Skippers' perspectives on Game 7

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Why We Love Joe Maddon:

And we do love Joe Maddon, a refreshingly honest guy who has not allowed the fact that he is a major league baseball manager prevent him from being a real person.

Consider, for example, his answer when asked before tonight's game, "Is there a fan in you that can step back and say, 'Wow, Game 7, this is cool?'"

MADDON: "I hate to disappoint the hard-liners, but I really can step back. I actually was taking my bike ride today, and you just look out over the water and you think about Game 7.

"When you're a kid in the playground or in the back yard playing, you're always playing Game 7. Even in instructional leagues and in the minor leagues, when you're setting up different situations for your players, you always refer to Game 7. Well, here it is: it's Game 7."

Isn't that what you want to hear?

Now Terry Francona is very high on the Real Person scale, too. But I suspect the difference between himself and Joe Maddon might well come down to two related things. 1. He is the son of a long-time major league player. He was born in Aberdeen, S.D. in 1959 because that's where John Patsy (Tito) Francona was playing in the minors. 2. He was a major league player. Joe Maddon washed out in the low minors. I just think there is something in his DNA that keeps him from being as "normal" in his reaction to something like a Game 7 as Joe Maddon is.

Here is how Terry Francona answered the same question:

FRANCONA: "I enjoy the heck out of it. I don't think I have the ability -- I hope -- to stand back and look at it like a fan. But there's a lot of things that go through you during the day. There's some anxiety, you get nervous, you get excited. But I love it. I don't know that you can sit and -- it's not all giggles, but it's thoroughly enjoyable."

I'll take it.