What To Take From Francona's WEEI Interview

Here are some quotes:
"I have to own a lot of the responsibility for what happened," Francona said of the team's 7-20 finish to the season. "It was my responsibility to not let what happened happen. So regardless of how ownership feels or regardless of how (general manager) Theo (Epstein) feels or how the fans feel, I had a responsibility to get something done and it didn't get done. ...

"Maybe it was just time. It certainly hurts. Some things I felt like was able to get done in the past, I wasn't able to quite get done this year, especially at the end. That bothered me, a lot."

He didn't take issue with the idea that there may or may not have been players drinking, but rather with what they weren't doing.

"If someone walks around with a cup full of beer ... I don't think it's the end of the world," Francona said. "I don't think it's like it's being portrayed. More in general was the idea that I wanted the guys that weren't down on the bench I wanted them on the bench, I wanted them to support their teammates. Things like that. Whether they had a cup of beer or not wasn't the end of the world to me. It was more of an attitude toward our team that distressed me."

Francona's style, he said, was to give players the benefit of the doubt and not react to every little thing. That's a philosophy he's questioning in the aftermath of his departure.

"Maybe it cost me a little bit in the end," Francona said. "Theo and I had this conversation too about whether I was the right person for this team going forward. Because obviously there need to be some changes made here, and I don't think I was.WEEI

Know what would really help? If John Henry issued a statement rather than release bullshit tweets. If he help a press conference saying, "You know it's been 8 years and I feel we needed a change." People would stop making their own assumptions and just realize he's the owner of the team and he has the final say.

Although I hate Francona and have been happy to see him go, I do think management has handled his departure poorly.

Francona was over his head without a team leader, he didn't have a Kevin Millar, Curt Schilling and it seems that Pedroia, Varitek, and Youkilis weren't as strong of a presence as we thought.

I hope that with the firing of Francona and 1st base coach Ron Johnson means they are going to wipe the slate clean and almost hitting the reset button with the coaching staff. Maybe some fresh faces will be more effective in the dugout.