Tito Francona's honeymoon is over

Boy, that escalated quickly

On Sunday afternoon, after some bad defense and worse base-running combined to doom Cincinnati to a second defeat to the Giants in the three-game season-opening series, I tossed off a tweet. Because that’s what I do. It’s not rocket surgery over there. It’s just whatever dumb thing pops into my head.

This particular thought was: “Terry Francona had the shortest honeymoon period with the fans in history.” And it’s true! (I think…)

Francona’s hiring in the wake of The David Bell Era (tm) was greeted with universal applause, both within the Reds fan base and from baseball observers everywhere. At the time, I wrote that Sparky Anderson ain’t walking through that door, but Francona may be the next best thing.

After a year-long hiatus due to health issues, Terry Francona is poised to step back into a dugout—this time for our beloved Cincinnati Reds. I almost can’t believe I’m typing those words. His appointment signals a fresh chapter not only for Francona but also for a Reds franchise that hasn’t seen playoff success in three decades. It’s a hire that has generated considerable, and deserved, excitement. …

Francona's career is a tale of redemption and adaptation. After a ten year playing career—including one season (1987) in Cincinnati, where he hit .227/.266/.295—he began his managerial journey with a rough four-year stint in Philadelphia, leading to his dismissal in 2000. Just a few years later, he would become the face of one of baseball’s most remarkable transformations: leading the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. That 2004 championship erased a decades-long curse and cemented Francona’s legacy. A second title with Boston followed in 2007, and a decade of consistency in Cleveland demonstrated his ability to do more with less. In Cleveland, he orchestrated multiple playoff runs, including a near-miss in the 2016 World Series, all with limited financial resources.

As the season approached, much of the enthusiasm for the upcoming season centered on Tito and what promised to be a new era of accountability. In fact, the new manager promised just that in his introductory press conference.

“I’ve probably done a little bit of both of those,” Francona said. “Until you know who you’re dealing with, I don’t think there’s a blanket way of saying you’re going to deal with something. I do know when something goes wrong, my goal is to not have it go wrong again.

He continued: “If you get in a habit of meeting a player at the top step of the dugout, he’s all amped up from the game. He’s probably mad. I’m mad. You’re going to butt heads. OK, that’s not really going to accomplish much, except maybe have an eruption. The goal is to not have the mistake happen over and over – and that’s on me to figure out how to do that.”

This was music to the ears of a beleaguered fan base. No one could have watched the Reds of the last few seasons without noticing repeated blunders on the base paths, along with mistake after mistake on the defensive side of the ledger. Many attributed that to Bell’s managing style, but I think it’s a leap to say that he didn’t address the issues at all. On the other hand, it’s an absolute fact that Bell’s teams never did “the little things” well on a consistent basis, and the defense/base running never improved under his leadership.

This year’s version of the Reds is better on paper. They still have a flawed roster (did Nick Krall just forget to acquire an outfield or what?) but the pitching staff is deeper. Matt McLain is back and better than ever. And having Terry Francona in charge seems likely to move the needle in the right direction. From my season preview at The Mother Ship:

Consider the arrival of Terry Francona, a baseball lifer hired to point this ship back in the right direction, and perhaps (finally) teach Reds baserunners that you don’t, in fact, get bonus points for being thrown out at third base. Yes, I know that this isn’t a sabermetric/Moneyball analysis, but my hope as a baseball romantic is that Francona is the kind of manager who doesn’t just fill out lineup cards—he creates cultures.

I want to believe that Francona is a manager who molds young players into stars, because right here right now young talent isn’t the problem; consistency, discipline, and health are. Perhaps he’s exactly the voice needed in a clubhouse desperate for direction. It certainly can’t hurt that he’s been in actual World Series parades instead of just Opening Day parades. Maybe, just maybe, he’s the gravitational force that pulls this wandering franchise back into orbit.

Excitement! And then Opening Day arrived.

It started well. For eight innings, everyone was abuzz. It was Opening Day, after all. Cincinnati entered the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead thanks to run-scoring singles in the first and third innings off the bat of Jeimer Candelario. Hunter Greene pitched five strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out eight. The bullpen — Barlow, Pagan, Santillan — tossed three perfect innings, each pitcher striking out two of the three hitters he faced.

All that stood between us and Opening Day victory fireworks was three outs. Terry Francona called on Ian Gibaut to collect those three outs.

And Gibaut promptly vomited all over himself, surrendering four runs and the game.

Just like that, the honeymoon was over, as fans were mystified that Gibaut — who only made the roster at the last minute — was handed closer duties in such a tight spot. Then, when the familiar foes of bad defense and head-scratching base running appeared once again to prevent the Reds from winning the final game of the series, the cries grew louder:

Same old Reds!

And it’s true that the Reds we saw on the opening weekend did not look tangibly different from the David Bell Reds of recent seasons. But I would caution fans to have a little patience with Francona.

I can’t defend the decision to use Gibaut in that spot, though Francona’s job of mixing and matching relievers is made more difficult by the fact that the Reds don’t have a de facto closer until Alexis Diaz returns from the injured list. I’d love to see him try Tony Santillan or Graham Ashcraft in that spot, but he is going to have to use a closer-by-committee system fore a while. And he’s still learning these guys. (Yes, I know, I’m trying to be charitable here.)

Listen, Terry Francona will ultimately be judged by his success on the field, or the lack thereof. He was brought in because he’s had success in the past in managing incomplete rosters to winning seasons. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say. And I don’t expect Francona to be able to change the culture of this club overnight. Give him some time. Be patient.

I completely understand why some fans are frustrated. We’ve watched flawed rosters fumble away games for years. Decades, even. Everyone is tired of being patient, and with the Castellinis in charge, no one should trust the process.

But this is the hand we’ve been dealt. And I’m thrilled to have a manager like Tito at the helm. Sparky ain’t walking through that door.

So I’ll let the honeymoon period be extended for a little while longer.

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Speaking of dumb tweets, did you see the video of Reds prospect Zack Maxwell, aka “Big Sugar,” finishing a spring training game against Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago? He pumps a fastball by the batter for a K, then gave a thumbs-down as part of his celebration.

I tweeted the video with the comment, “My new favorite player.” Then I promptly forgot about Big Sugar. Until a few days later, when my son sent me a screenshot and said, “I’ve seen like 3 accounts on Instagram post this recently. This is an account that I follow that has 2.5 million followers.”

Three or four others sent me similar screenshots. Glad I could help out the wannabe influencers over on the ‘Gram.