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Francona’s support cherished by players
- Updated: October 25, 2016
CLEVELAND — Josh Tomlin had just been demoted from the Cleveland Indians starting rotation when he found himself in a place some might consider odd.
He was sitting across from the man who had just delivered the bad news. He and Indians manager Terry Francona were playing cribbage.
• World Series Game 1: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX
Hard feelings?
Apparently not.
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Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 2 Oct. 26 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 3 Oct. 28 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 4 Oct. 29 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 5 Oct. 30 8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians
“I was the one not doing the job,” Tomlin said of his August struggles. “If you don’t do your job in the workplace, you’ll get fired. I wasn’t doing my job or helping us win. I couldn’t be mad at him. It was on me.”
If one anecdote can summarize Francona’s magical touch with the Cleveland Indians, this might be it.
Francona will be on baseball’s biggest stage when his Indians play the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.
Funny how some people just now seem to be appreciating how good he is. After all, he has been a Major League manager for 16 seasons and won 1,381 regular-season games — 30th-most in history.
He won the World Series twice during eight seasons with the Red Sox. In all that time, he never received a first-place Manager of the Year vote, although he finally won in 2013 after leading the Indians to the postseason.
Perhaps the Red Sox were seen as so talented that all Francona had to do was hop on the bus. That’s a ridiculous notion, but it’s about the only thing that makes sense.
No more.
These Indians are a byproduct of Francona’s genius and have a chance to win their first World Series in 68 years despite being hit hard by injuries to the …
