Customer Reviews

Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston's Rise to Dominance

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After two World Series championships in four seasons, it's hard to reach back into the days of reversing the curse. It seems like something that our grandfathers had to deal with. In fact, the subject never comes up any more.

Instead, Jordan's Furniture came on the air to announce yesterday that if the Red Sox win the World Series in four straight in 2008 you will be reimbursed for your furniture purchases. It sounds crazy, but in 2004 and 2007 the Red Sox won in sweeps.

As I write this, the Red Sox are behind against the A's in Tokyo. Dice-K is all the rage and left with a no-decision.

I picked up Red Sox Rule to help get me into the mood for the new season. I was pleasantly surprised to learn new things about Terry Francona, Boston's championship manager. His job interview with Theo Epstein (the young GM) included two examinations! I also didn't know much about Francona's career as a player . . . nor his experience as manager of the Phillies.

When Francona was selected, I couldn't figure out why anyone would have chosen him. Having seen his work from the bench, I've been impressed by his heart, his discipline, his even-keeled personality, and his defense of the players. Francona is the right manager for Boston.

I had also forgotten that Francona had been Michael Jordan's manager while MJ was a baseball player. It was good to be reminded.

Those are the highlights of the book. Most of the rest is filler.

I found several aspects of the book to be disappointing:

1. The 2004 season is ignored.

2. The 2007 season is described too briefly.

3. You don't get much of a sense about how Francona combines old school instinct and new school statistics although Mr. Holley is fond of repeating the point.

4. Although Francona loves to talk baseball, there's not much of his philosophy of managing in the book. You get a brief reference instead such as how he'll bring team issues to the attention of Big Papi who will take care of things for Francona.

5. There is no index.

6. The focus is on explaining the Red Sox to those who don't know the team. That's weird. Yankee fans aren't going to read this book.

I can't imagine that Terry Francona held back a lot from Mr. Holley. My impression is that Mr. Holley wasn't sure how to write about managing. That is a missed opportunity.

After the next World Series championship in Boston, I hope another writer will take on this subject and do a better job.

As a side point, I would like to warn you that my copy is filled with smeared type as though the pages weren't printed properly. If you want to have a pretty copy, you might want to buy yours at a book store where you can check the printing quality before your purchase.

There are very few books about the recent history of the Red Sox that I consider must-haves. This book, unfortunately, is not one of them. It took me an hour to barrel through: I am normally a really fast reader, but this book just didn't have much substance. The best parts were the autobiographical sections about Terry Francona as a child and early in his baseball career, periods I really didn't know much about. His pulmonary embolism episode was also a gripping read, and I found the description of his managerial interview with the Sox really fascinating. The rest of the book felt really rushed. As a previous reviewer noted, there was very little on the actual process of managing a game, and the glossing over of the 2004 playoffs and several other memorable episodes, such as Theo Epstein's resignation, was troubling. I also wanted a lot more on the 2007 playoffs instead of some quick summaries at the end. It made me think that Holley just didn't want to take the time to write all of it thoroughly so he could get it out before the 2008 season. Well, he was successful at that, but the price is unsophisticated, incomplete writing that will frustrate many fans and bore others.

Buy this book for the sections on Terry Francona's life, which are indeed very good, and don't expect 200 pages of meat. It's a solid book and an easy read, but hard core fans probably won't be satisfied and I didn't feel I got my money's worth.

In this book, Michael Holley writes a book that seems unclear as to what it is trying to do. Is it trying to profile the new dynasty of the Red Sox as the title suggests or is it trying to show what type of management style works best in baseball as the work suggest or is it trying to do something else? I find this book to oftentimes be muddled and confusing as to what it is trying to do exactly. I agree with a lot of the other criticism that the book lacks focus and also seems to lack a frame other then when it suites the immediate need of the story

I also find interesting that Holley managed to write this book without hardly a mention of Curt Schilling. Schilling is in there when discussing Terry Francona in Philadelphia and of course when he pitches in the playoffs, but other than that there is hardly a mention of him.

All in all I think Red Sox fans will enjoy this book but in my mind it provides very little insight into the team.

I've read countless books on baseball, covering everything from the 1919 Black Sox scandal to right this minute - and this book makes my top five. I found myself canceling plans to read it - and I put it away in two days and was sad to be done.

Baseball makes great fodder for writers because the sport is so inherently nuanced - and yet too often writers try too hard and overdo it, lapsing into cliche and clumsily zapping all the magic.

Not Holley. His writing is brilliantly, poetically restrained, letting the rich and riveting facts and analysis shine through. What results is a truly shaded portrayal of a truly compelling man. A digestible read that is not forgotten once the final page is turned. A book that is eminently informative - but also subtly moving.

I learned things I never knew about my favorite team, about Terry Francona, and about managing in baseball generally. But this provocative work also left me thinking about life, love, the passage of time. Just like the sport itself.

Kudos to Michael Holley, whose work I have long admired, for this satisfying addition to the canon of great sports writing.

And that's okay. Michael Holley's writing on the Boston sports scene over the past few years has been some of the most important to be found, and I, for one, am glad it comes out in lengthier pieces than occasional deadline-driven newspaper columns. The focus of this book is on "Francona," as Red Sox fans have come to know him, and not the team.

Terry Francona had been around the game of baseball for a long time before he ever appeared on the average parochial Red Sox fan's radar screen, and though some may remember him as an okay left-handed hitter floating around the National League somewhere, his impact on the sports world of Boston had been minimal until 2004. Now that he's a major cog in the Sox Nation machine, with two World Series championships under his belt, his biography is as valid as Carl Yastrzemski's or, dare I say, Ted Williams'. Francona won more World Series with the Red Sox than both combined, as much as those of us who love the team and his history are embarrassed to admit it.

But all managers get fired, or at least very few are given the chance to leave the helm of a baseball team of their own volition. Holley struck while the iron was hot, getting the Francona story out while he's still atop his game in Boston.

Without question, the Red Sox have been one of the most dominant teams in the past five years, which is coincidentally when Terry Francona took over as manager. Brought to Beantown following the Grady Little incident in the 2003 ALCS, he has managed to step into the fire of Red Sox Nation without burning his feet.

Michael Holley is quick to recognize the apparent connection of Francona's arrival and the success of the Red Sox, and offers 202 pages on the man who has been at the healm of the club since 2004.

This is a good read for Red Sox fans looking to learn a bit more about Francona, both on and off the field. Like many, he's taken an interesting route to get where he is, and like most, it hasn't been a straight or easy path to the manager's chair. Having met Francona on several occasions, I wouldn't say he's the most dynamic fellow I've ever come across, and the book didn't do anything to change my opinion of him. It provides quite a bit of information on him that I didn't know before, but given that he's 3,000 miles away from me, its immediate relevance is a bit tougher to discern.

For non-Red Sox fans, such as myself, the insight into Francona may be a bit more than most folks would like to spend 200 pages on. He's a darn good manager, but it's more of a biopic as opposed to a strategy book, although there are some nuggets scattered throughout about how he approaches the game from a strategic sense. You might read this and end up really liking Francona...or you might get to the end and say to yourself, "ok, nice story - now what?"

By no means is Red Sox Rule a bad read - I'd just want to know your interest in the subject matter before giving it a whole-hearted recommendation. If you cheer for the Red Sox, read it - you'll enjoy it. If you're not a Red Sox fan, proceed at your own risk -- I can't guarantee you'll get that into it.

First off I love Michael Holley's work. He is one of the best sports journalists in Boston. I was really hoping that this was going to be like Patriot Reign but unfortunately its not. Red Sox Rule is a rich profile of what makes Terry Francona tick. I never knew that Francona managed Michael Jordan or how good of a player he was before he got hurt. I was disappointed that it is all about Francona and there are few if any insights about the people around him. There are occasional antidotes about Papelbon and Pedroia but I would have been really interested to know more about these guys or players before them (i.e., Kevin Millar). Aside from this and the minimal discussion about Manny which is understandable given that he still works with most of these guys the part that stood out most for me was the lack of any discussion about 2004. Red Sox Rule is a good light read about Terry Francona but don't expect any deep insights about the Sox.

This book is less about the team than the manager who is so low key, Sox fans may underrate his accomplishments.

To place my review in context, I began following the Sox in the early sixties and suffered through the terrible (Higgins, Herman), the incomprehensible (Kasko, J. Williams), the lost (Hobson, McNamara), the temporary (Kerrigan, Popowski) and the flawed but effective (D. Williams, Houk, Johnson, Kennedy). We fans waited for the leader to bring us to the promised land and found him in the unassuming guise of Tito. This guy not only led the not quite believable comeback against the Yankees in 2004 but is 8-0 in the World Series with a team which recently lost 13 straight post-season games.

The book describes Tito as the son of a major leaguer, one of the best college players in the country, manager of Michael Jordan in Birmingham and failed player due to injuries. He had the strength to fight through the lost dream of being a productive major leaguer and the cauldron of managing in the meanest sports city in the US (Philly)to become part of the troika who saved the Red Sox. Of the 3 (Owner, GM and manager), somehow Tito has gotten the least attention.

Red Sox Rule can also be read as a business book with insights into the changing requirements of management success in a changing business. It explores the transition from directive leadership (Dick Williams) to servant leadership (Francona) and how the latter fits the times.

I appreciate the game and Francona more after reading this book. Sox fans should remember that the press ripped Ted Williams when he played and fans bood Yaz early in his career. We probably should understand and respect the best manager the Sox have had in our lifetime while he is here even if his personality and management style is not nearly as self promoting as Bill Parcells or as in-the-face as Bill Belicek.

I was in a Red Sox bar in Denver prior to Game 3 of the 2007 World Series and one Sox fan was reaching the panic point concerning the decision to have Ortiz play first base. I quietly said to the stranger, "Tito always makes the right decisions in post-season." He replied, "That's right," smiled and instantly calmed down. It is a new era for Sox fans.

After a close loss in which you want to debate a manager decision, remember: 86 years, end of Curse, 4 straight vs. NY, 8 consecutive World Series wins and, most of all, 2 championships.

Along with Big Popi and the Schill, Tito gets a lifetime pass from this fan.

It's hard to rate this book. I'm a big baseball fan and an even bigger Red Sox fan. I loved reading this book, and thought a lot about it when I wasn't reading, eager to get back to it. My 5 star rating comes from the heart. It is well written, and is an especially interesting biography of Terry Francona. I loved reading about his younger years. I hadn't realized that he was the manager of Michael Jordan in the minors! This book captures the meaning of baseball and the Red Sox in Boston over the last 40 years. As a fan for that era, I can say that it does get it right. In spite of all these great things, I could come up with a list of things that I wanted a lot more of. There was almost nothing on 2004. And if you want any behind-the-scenes dirt on the 2007 season, don't expect much. We learn that Francona deals with dirty laundry privately, and this book is no exception. And so, yes, I finished this short book wanting a lot more, but I loved what I got. In spite of its many flaws, I put this up with my favorite baseball books.

AUTHOR MICHAEL HOLLEY DOES A GOOD JOB OF WRITING THIS BOOK, BUT I THINK THAT FOR MOST RED SOX FANS HE LEFT SOME THINGS OUT. I ENJOYED THE PART ABOUT TERRY FRANCONA WHO PLAYED WITH THE CLEVELAND INDIANS SHORTLY. HIS DAD TITO ALSO PLAYED FOR THE TRIBE IN THE 1950'S AND 1960'S. TERRRY'S CAREER WAS CUT SHORT BUT 2 SERIOUS KNEE INJURIES BUT HE HAD THE KNACK AND INTEREST IN BECOMING A MANAGER. WE GET A NICE LOOK AT HIS LIFE ALONG WITH A MIXTURE OF WHAT WENT ON DURING THE 2007 RED SOX SEASON. I ALSO LIKED THE PART ON HOW AND WHY SOME PLAYERS WERE PERSUED IN FREE AGENCY LIKE DICE K AND JD DREW. CURT SCHILLING IS VAGUELY MENTIONED ALONG WITH A FEW OTHERS I THOUGHT I WOULD READ MORE ABOUT. ALSO I WAS HOPING THE PLAYOFF GAMES WERE WRITTEN MORE DETAIL. BUT OVERALL I LIKE THIS BOOK, IT IS EASY TO READ AND ENTERTAINING.