Francona Out as Red Sox Manager

Looks like Terry Francona won’t get three strikes. The Red Sox manager and the team parted ways Friday, only two days after the their historic collapse at the end of the season and failure to make the playoffs. Francona served as the team’s manager for eight years, helping them to their historic World Series victory in 2004 and again in 2007. Francona reached his 1,000 win with the Red Sox in July—but it was not enough to bring the team to the playoffs, as they went 7–20 for the month of September and lost the final game of the season in the final inning. Francona insisted it was his own decision to leave the team and said discord in the Red Sox clubhouse had been a contributor.