Reds Hire Terry Francona as New Manager

A couple of things I remember about Francona over the years....

  • patient, but firm with young players
  • the Indians / Guardians have not spent a ton of money over the past several years. In fact, I kidded my Indians friends that it had to be frustrating that they never seemed to "go for it" at the trade deadline.
  • I thought in the pressers he's been quite candid about his players and their shortcomings. No more of Bell's "we're trying hard" and other pitcher is "one of the best players in baseball"
  • I just hope that we make and emphasis on not striking out so much.
 
If I remember right, the Indians/ Guardians didn't spend alot. He just gets more out of his players.

Yeah well, as it stands right now the Reds are only on the hook for about $50 million in player salaries for 2025.....So Francona and Krall need to decide who is stayin', who is goin', and then get the check book out and do some shopping.
 
For you Reds fans unfamiliar with brian's hate for Tito, he thinks Tito lost the 2016 World Series by not starting a guy (Ryan Merritt) who had one win in his entire MLB career up to that point. He had a whopping 3 wins in his slim 2 year career.

Brian is a beauty......The only thing he knows less about than Sports is Politics. However, what he lacks in knowledge he makes up for with enthusiasm. Fortunately, for us he rarely ventures into Bengals, Reds, or Bearcats issues. You Clevelanders are so lucky to get his wisdom all the time.
 
Was it Francona or the organization or both when he was with the Indians. Cause the tribe/guardians seem to be doing just fine without him.

BTW the guards don't pay much more than the Reds when it comes to payroll, drafting and developing is important. Anybody who thinks the Reds are going to start dropping big bills to sign players IMO has another thing coming.
 
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Was it Francona or the organization or both when he was with the Indians. Cause the tribe/guardians seem to be doing just fine without him.

BTW the guards don't pay much more than the Reds when it comes to payroll, drafting and developing is important. Anybody who thinks the Reds are going to start dropping big bills to sign players IMO has another thing coming.
Everything went right for the Guardians this year and a new voice wasn't a bad thing to add to the mix.
 
Was it Francona or the organization or both when he was with the Indians. Cause the tribe/guardians seem to be doing just fine without him.

BTW the guards don't pay much more than the Reds when it comes to payroll, drafting and developing is important. Anybody who thinks the Reds are going to start dropping big bills to sign players IMO has another thing coming.
Certainly a combination of management and coaching. I think Tito came along at good time, where he could rely on some vets while the younger guys got some much neededexperience. His health the last 2 years was an issue, as he stepped away a few times. I wonder if his scotter is making the trip to the river?
 
I get this, just not sure why. PR concerns did not stop the Browns from signing Watson. Or the Bills from keep Von Miller. Or the countless others who have been suspended for DV related issues.
The Reds have a solid staff. Bauer isn’t what he was when he won the Cy Young.
 
The Reds have a solid staff. Bauer isn’t what he was when he won the Cy Young.
He’s good enough. In February, he said he’d sign for league minimum. Absolutely no risk financially.
The Reds had one healthy starter in August.
 
He’s good enough. In February, he said he’d sign for league minimum. Absolutely no risk financially.
The Reds had one healthy starter in August.
It’s not worth the distraction having him as your 4th or 5th starter. This is a young, talented team, they don’t need any added distractions.

First and foremost, they need another bat for the OF. I will not spend another season watching the likes of Will Benson and Jacob Hertibise. They suck balls and don’t belong on a big league roster.
 
Francona never wanted a bunch of prima dona superstars. He won in Boston with gritty guys like Youkilis, Pedroia and Ortiz. He won in Cleveland with Jose Ramirez, Bieber and a bunch of nobodies. He can win in Cincy with Elly De La Cruz, Hunter Greene, and a bunch of young hungry guys.
This year's Reds team does not magically make the playoffs with Francona as manager. Why would he come out of retirement to manage a middling roster and win like 82 games?
 
This year's Reds team does not magically make the playoffs with Francona as manager. Why would he come out of retirement to manage a middling roster and win like 82 games?
Because he understands that this years Reds team was missing several key pieces that will be back in 2025? Because he understands that younger players need to develop, and he thinks he can do that? I don;t know the man's mind, but those are a couple of reasonable guesses.
 
Was it Francona or the organization or both when he was with the Indians. Cause the tribe/guardians seem to be doing just fine without him.

BTW the guards don't pay much more than the Reds when it comes to payroll, drafting and developing is important. Anybody who thinks the Reds are going to start dropping big bills to sign players IMO has another thing coming.
This is certainly a legit though. The Guardians have seemed to flourish under first year boss Steven Vogt. However, prior to that I thought Francona was always able to get done more with less. I've thought he's been one of the best managers in baseball in the last 20 years. I don't think you'll see the Reds go on a crazy shopping spree.
 
This year's Reds team does not magically make the playoffs with Francona as manager. Why would he come out of retirement to manage a middling roster and win like 82 games?
Because he loves managing baseball.
I believe he mentioned the young talent. He thinks there is enough there to win. The right hitting coach(es) may be able to cut down on the strikeouts and allow the Reds to play Reds baseball (the last couple years of Reds baseball)
 
That's a nice thought, but baseball has changed in this regard. The idiotic emphasis on launch angle and exit velocity is going to produce a lot of Ks.
I realized baseball has changed, but I see us being more like a Cleveland type team, they had the 4th fewest strikeouts in baseball this season, Reds were 10th in all of baseball. Ironically, Milwaukee was 9th.
 
does Brian know David Bell? I mean we'd had taken Lou Brown!
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For you Reds fans unfamiliar with brian's hate for Tito, he thinks Tito lost the 2016 World Series by not starting a guy (Ryan Merritt) who had one win in his entire MLB career up to that point. He had a whopping 3 wins in his slim 2 year car
 
I realized baseball has changed, but I see us being more like a Cleveland type team, they had the 4th fewest strikeouts in baseball this season, Reds were 10th in all of baseball. Ironically, Milwaukee was 9th.
I do not understand the obsession with strikeouts. Does the league award you wins for fewer strikeouts? Last time I checked, you need to score runs to win games. Milwaukee may have struck out a lot, but they were 6th in the MLB in runs scored. Guardians were 14th, Reds were 16th. Not a big difference there.

I will grant you that there are situations where the hitter needs to just make contact. Runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, or runner on 2nd with no outs. Cut down your swing and just put it in play. But the total number of strikeouts just does not matter. As Milwaukee shows.
 
I do not understand the obsession with strikeouts. Does the league award you wins for fewer strikeouts? Last time I checked, you need to score runs to win games. Milwaukee may have struck out a lot, but they were 6th in the MLB in runs scored. Guardians were 14th, Reds were 16th. Not a big difference there.

I will grant you that there are situations where the hitter needs to just make contact. Runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, or runner on 2nd with no outs. Cut down your swing and just put it in play. But the total number of strikeouts just does not matter. As Milwaukee shows.
It's really very simple. A strikeout is an out, the defense has to do nothing. If you put the ball in play, you MAY get on base. You get guys on base, then when that hit comes, you SCORE!
I'll say this, my guess is Milwaukee was one of the better teams with runners in scoring position, which may be one of the most important stats in baseball.
 
While Francona does have health issues, I think that I don’t blame him one bit, after all this time, for being disgusted with more of the Dolan family “value free agent” signings when they look to be so close, for emphasizing his health issues when he walked away. I think he was disgusted. that said, I don’t think his “places I have played” managerial tour has landed him with another owner that will break the bank when it’s time, though.

Maybe Pete’s ghost will be his bench coach ?
This is spot on. Fncona had enough of the Dolans handcuffing him and tearing up teams that were pretty solid.
 
Already seeing some of the influence from Francona. Reds hire new hitting coach Chris Valieka away from the Guardians. Time will tell how impactful it will be, but I'll say this, the strikeouts will subside. The Guardians struck out the 4th least in all of baseball in 2024.
 
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