“We’re less than 24 hours removed from the end of the season,” Epstein said. “We need some time to calm down, get objective and look at ourselves, look at 2011, look ahead [and] make the best decisions for everybody.”
Epstein then exonerated Francona for the team’s September collapse, saying he had talked to ownership and all agreed that the manager wasn’t to blame for the team losing a nine-game lead in the wild-card race.
“That would be totally irresponsible and totally short-sighted and wouldn’t recognize everything that he means to the organization and to all our success, including at times during 2011,” Epstein said. “We take full responsibility for that. For all of us, collectively it’s a failure.”
Francona has been in a stressful job for eight years now. It has taken a toll on him and his family. He spent much of today's press conference discussing the lack of chemistry that obviously played a role in the team collapsing. He even admitted to calling a meeting on Sept. 7 to discuss it. In retrospect, it came too late.
“There were things I was worried about,” Francona said. “I thought we were spending too much energy on things that weren’t putting our best foot forward towards winning. We spent a few minutes in the clubhouse talking about that.
“There were some things that did concern me. Teams normally, as the season progresses, there’s events that make you care about each other and with this club, it didn’t always happen as much as I wanted it to. And I was frustrated by that.”
As an observer of the team from February to September, the Red Sox were a collection of talented individuals who didn't necessarily seem all that concerned with the guy next to them. Francona detailed that a bit.
