It's manager's decision

DETROIT -- Terry Francona sat in a chair in his office with his hands over his scarred knees, happy and somewhat relieved that his team's four-city, 11-game road trip had ended with six wins following yesterday's 11-9 victory over the Tigers. The Red Sox skipper always sees brighter days ahead, and he hopes the upcoming homestand could be a launching point for a team that has underachieved, a team that by his own admission hasn't been easy to manage. Which is why, perhaps, nobody was any happier leaving Detroit yesterday a winner than Francona, whose favorability rating with Red Sox Nation could be at an all-time low.

Not that Francona much bothers to listen to what is said or written about him. He's had plenty of experience in fan nastiness from the Phillies boosters who helped run him out of there. He expects to be on the hot seat, but he also expected better, and easier, times than he's had.

Francona admits the job eats him up at times. He brings it home with him, eats, sleeps, and drinks it. He's the first to the ballpark, the last to leave. He spends his time, almost obsessively, going over a thousand scenarios.

He says he has a managing style that suits him. He knows he's not Joe Torre or the fiery Lou Piniella. He's a player's manager, even on days when a player criticizes him for leaving him out of the lineup, like Kevin Millar did Saturday, suggesting the team should have a set lineup by now.

The story wasn't so much that Millar lashed out; in fact, what he said might be on the money. The issue is that Millar felt he could vent and get away with it. That shows that perhaps the ship is just a little too comfortable, that Francona needs to tighten the reins before things get out of hand. Millar apologized to Francona in a closed-door meeting yesterday morning and was in the lineup in the afternoon. Millar said he didn't mean to throw Francona under the bus, but that's basically what he did.

One can understand that perhaps emotions were running high because of the fatigue caused by the long road trip, and the frustration of the team being in a malaise the past 88 games.

But the last thing player's manager Francona needed was a player criticizing him.

To his credit, Francona kept the contents of the meeting with Millar private. Which is what he should do, even though a public lambasting of Millar would have shown a tougher resolve the public would have loved to have seen.

One wouldn't see Torre take a dispute with a player public. But one also rarely sees a player lash out at Torre, because he has that aura that comes from four world championships. Besides, players who attack his authority or don't act professionally are sent packing.

Was Millar way too comfortable in berating his manager? "I don't think he was," Francona said. "You'd have to ask him that, but from our conversation, I don't think that was the case."

Francona says he's a talker, not a fighter. He wasn't going to get down and dirty with Millar, instead opting to talk it out. He feels confident neither Millar nor any other players will be complaining in the media from here on out.

"Sometimes when you handle things without fighting somebody, you get a resolution," Francona said. "You get a better understanding of somebody and things get better. That's the result I want. You're not going to go through a year without bruised egos . . . it can't happen. If there's some dispute, I want to handle it right then and there, behind closed doors, and get it resolved. That's what happened today." Midway through spring training, the players were asked how they felt about Francona, and the response was that he already had their respect. One player said because of the way Francona treated them, they would never take advantage of him.

Well, over the weekend something broke down, although two wins after Millar lashed out have helped calm the situation.

From Day 1 it was evident the manager hired after Grady Little would be in a near-impossible situation. The expectation was that he needed to lead the Sox to the World Series to be considered successful, especially with the team having a $130 million payroll.

Management pegged a certain type of person it wanted, someone who could implement the statistical component of the team philosophy. It was obvious the brass wanted someone relatively young and someone who had an open mind, but also someone who was a player's manager, because that aspect of Little's effort was deemed satisfactory.

Francona was the choice, and things haven't always gone smoothly. But then came Saturday night, when a manager who has been so protective of his players, almost to a fault, was skewered by a player who has been a regular with the exception of Saturday night, when he was left on the bench and became upset because he wasn't informed beforehand (he eventually was a last-minute addition to the lineup).

Francona also took heat for Manny Ramirez being out of the lineup that night (creating room for Millar), a ridiculous criticism because the medical staff and the players all vouched for the fact that Ramirez had legitimate flu-like symptoms. Francona said there were people who saw Ramirez bundled up in a coat because he had the chills.

With liability issues, the days of making a player play are over. The argument that Francona should have made Ramirez go out doesn't fly.

So call him soft. Call him a pushover. Francona doesn't care.

"If I thought tipping over the [postgame spread] would help, I'd do it," he said. "But I know that's not going to be the reason we win. I think we need to stay even-keeled. I know I do. The players look to me for that. If we're in the middle of a four- or five-game losing streak, we need to stay in the present and learn from the past.

"It hasn't been easy so far, I'll be the first to admit that. But it doesn't mean it can't happen for us."