Krause: Francona’s loyalty makes him deserve vote of confidence

Either fortune smiles fondly on Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, or he’s not as dumb, or oblivious, as the derisive name “Francoma” would suggest.For the second time in four years, every decision Francona made when his back was up against the wall worked out in his, and the team’s, favor. Either that is simply outrageous luck, or it’s time we all got off his case and admitted that he knows a thing or two about his job.Francona’s credentials as a “players’ manager” are beyond dispute. Some would suggest that being a “players’ manager” is precisely his problem. He’s not tough enough. He’s an enabler. He didn’t land on underachievers such as Coco Crisp or J.D. Drew hard enough, or get them out of the lineup soon enough. He lets Manny Ramirez do whatever he wants.And so on ? and so on ? and so on.But to those who feel Francona coddles his players, and allows them way too much slack, it begs the following question: How many players – benched for the final two games of the most important series of their careers – would run into a wall to catch the final out of an 11-2 game, the way Crisp did Sunday night? The symbolism is just too far out there to ignore. Apparently the Red Sox players – even the ones who have reason to be piqued at him – would run through a wall for Terry Francona.The fourth-year skipper – who is the first Sox manager to land his team in the World Series twice in the same decade since The Bambino himself patrolled Fenway – spoke briefly about the importance of having the team in his corner yesterday.”I don’t base what I do on what people are going to think,” he said. “As long as it sits well with the men downstairs in that room (the clubhouse), then that’s all I care about.”It’s understandable – given Crisp’s great catch to end Sunday’s game – why Francona was reluctant to bench him in favor of Jacoby Ellsbury. Crisp played centerfield this year as well as anyone has ever played it. And even though he was an offensive liability a lot of the time, his defense balanced off the act. It was only when it was evident that Crisp’s offensive struggles were really bringing the team down that Francona made the switch.But much more indicative of Francona’s decision-making – and the serenity that accompanies it – came with the move to start Tim Wakefield in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series and ignore the groundswell of sentiment to pitch Josh Beckett on three days’ rest.Going with Beckett would have been a panic move, but many managers would have been tempted to try it. Not Francona, whose attitude was, “This is our team. These are the guys who got us here. At some point, you have to trust them. If they’re not good enough, then that’s how it goes.”Sure, Wakefield spent some time on the shelf in September. But he won 17 games, and he had a torrid stretch of pitching from about May through the middle of August when he was darn near unhittable. He was fully capable of beating the Cleveland Indians.On the other hand, Beckett hadn’t been asked to go on short rest all season. Francona had no way of knowing how he’d respond, and apparently felt no need to try to find out.Wakefield pitched, and lost (though he really didn’t pitch that badly), and the defeat put the Red Sox in a tremendous 1-3 hole.After a day off – which actually gave Beckett an extra day’s rest – the ALCS MVP dominated the Indians and sent the series back to Fenway. We’ll never know if Beckett would have been anywhere near as dominant on short rest, and it’s quite likely that a less-than-sharp Beckett might also have lost Game 4 ? and left no one to bail the Sox out in the fifth game.The second half of the Beckett-in-Game-4 theory was that he’d be back to pitch Game 7, if it came to that. Again, Francona opted to stay with his rotation, and again, it worked out. Curt Schilling wasn’t all that sharp Saturday, but his offense tattooed the ball against Fausto Carmona and Rafel Parez, so whatever he had, it was good enough. Then Daisuke Matsuzaka ?