IS FRANCONA THE BEST RED SOX MANAGER EVER?

Terry Francona has been the manager of the Red Sox since 2004. He took over for Grady Little after Little's crucial error cost the team their first trip to the World Series since 1986 and a shot at their first title since 1918. In his brief stint at the helm, Francona has already "reversed the curse", winning it all in 2004, and again in 2007. The Red Sox are taking on Tampa Bay in the American League Championship Series as I write this, and Francona has a shot at three World Series titles in six seasons. So is he the best manager the Boston Red Sox organization has ever had?

Francona has gone 470 and 340 in the regular season in his time in Boston, good for a winning percentage of .580. The team's best season was his first, 2004, when they went 98-64. His winning percentage trails only Jack Barry (.592), Joe McCarthy (.606), Steve O'Neill (.602), Eddie Popowski (.600), and Jake Stahl (.621) in team history, and Francona has been with the Sox for longer than those five.

The only way to truly find the best manager the team has ever had is to look at success in the post season. After all, if you are great in the regular season and then lose in the playoffs, the season means nothing, just ask the Chicago Cubs. Francona is 24-9 in playoff games, including a perfect 8-0 in the the Fall Classic. He did what past Sox managers like Joe Cronin (1935-47), Dick Williams (1967-69), and John McNamara (1985-88) couldn't, win a World Series championship. Francona has done that twice.

While it is true it was much harder to make the playoffs prior to the invention of the wild card in 1995 (The Red Sox have won the AL Wild Card 3 times in Francona's 5 seasons), it is also true that there is much more scrutiny on managers nowadays, with Sports Center playing round the clock and the internet allowing anybody to voice their opinions. There is a lot more balance in baseball today as well, where a team like the Rays, who had never finished higher than fourth in the American League East, could go from worst to first and win the division in any given year.

The bottom line is this: If I needed one Red Sox manager to help me win a pivotal post season series, there is no one I would rather have than Terry Francona.