First of all, sorry for being away so long. As you probably know we’ve had terrible tech difficulties. Mine seemed to last longer than most.

Watching the introductions at Fenway Park prior to Game 1 of the World Series, something I’d been thinking about became even more clear.

Terry Francona is almost exactly the same manager as Joe Torre. Good guy, gentleman, clever, quick with a story, honest, answers all questions candidly.

Also … Patient, never lets the camera figure out what he’s thinking during the game, doesn’t wear any emotion on his sleeve, doesn’t throw tantrums or buffet tables, treats his players like men, is respected by all of them in return, handles problems in his office with the door closed.

And … Handles the extremely high expectations and pressures extremely well, has been wildly successful (compared to his predecessors).

And … was in big trouble a couple of times, especially late last month when it looked as if the Red Sox were going to be caught by Torre’s Yankees and settle for the wild card, if that. I was in Boston at the time and there was hysteria up there, just as there always is around the Yankees or Mets when they slump or fall or have a debacle. People were even talking about Francona managing for his job.

Imagine. Now he’s on the verge of possibly a second World Series title in four years as Boston manager. Torre had three in his first four years, and four titles in five years, and five World Series appearances in six years. Now he’s out, and Francona is a genius.