Ruiz *
Brian Schneider
Kelly Shoppach
Chris Snyder *
Yorvit Torrealba
Matt Treanor *

Outfielders
Bobby Abreu
Alfredo Amegaza
Rick Ankiel
Michael Bourn
Marlon Byrd
Melky Cabrera
Johnny Damon
Matt Diaz
Kosuke Fukudome
Jonny Gomes
Curtis Granderson *
Scott Hairston
Josh Hamilton
Eric Hinske
Torii Hunter
Raul Ibanez
Reed Johnson
Andruw Jones
Carlos Lee
Ryan Ludwick *
Hideki Matsui
Xavier Nady
Angel Pagan
Juan Pierre
Juan Rivera *
Cody Ross
Luke Scott *
Grady Sizemore
Ryan Spilborghs
Ichiro Suzuki
Nick Swisher
B.J. Upton
Shane Victorino
Reggie Willits
Delmon Young

Starting Pitchers
Scott Baker *
Erik Bedard
Joe Blanton
Bartolo Colon
Aaron Cook
Kevin Correia
Jorge De La Rosa *
Ryan Dempster
R.A. Dickey *
Scott Feldman *
Gavin Floyd *
Jeff Francis
Freddy Garcia
Zack Greinke
Jeremy Guthrie
Rich Harden
Dan Haren *
Roberto Hernandez *
Tim Hudson *
Edwin Jackson
Hiroki Kuroda
Colby Lewis
Francisco Liriano
Kyle Lohse
Derek Lowe
Paul Maholm *
Shaun Marcum
Jason Marquis
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Brandon McCarthy
Kevin Millwood
Jamie Moyer
Roy Oswalt
Carl Pavano
Jake Peavy *
Anibal Sanchez
Jonathan Sanchez
Ervin Santana *
Joe Saunders
James Shields *
Carlos Villanueva
Chien-Ming .
Kip Wells
Randy Wolf
Chris Young
Carlos Zambrano

Relief Pitchers
David Aardsma
Jeremy Accardo
Mike Adams
Jeremy Affeldt
Luis Ayala
Grant Balfour *
Miguel Batista
Matt Belisle
Rafael Betancourt *
Jonathan Broxton
Taylor Buchholz
Sean Burnett *
Tim Byrdak
Shawn Camp
Matt Capps *
D.J. Carrasco
Randy Choate
Todd Coffey *
Jose Contreras *
Francisco Cordero
Juan Cruz
Octavio Dotel
Chad Durbin
Kyle Farnsworth
Pedro Feliciano *
Jason Frasor
Brian Fuentes *
Mike Gonzalez
Sean Green
Kevin Gregg *
Jason Grilli
LaTroy Hawkins
Clay Hensley
Livan Hernandez
J.P. Howell
Hong-Chih Kuo
Casey Janssen
Bobby Jenks
Brandon League
Brad Lidge
Matt Lindstrom *
Mark Lowe
Brandon Lyon
Ryan Madson
Shawn Marshall
Dustin McGowan
Guillermo Mota
Peter Moylan
Brett Myers *
Pat Neshek
Will Ohman
Darren Oliver *
Juan Carlos Oviedo (aka Leo Nunez)
Vicente Padilla
Tony Pena
Brad Penny
Joel Peralta
J.J. Putz *
Chad Qualls
Ramon Ramirez
Jon Rauch
Francisco Rodriguez
Mariano Rivera
Fernando Rodney
J.C. Romero
Takashi Saito
Joakim Soria *
Rafael Soriano *
Hisanori Takahashi
Robinson Tejeda
Jose Valverde
Carlos Villanueva
Jamey Wright

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/?page_id=177

of that list, I would make Mike Napoli my #1 target. he is not as good of a hitter as many give him credit for being, but he is exactly what this team needs.

a corner IF, RH, power bat. he would take over 1B (and we could even re-sign Kotchman and put Napoli/Kotchman/Santana on a rotation for DH).

$10mil/year should be about the going rate for Napoli. it's a bit rich for him, but he is what we need on the offensive side of things.

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starting pitchers we likely go after are from the 2nd/3rd tier list:

Blanton
Dempster
Correia
McCarthy

i'd like to see us go after a power pitcher like Edwin Jackson, but no way the Nats let him go (it seems like they have $$ to burn right now)

They did get one of the top guys available ..... but players still win games.

We do actually have some decent talent in the starting lineup, with guys like Santana, (who I would put at 1st base) Brantley, Choo, (who should probably be traded because he's not re-signing here) Chisenhall, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Kipnis. That's decent Major League talent. We do need help at C if we move Santana to 1st, or else we need a 1st baseman. . We need a LF desperately. We have no DH. We need to get our starting pitching straightened out. I don't know if that is a coaching problem, a talent problem, or a combination of both. I do think that we need to add 2 starting pitchers to the mix, because we just can't take the chance that our guys will magically rebound. Carasco should be back next year ... but how will he be in his 1st year back from surgery?

I don't think that this team is horribly devoid of talent .... but we are severely lacking at certain positions. We should have some money to spend .... however if Dolan tries to cheap it out this year he may lose the city forever.

I'd like Napoli as our starting Catcher, and keep Marson as backup. I'd like to move Santana to 1B/DH. In the outfield, I like Melky Cabrera (even if he's now "clean"), along with Brantley and Choo - if we can sign Choo. The pitcher I'd also like is Edwin Jackson.

Cabrera is exactly the type of guy the Indians should be going after. Cheap, high ceiling.

I would take a look at Nick Swisher, Delmon Young, and maybe even Upton.. This all depends if Choo is traded.. I also would make an effort to snag Corey Hart via trade.. He could play Left or 1st, has plenty of power, and is in the last year of a contract. I would offer the brewers Chris Perez straight up for Hart. The brewers blew plenty of saves last year, Perez could help them in that regard. We need a power guy, and Hart would definitely help us there. Kendry Morales is another guy I would look at if we trade Perez.

I wouldn't want a guy that produced good stats, by having to cheat. I would be surprised if Cabrera bats over .300 ever again.

I think he was a good ballplayer before he juiced, just not elite. I remember a guy I work with telling me I was crazy back when Cabrera and Cano were young Yankees, and I said I'd trade Sizemore for both of them (this was when Sizemore was good and they were relative unknowns). Now, in hindsight, Sizemore for either one would be a steal.

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I wouldn't want a guy that produced good stats, by having to cheat. I would be surprised if Cabrera bats over .300 ever again.

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Who cares if he cheated? Just as long as he doesn't cheat again.

Nobody is going to give him a long term contract. I would give him 2 years, $12 million. If he produces at 80% of what he did for the Giants and Royals that is a great deal.

Nice hire by the Indians.

if he produces at what he did for the Yankees before that then we might as well have started Shelley Duncan in LF again.

But isn't it worth the risk to get a productive player? Especially for a team that struggles to sign top notch talent.

RF/DH: Shin-Soo Choo
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera
2B: Jason Kipnis
C/1B: Mike Napoli. 5 years. 55 million
C/1B: Carlos Santana
RF/DH: Cody Ross. 3 years 15 million
LF: Melky Cabrera 2 years 8 million
3B: Lonnie Chisenhall. Would love to upgrade here just don't see a RH bat to fill this spot
CF: Michael Brantley

This takes up the 18 million saved from Hafner and Sizemore, and only adds 2 million to the payroll and adds 3 RH bats, I'm willing to take a chance on Melky on a 2 year deal. If he can still play you extend it and give some more money, if he can't your only out 4 million a year.