After two years, 188 regular season wins, and a trip to the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox have parted ways with Grady Little. Are the Sox making the right move? Who should get his job?

Page 30

Grady had to go for his Game 7 mistake. After all, he was ONLY the manager of the team and ultimately it should have been his decision to leave or remove Pedro. You don't let your players determine your decision making. That's the job of the manager and that is what a manager gets paid to do. If you can't make the hard decisions yourself, it's time the Red Sox find somebody who can (and let's not even think about bringing John McNamara back). Out of all the "retread" managers available, I think Jim Fregosi would be best for the team. He'll make the hard decision and stand by it. In 1993, he knew when to take the ball from Curt Schilling. Unfortunately he also didn't know when NOT to give the ball to Mitch Williams. If they go with somebody less experienced, I'd say Jerry Remy is their man.

Joe , Los Angeles

By firing Little, the front office (Henry, Lucchino, Epstein, et al.) show they are as gutless as the talk show experts( whom I'm sure could cure cancer if you gave them a chance) . They also now rank up there with the Yankees as far as meddling owners who can spend money without using their head. Too bad that Sox management finally spent some money on players but none on integrity for themselves. If they hired God tomorrow, he would be second guessed by the geniuses who masquerade as sportwriters and "true" fans by Wednesday. Good luck to Grady and sympathies to whomever they hire. You will be booed by mid-April.

jjb, pittsfield

I'm sorry that it had to come to this. I wanted Grady gone after the 9/08/03 game in Baltimore, when the players combined for 4 errors (could have been 5), including 2 in the bottom of the 8th, coughing up 4 runs. In his post game interview he laughed it off saying, "Sometimes things like that happen." I'm not expecting 30 lashes, but in the heat of a play-off race there is no room for levity in the face of poor play. Then of course there was that 8/20/03 game vs. Oakland where they had 17 hits and still managed to lose 8-6 at home while stranding 17 runners. This year produced some great moments, but more than its fair share of spectacular blow-ups. The saddest thing is that Grady thinks he's being canned for Game 7. It certainly didn't help his case, but it was hardly an isolated incident.

Edward , Willimantic, CT

I hear alot of Grady supporters say that he should not be let go because of one mistake in game 7 of the ALCS and because he created such a good club environment. To those people, I say this: The mistake he made in that game 7 was symtomatic of terrible moves he made all season - the lapses in good judgment are so many that I don't have the time or patience to list them all. Second, he may have created a good environment for the players, but if we want more than the consolation prize each year, we need a complete manager, with both good club-house management skills as well as on-field management. Without both, it is very unlikely that we will get the prize we all yearn for; instead, we will likely be heartbroken again by a colossal mistake like the one we witnesses in Yankee Stadium in game 7. Grady Little had a serious deficiency, and no matter how much purported good chemistry he instilled in the clubhouse, he was liable to squander it all with his lack of good judgment during the game. Let's not continue to have such a flawed "driver" steer this expensive investment (in money, time, and emotion) we call our Red Sox.

Mike, Stoughton

When the bus breaks down, shoot the driver. That's the way it's always been with the Red Sox. While they're at it, they should send the following players packing as well: Manny and his baggy pants (if they can find someone dumb enough to eat his contract), Nomar and his aloof attitude, and Pedro and his inflated ego. Get some REAL ballplayers. Another 5 or 6 Trot Nixons would be good for starters. As far as a replacement for Grady Little is concerned, I'm sure there are ample candidates available among the current pool of unemployed kindergarten teachers. Some knowledge of baseball would be desireable, but extensive babysitting experience with whining crybabies is a must.

Bigfoot, Rockledge, FL

A prediction: assuming Grady goes, Nomar will walk after next year. He will see this as the product of exactly the kind of negativity and unfair expectations that he dislikes most about Boston. It is also just bad baseball, at least to a traditional ballplayer like him.

doug, newburyport

A friend put it best - the Sox had great success this year more in spite of the managerial decisions of Little than because of his decisions. Things like keeping Pedro out there, keeping Burkett on the mound in the ALDS, sitting a scolding hot Todd Walker for Damian Jackson, and countless other gaffs during the regular season a big league manager should no better than stumble into. Little will go down in history as a Norv Turner, Pete Carroll, Bruce Coslett type - very, very good as a lower rung coach but simply not cut out to be the head honcho. He's a great bench coach, but the Sox needed a great manager.

Dave B., Boston MA

It's funny, I'm from northern California and was rooting for the Sox for a couple reasons. First, my wife is from Upton. Second, the A's took it in '89 and it has been the Sox's year. The saddest thing that I've noticed while watching the playoffs, and the whole season for that matter, is the "fair weather fan" attitude of Red Sox Nation. You may be devoted fans, at least you think you are, but criticizing every action of a manager is stupid. Unless you are a manager where do you get off thinking you could do better? Have faith in your team and quit whining if they lose. Grady Little took everything that Williams couldn't manage and nearly won the ALCS......return to reality you fair weather fans.

Steve, Washington, DC

Like many fans, I really thought that this was the year that the Sox would win it all. To go so far is a great accomplishment, but I really think that their manager prohibited them from coming in 1st in the East, as well as knocking them out of the ALCS. The Sox made the right move, no question. I'd love to see Glenn Hoffman come back to the team, with Jerry Remy as his bench coach.

Rick, Wilmington

Part of the reason the game seven loss hurt so much was that we felt so close to this team, and that was largely because they seemed so close to each other. Other teams' fans laughed at the way the Red Sox players hugged each other after every big play, but isn't it possible that that sense of unity and mutual commitment had something to do with their success? With Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar having career years? With David Ortiz finally blossoming into the player that Minnesota had given up hoping he would become? With the bullpen rising miraculously to the occasion in the postseason? I don't think all that would have been possible with just any manager, and may not be possible again with another one.

Larry , Cambridge