Terry Francona: FOX Wise to Pinch-Hit Former Red Sox Manager for Tim McCarver

When we last heard from Terry Francona, he was washing his hands of the Boston Red Sox in a press conference that was equal parts awkward and damning.

The next time we hear from Francona will be during the American League Championship Series.

Wait...what?

Yup. According to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, FOX has hired Francona to serve as Joe Buck's color guy for their broadcast of the ALCS. The series gets underway on Saturday, and it will feature the Texas Rangers and the winner of the American League Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

If you're wondering what's going on with Tim McCarver, FOX's usual color guy, the network revealed via Twitter that he is undergoing a "minor heart procedure." He is expected to be back for Game 3 on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Francona will have to do. And I don't know about you, but I expect him to do just fine.

Because I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan, I'm probably biased, but I've always been a fan of Francona. I'm not entirely sure at this juncture if he's truly a great manager, but he's nothing if not a baseball man. He's not going to have any trouble analyzing the games as they're happening.

Francona also should have no trouble expressing himself. He's an oddly charismatic fellow, and Red Sox fans will agree that he has a great sense of humor. Compared to other baseball people, Francona also knows his way around the English language pretty well.

Considering these things, FOX certainly could have done worse in choosing somebody to step into McCarver's shoes. For example, one shudders to think what kind of disasters could have occurred if they had chosen to hire Ozzie Guillen instead.

Because Francona does seem like such a good fit, it's going to be interesting to see what happens if he actually does turn out to be a good fit. Instead of going and finding another managing job, perhaps he'll come to a conclusion that this broadcasting thing is a sweet gig.

If so, Francona should have no trouble finding a gig. Heck, maybe FOX will make him McCarver's replacement for good.

My guess is that there would be very few complaints if they did.