THE NEW MANAGER of the Red Sox had a lot on his mind when he drove south for spring training in February 2004. He was excited to be managing again, and the big-payroll, bigger- expectations Red Sox had acquired Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke over the winter. But he knew there were going to be some superstars bent out of shape when the Sox gathered in Fort Myers. There were no secrets. In December 2003, Theo had worked out a deal with the White Sox that would have sent Nomar Garciaparra and Scott Williamson to Chicago for outfielder Magglio Ordonez and a pair of pitching prospects. At the same time, Manny Ramirez had been placed on waivers, then traded to Texas for Alex Rodriguez. The Garciaparra and Ramirez deals were quickly killed when Commissioner Selig and the Major League Baseball Players Association blocked the A-Rod–Manny trade because of creative contract restructuring that would have lowered the annual value of Rodriguez’s contract from $27 million to $20.75 million. Henry and Lucchino were furious with the commissioner and with the players association, but they were not the ones who were going to have to deal with the superstars in the clubhouse.
What do You think about Francona: The Red Sox Years?
