Terry Francona: Red Sox Nation and Others React to Departure

On Friday morning at Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona sat down with ownership and management to discuss his future with the team that he has guided for the last eight seasons.

Multiple sources are now saying that Francona and the Red Sox have indeed parted ways.

FOX Sports baseball guru Ken Rosenthal was the first to report Francona’s job status on Thursday night, and Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman tweeted that Francona would be out as well.

In Boston, both Nick Cafardo and Pete Abraham are also reporting that Francona will not be back.

There's no doubt that the Red Sox will spin this as a non-firing. The Sox held two one-year options for 2012 and 2013 at $4.5 million each, and they will simply say that they did not exercise those options for Francona.

However, whichever way the story is spun, it’s pretty clear that Francona is being unfairly looked upon as the scapegoat for one of the biggest regular season collapses in major league history.

The Red Sox were nine games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 3. However, they were unable to secure a playoff spot, winning only seven games in the month of September.

Francona and general manager Theo Epstein indicated on Thursday at their post-mortem press conference that there were signs that clearly led to the collapse. Francona talked about a chemistry issue, which was clearly a reason that got under his skin.

"Ultimately, you don't need to have a team that wants to go out to dinner together, but you need to have a team that wants to protect each other on the field, and be fiercely loyal to each other on the field. That's what ultimately is really important," Francona told the press, as reported by the Red Sox blog, Extra Bases.

For his part in the press conference, Epstein said that blaming Francona for the epic collapse is unfair.

“Nobody blames Tito for what happened in September,” Epstein said. “That would be totally irresponsible and totally shortsighted.”

The phrases “Terry Francona” and “Tito” are currently trending topics on Twitter, and reaction on Twitter has been largely in favor of Francona.

Here is sampling of Tweets and other missives regarding the departure of Terry Francona from the Boston Red Sox.

Terry Francona Out: Reaction from Experts

The question of whether or not Terry Francona would be retained as the manager of the Boston Red Sox has been discussed ever since Jonathan Papelbon gave up Robert Andino’s season-ending single on Wednesday night.

FOX Sports baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal reported on Thursday night that Francona would likely not return.

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While Francona’s departure is not certain, it is the likely outcome, in part because he is pressing for a resolution, sources say. He would not be fired; the Red Sox would simply decline their club options on him for 2012 and ’13.

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Sports Illustated baseball guru Jon Heyman tweeted the same on Friday morning.

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announcement is expected today. may couch it as mutual decision. but francona will be out. #redsox

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After Francona met with Red Sox ownership and GM Theo Epstein on Friday morning, several other media people jumped in on the story.

Sean Grande, the current locked out voice of the Boston Celtics and a grizzled veteran of Boston sports, tweeted his thoughts immediately following Francona’s departure from Fenway this morning.

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Terry Francona out as Sox manager. Proving once again that in sports, even if you're not part of the problem, your parting is the solution.

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Terry Francona Out: Who Quit on Who?

A major factor for the demise of the Boston Red Sox, at least a perceived factor, was a general feeling that players seemed disinterested, and that they did not seem engaged whatsoever in the final month of the season.

On Twitter, Peyton's Head alluded to that assumption with his tweet:

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Sources say Terry Francona to step down as BOS manager. Unlike his players, at least he waited till after the season to quit.

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Terry Francona Out: Is It a "What Have You Done for Me Lately" Excuse?

If the reports about Terry Francona and the Boston Red Sox parting ways are in fact true, maybe it's all about the "What Have You Done for Me Lately" line that seems to be so prevalent in sports.

That's what Korked Bats seems to think on Twitter.

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Terry Francona is out as Red Sox manager. Good! Besides 5 playoff trips, 1 AL East title, & 2 World Series titles, what has that guy done?!

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Korked Bats also thinks that the Red Sox should change their selection of songs in the latter innings of home games.

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BREAKING: Red Sox plan to replace their bottom of the 8th inning song, "Sweet Caroline," with Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

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Terry Francona Out: Was Drinking and Debauchery the Cause of the Collapse?

On Friday morning, several reports were also emerging that the Red Sox had issues other than just a lack of cohesion on the field.

The Boston Herald's John Tomase discussed some of those other issues in his article.

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Management might not mind a fresh start, either, particularly after a 7-20 September that included the worst collapse in baseball history and showed cracks in Francona’s hold on a clubhouse that grew increasingly selfish.

From pitchers drinking beer during games on their off days to Francona calling a team meeting after a 14-0 victory to address negativity and a lack of cohesion, perhaps both sides would benefit from a change after eight oft-outstanding seasons.

Discipline was clearly a problem, which is one of the perils of managing a high-priced team when some stars share a sense of entitlement. The Red Sox seemed content to ride their considerable talent out of the gates and ended up getting smacked in the face with a 2-10 start.

A month later they were just 17-20 when Epstein traveled to New York and met privately with Francona and his coaches, a meeting Francona later described as “respectful,” to reinforce the need for the team to play passionate, fundamentally sound ball.

The Sox rolled for the next four months, but their win totals often masked some fundamental flaws, flaws which became fatal in September when the clubhouse veered toward lawlessness and a number of players put their own interests ahead of those of Francona and the team.

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Terry Francona Out: More Fans Reacting and Revolting

Fans in Red Sox Nation are voicing their obvious displeasure at the news of manager Terry Francona and the Red Sox possibly parting ways.

Here is a sampling of some of the more "passionate" tweets:

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JohnPMcLaughlin: Terry Francona didn't underperform in leftfield, get injured on the mound, or, in general, be lousy for a month. He deserves better.

5soxfnz: THIS PISSES ME OFF!!! withleather.uproxx.com/2011/09/terry-… "The Nation" did NOT make this decision! The owners did!!!!!!

bchapsports: If you believe in curses, then the firing of Terry Francona will become The Curse of the Tito and another 86yr drought.

YourAverageJD: Thanks for the 8 years Terry Francona! You will be missed. You didn't get injured or pay too much for Lackey. You shouldnt be a #scapegoat

CaydensNation: If Terry Francona really is fired, it would be the most ridiculous firing in the history of baseball. Besides when the Marlins fired Girardi

brettscharf: Gonna Let Terry Francona Go After Winning 2 World Series In 7 Years For One Bad September Where His Pitchers Had A 7+ ERA? JOKE

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Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.