Amid a September slide of historic proportions, the urge had to be strong to deviate from what has made him successful. By putting forth the lineup he did for the all-in regular season finale in Baltimore on Wednesday, Francona proved he is above those urges.
So often during his tenure, Francona has played a bench player multiple days in a row just to ride out a hot streak. When he feels it is time to switch back, and this is not always evident in the numbers, he will.
A common utterance when putting in a backup in an odd spot: "Maybe he'll run into one tonight."
The same goes for injuries and banged-up players. There are times when it almost seems as if he is waiting too long to get a star player back in the lineup. All too often, that day comes and the regular looks as spry as he did Opening Day.
As the team was struggling earlier this month without Kevin Youkilis in the lineup, Francona could've gone to Jed Lowrie, but Lowrie's left shoulder continued to bother him. Days went by without Lowrie in the lineup, even against some lefties and even when Francona said he was available to play.
"We just want to make sure that when we get Jed back, he can really do some damage," Francona said.
Lowrie did enough damage and showed enough at the plate to be your cleanup hitter in game No. 161 on Monday in Baltimore.
With one game to extend his team's season (depending on the happenings in St. Petersburg), Francona could've gone to his old standbys. Instead, he stuck to his guns, utilizing the same mindset he throughout the season, and throughout his career for that matter.
If Francona feels it gives his team the best chance to win, he’ll do it, critics and second-guessers be damned.
Ryan Lavarnway, who hit two home runs in his first career start behind the plate Tuesday night, is not only back in the starting lineup, but he’s moved up a spot in the order. Also, ahead of him is David Ortiz batting third and Adrian Gonzalez batting fourth. Those two haven't hit three-four (in that order) in the lineup all season.
Just because it’s game No. 162, there’s no reason not to try it.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia said Tuesday night he was well enough to play one day after taking a foul ball off his right collarbone. With Jon Lester, a guy he has caught 23 times this year, on the mound making a do-or-die start, and a right-hander pitching for Baltimore (Saltalamacchia does most of his damage batting from the left side), it seemed like a good time to get the team's starting catcher back in there.
However, Francona did what he has done all year. He'll ride the hot hand, give his No. 1 backstop another day of rest ("I think it'll be good for him," Francona would say) and forge ahead. It's the way he's always done it, and it's admirable he hasn't changed when everything is on the line.
