Francona fails Sox in Toronto

This is how Phillies' fans felt watching Terry Francona manage their team into oblivion during his disastrous four-year run in Philadelphia.
Francona authored yet another masterpiece on Sunday, sealing Boston's sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays and sending the Red Sox home from their three-week, 16,000-mile odyssey in a mini-slump after a 7-4 defeat.
I realize that this guy has won two World Series in four years. I know that he's manager for life of the Red Sox because of that. He does a tremendous job communicating with his players and protecting them from the rabid Boston media. He's the one guy that most of the players in that clubhouse would demand to have as their manager. That doesn't mean that he should be immune from criticism, and seven games of this season has given us plenty of talking points. Some of them were glaring this weekend.

--Risking Josh Beckett's health in his first start of the season was an asinine thing to do. Beckett was scheduled to throw 75-80 pitches on Sunday and looked strong in the early going, allowing only a two-run homer to Vernon Wells and keeping Boston tied at 2-2 into the middle innings. Beckett clearly tired in the fifth, walking back-to-back hitters, before being removed. His walks came well after the pitch count had been reached.
Where was Francona before Beckett clearly hit the wall? With the day off on Monday, Francona had his entire bullpen available to piece together the final five innings. Beckett should have been out of that game early, decision be damned. He ended up saddled with the loss thanks to back-to-back walks in the fifth and a Frank Thomas grand slam off reliever Manny Delcarmen. 

--The continued yo-yo act being played with Jacoby Ellsbury is getting old quick. No amount of exposure or showcasing is going to help Coco Crisp's trade value. His inability to hit the ball out of the infield during the postseason last year on national television told the rest of the nation what Red Sox Nation has known for the better part of the last two seasons -- this guy sucks. It's no secret that he's available. Ellsbury needs to be given the same chance that Dustin Pedroia had last season, an opportunity to grow into a reliable part of this line-up. Ellsbury's a big part of this club's future. Crisp is only a blip on the radar screen.

--Francona is allegedly a manager who will play the match-ups, trying to use his pitchers and hitters in certain roles to maximize their performance. He failed miserably in two instances on Sunday.
Delcarmen must have looked like fresh meat to Thomas as he jogged in from the bullpen in the fifth inning. Thomas touched Delcarmen for a two-run double on Saturday to help lead Toronto to a win and was in an even better position on Sunday, coming to bat with the bases loaded in a 2-2 game. Where was Julian Tavarez, the team's designated long reliever? Sitting in the bullpen, watching Thomas crush Delcarmen's fat fastball into the seats in left field to make it a 6-2 game. 

--The ninth inning brought another decision that Francona bungled, this time with the Red Sox at the plate. Toronto closer Jeremy Accardo allowed Boston to bring the tying run to the plate, but I doubt that he was scared of Julio Lugo digging into the box. Lugo had arguably his worst day in a Red Sox uniform on Sunday, committing three errors on routine grounders at shortstop and going 0-for-3 at the plate to that point. Sean Casey, he of the .301 career average and three hard-hit balls in a rare start on Saturday, sat on the bench ready to pinch hit. Casey, a lefthander, never got the chance to face Accardo, a righty, and Lugo popped out to end the game.
 
--One of my favorite things that Francona does is resting players when they are on fire. Casey starting in place of Youkilis on Saturday was an absolute joke. Youkilis is crushing the ball right now, clearly Boston's best hitter through seven games, and has stretched his errorless string in the field at first base to almost 200 games. He needed a day off like a hole in the head. Of course, Casey made an error on a routine bouncer that cost the Red Sox two runs.

Boston welcomes struggling Detroit to town on Tuesday, looking to extend the Tigers' six-game skid while celebrating last year's championship with what is sure to be a tremendous ceremony. Francona's failings this weekend will be forgiven for certain. That doesn't mean that they should be forgotten.