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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 5, 2006

Terry Francona

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Q. What have you been doing down here?
TERRY FRANCONA: Probably the same thing you are, walking around the lobby and hearing a lot of rumors, and going to dinner.

Q. Any good rumors?
TERRY FRANCONA: A lot of good rumors. I don't know. I tell you, let's start out with this, because this is probably the most important thing that could happen down here. And I know it's starting to probably come out, Jon Lester received great news. He is going to have one more treatment and then he's done. So from where I sit, the meetings are already a success. And he told me I could speak to the media. He did request that he knows that he needs to talk to you guys. He would like to do it as a group once and then if, you know, and I know just about everybody's been pretty good about respecting his privacy. If we could continue that for a while, he -- I know he and his folks would really appreciate it as well as I would. But John Blake's going to set it up for you guys soon and he'll talk to you guys but pretty amazing news.

Q. Does that signify that he's in remission?
TERRY FRANCONA: I would like to let him explain to you.

Q. Okay.
TERRY FRANCONA: Exactly. It's great news. I kind of asked him a little bit, you know, what to say and, you know, and then I just said, "I tell you what, I'll tell them what I know." I don't want to make anything up. I said to him the other night, I said, "What are your folks doing?" He said, "They haven't stopped grinning since they've heard the news."
So they are obviously thrilled

Q. What was his demeanor like?
TERRY FRANCONA: He has been good since the day he found out. Again, I haven't talked to him every day but he checks in like he promised he would. And he's been energetic and positive and, you guys that know him know, he is a fabulous kid.

Q. So, I mean, this is getting ahead, but will he come to spring training?
TERRY FRANCONA: You know what, you are getting ahead. I don't know and I'm almost -- out of respect to what he's been through, I don't even want to bring it up right now. I'm sure there's going to be a point where we start discussing what's in his best interest, baseball-wise in the future and that's exciting because of what this kid's gone through, the fact that we're even talking about that is really exciting. But there will be a time and a place for that.

Q. Terry, you mentioned a moment ago a lot of rumors in this building and the last 12 months, we hear Manny stories, he could be going here, he could be going there. Could you speak to the situation with him and his future with the ballclub?
TERRY FRANCONA: You know, probably not. I just don't feel comfortable talking about a guy that could get traded. That could be anybody on our team. You know, if there's a time when somebody on our ballclub gets traded, anybody, I'm sure I'll sit and answer all the questions, and be happy to, but until something like that ever happened, I just don't think it is a very good thing for me to do. Not very respectful to the player. I wouldn't want to have a manager sit and talk about trading me if I was on the team. That doesn't seem like it make a lot of sense.

Q. Have you had much contact with Manny?
TERRY FRANCONA: I actually spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. He called when I went through that toe infection to check on me.

Q. Oh, really?
TERRY FRANCONA: I was shocked.

Q. Terry, you mentioned some of your pitchers down here. Is it just Wakefield and --
TERRY FRANCONA: What we did was because we have John Farrell here, we are trying to take advantage of -- we were down here, we came in a day early with Don Coxsteen. He and Mike Reinold drove over and talked to Timlin yesterday. Wakey, we are going to go see him, he knew I would buy if he came. We met with him last night, just a way of, for John especially, when spring training rolls around, he is not introducing himself to people, just kind of getting reacquainted. You know how I feel about that.
We spent two hours with Wake that's good.

Q. Terry, whether you end up signing Matsuzaka or not, the pitching coach is going to get a lot of attention anyway, a farm director, has not been a major league pitching coach, what do you want to see from a pitching coach?
TERRY FRANCONA: Just for him to do his job, we caught a real break. This guy, if you know him, you know he's dynamic person. Whether it's as a future general manager, a major league pitching coach or a farm director and whatever he pours his energy into he is going to be great at. So I'm looking forward to turning him loose and getting to know the veterans, making some inroads, making some impact on the younger guys.
You know, we try and we need to try as a staff to impact everybody on our club, not just the veterans or not just the young guys, but everybody. If we are going to be as good as we want to be and obviously, he's big part of that.

Q. What was it like when you met Matsuzaka?
TERRY FRANCONA: It was very enjoyable, very enjoyable. It was an interesting evening. I thought they handled it with a lot of class. And I was actually kind of proud of the way we did it. I thought we did a good job.

Q. Are you kind of holding yourself back from getting too excited about it until he is actually signed?
TERRY FRANCONA: Yeah, you know the business part has to get done so the fun can happen. And fortunately for me, I don't have to be a part of that, part of it because I don't like it. But hopefully it gets done and then the fun can begin.

Q. You brushed up on your Japanese in anticipation?
TERRY FRANCONA: No, but John Farrell actually is.

Q. Yeah?
TERRY FRANCONA: Yeah. For me, I can pat a guy on the back after eight good innings in any language, that won't be difficult.

Q. Terry, how much video of him have you seen and what's your take on it?
TERRY FRANCONA: I've actually watched video -- we went through a stretch, several, where we were watching a lot of video on a lot of guys and I don't want to get too deep into this, just because of the -- I want to let Theo do his thing with Scott and get it done.
But he's got a lot of pitches that he commands: He's got velocity on the fastball, he's got two breaking balls, he can elevate the fastball, but I think the thing that I've noticed that I like the best is the ability to throw a changeup any time it counts, that it is not every day you go out there and you feel your best. When you have a changeup like that, Keith Foulke was a great example, you know, when he was good, he was kind of the equalizer and he's got that one, it is kind of an old-fashioned screwball which you don't see too much anymore. That pitch, to me, is legitimate. All of his pitches are legitimate but that is a pitch that makes you a big winner and from what everybody talks about, the bigger the situation, the more he responds, the more he likes to pitch.
I'm hopeful that something gets done and we get a chance to have this kid in our uniform.

Q. Speaking of Foulke, have you talked to Keith at all?
TERRY FRANCONA: No. Emailed him but have not spoken to him.

Q. Would it be okay if in spring training with you, if there is a competitive situation for the closer's role and not like an established guy that you've brought in?
TERRY FRANCONA: Yeah, that may be a possibility. Um, we'll see. It depends on how our team is constituted. I do think it's important that we have somebody to give the ball to when we have a lead. In a perfect world, you have them right out of the chute, maybe it's not a perfect world, but they will try to establish that. Yeah.

Q. Have you talked to the GM about building a positive environment for the bullpen? Because you have a lot of young relievers, is there going to be a change in that or is there an emphasis on building a different atmosphere or different environment?
TERRY FRANCONA: No, there's never has been a change. We've always tried to do that, we'll just -- some of the young guys got beat around a little bit, Hansen, that was the first time in major leagues although they started out having some success, they weren't able to sustain it through the year. I don't think the atmosphere was bad, they just weren't having success. You have to own up to that and try to make it better or it doesn't work.
But you know, and I've spoken about, I've alluded to it, I hear players talking about it, Boston is a unique place. So our responsibility is to get people and have them thrive there, not use it as an excuse, so as a staff, maybe we have some extra responsibilities in that area, just because there is so much passion and interest and not just from the media but from the fans and everything, so we need to find a way to make these players thrive in that situation.

Q. What kind of best experience in the National League do you have with J.D. Drew?
TERRY FRANCONA: I don't. I was the manager of the Phillies when we drafted him and he didn't sign. So, I really don't. I've never even met him.

Q. Realizing that there's still a couple of months to go before spring training, how unsettling is it to still have holes at shortstop, backup catcher, closer? I mean, some pretty significant spots in the lineup.
TERRY FRANCONA: Yeah. You know what though, if I didn't think it was going to change, it would be unsettling. I think I've been around here long enough to know that, come spring training, our team will be situated, you can't make all four of those things go away in the next hour, it just doesn't work that way, so I've seen the way those guys work up there they'll get it done. So for me, acting like I'm unsettled or -- that doesn't help them. They got a hard enough job right now with the money that's being thrown around. It's not an easy job.
Just like they are during the season, when they are patient and when things aren't going so well with us, I need to turn around in the winter and do the same thing.

Q. Did you see enough from Pedroia last year to think he can be your starting second baseman and see even a little bit more this spring?
TERRY FRANCONA: I think we are pretty much -- you know, again, things change but I don't think any of us are afraid to make a commitment to him playing second. I think having Cora there to help him would be terrific. I think not having to hit him leadoff, having the ability to maybe have a team where you can hit him down in the order would help. He is going to have to make some adjustments. There's a lot of things about this kid that we really like and I don't think any of us have a problem giving him a chance to play. We just have to be realistic and be patient because whatever number he ends up being, career-wise, you may not see that in April or May. So we have to be smart enough to know that.

Q. Do you think there's a possibility he could handle shortstop?
TERRY FRANCONA: Handle it? Yeah. He has done it before. I don't know that that's our first -- not necessarily what we would like to go into the season with.
He could probably handle it, but again, you are talking about a team about some pretty lofty goals, try to put your guys in a position where everybody can show their strengths.

Q. How much have you talked to Wake or Tek about maybe Tek catching Wake next year?
TERRY FRANCONA: I've talked to Wake about it considerably. We'll see how that plays out. We will just see how that plays out. I've not talked to Tek about it this winter. I've talked about it in the past.

Q. Terry, do you think there needs to be any mending with Manny or because Manny is Manny, you just move forward in the wake of our last --
TERRY FRANCONA: Mended?

Q. Yeah.
TERRY FRANCONA: Well, I just had a talk with him a couple of weeks ago, we are fine.

Q. The whole team.
TERRY FRANCONA: I have not had a problem. You are alluding to something I don't think is there. He is okay with me.

Q. Terry, of course there's free agents re-signed and a possible trade, but how do you foresee Wily Mo Pena next season?
TERRY FRANCONA: Some of that's going to depend on how our ballclub is shaped. That's going to be a really interesting name. The best way for us to find out how good Wily Mo can be is to get 550 at-bats. Finding out how to do that is another story. I personally don't think Wily Mo, is a guy that you just play once or twice a week and expect him to hit. So, you know, we may line up next year and he may be the fourth knocker coming out. I don't know. Saying that if that is the case, I also think we're crazy if we don't think he is going to get at-bats.
Every year you look at your team and you think, oh my goodness, how am I going to get this guy plate appearances or you don't have enough good players, you know what I'm saying?
That will be a nice problem to have.

Q. Terry, when you spoke to Manny, did the conversation extend beyond your condition at all?
TERRY FRANCONA: I don't know. I'm not sure. It wasn't a real long conversation. And two of the clubhouse kids were in the back yelling, so it was one of those type of things.

Q. I know you said out of respect for him you don't want to talk about a guy that could get traded but this isn't the first time that Manny's soap opera has played out. As a manager, does that ever get tedious for you?
TERRY FRANCONA: I haven't been in the middle of those things you're alluding to very much. My concern is how our team plays and as a manager I guess the best way to put it, it is not always perfect, but you put that thunderous bat in the middle of your order behind David Ortiz, it's a good way to win. So, rather than me pick out every flaw of every one of our players and expound on that, I choose to go the other way. Let's take the positives, let's try to minimize the flaws, we all have them. I woke up this morning, my part didn't look good to me. We all have them, let's try to minimize them.
You know, Manny doesn't run to first every time as hard as he should. Okay? I don't want to bench him. I'd rather just talk to him and say, "Manny, next time let's pick it up a little bit," because we want his bat in that lineup.
This isn't the NFL where guys go game by game. We are signing guys to long-term deals and you want to get the most out of them, so that's what we try to do.

Q. I think it was a year or two ago where something happened with him and you made a remark along the lines of somebody said can you continue to deal with this, and you said something like, I can deal with one of the two flareups because he is going to knock in 140 runs and hit 40 homers. Is that essentially the way you still feel?
TERRY FRANCONA: Yeah. You again, I mean, I see what you guys see sometimes, I bet you I see more. I hope I see the game better than you, maybe I don't. But rather than, like I said, expound on it and embarrass people, it's our job to get the most out of these players. So, that's what we try to do. There are players that, and again, I'm speaking in generalities, that sometimes they sort of outlive their -- you know, when the moaning and groaning or the quirkiness doesn't measure up to your production, that's hard to take.
Manny's got great production. I mean, I think it was pretty obvious when we didn't have him on the field, what, the last six weeks, we weren't close to being the same team. See, I also see a different side of Manny, too. I mean, again, I see some of the things you're -- I understand the questions. But I also see the guy that shows up at 10:00 in the morning and is lifting every day, you know. So there's a side of him that I do get to see that probably other people don't.

Q. Were you done?
TERRY FRANCONA: I can be.

Q. Would you campaign then to keep him? I mean, would you go to Theo and say --
TERRY FRANCONA: Again, you are getting into an area that -- I'm not trying to say -- I know how Theo feels about speaking about potential and I don't want to go and do something that he doesn't want me to do, okay? That's just not right.

Q. Terry, last week, Schilling made a public appearance in Rhode Island and then he called a radio station and --
TERRY FRANCONA: Shocker.

Q. Yeah, I knew you would be shocked. In both instances, he raised concerns that maybe Manny would lay down and I'm paraphrasing, on the club next season, and he just wouldn't show up. Is that a legitimate concern? Is there a concern that is somewhat widespread in the clubhouse and in the front office?
TERRY FRANCONA: You know what, I don't think so -- I mean, you know, we've had this conversation, I've been here three years and we've had this conversation probably ten times. You know, if Manny sneezes, you know, it's a big deal. I understand. There's a lot of passion in Boston and people care and, you know, he's got his quirks, and again, my position is not to point out those quirks, it's to try to get the best team that we can. So I'm gonna do the best way I know how and for starters, it certainly isn't leaving a guy out and hanging him to dry in front of the media. That wouldn't be a real good start, so, I won't do that. If I have something to say to any player, I'll tell them how I feel and then we move on.

Q. Terry, do you know why he wants to be traded?
TERRY FRANCONA: That's what I'm saying, I'm not even comfortable saying, I wasn't in that conversation. He's been terrific to me. So, that's -- you know, I am not comfortable even going there.

Q. How tough was it to see Gonzalez leave just after the job he did for you defensively last year?
TERRY FRANCONA: I was happy for him. I don't think we were in a position where we felt quite as comfortable doing what they did but I was very happy for him. You know, with Pedroia on the horizon, knowing we wanted to start out hitting him low in the order, you know, the American League East, American League completely, we are not quite sure that was gonna work but I will tell you what, we saw a year of defense like I don't know you'll ever see again, maybe even from him. You saw a spectacular shortstop have a spectacular year. That was fun to watch.

Q. I know you're not directly involved in this but has it been kind of mind-blowing to you watching the contracts and the money thrown around with the free agents?
TERRY FRANCONA: Yeah, it's amazing. There's a lot of teams out there that -- and we knew coming in it was going to be like that. Teams want to be competitive. You know, there's not -- especially with pitching there is just not enough pitching out there to go around.

Q. Has that led to the infatuation with the Japanese pitchers this year? Will this be a trend? Will there continue to be more and more Japanese players?
TERRY FRANCONA: I think the trend will be wherever players are, wherever good players are, you know, you're going to see probably scouting branch out just because teams are so competitive to put good pitchers and good position players out on the field. Some of it's probably just rule changes.
I don't think these guys were eligible to do this back a number of years, now they can. That's probably part of the reason.

Q. Terry, you have a added a Japanese pitcher last week, the left-handed Okajima, can you tell us what you know about him and what will his role be when he arrives?
TERRY FRANCONA: You know, we are not ready to give out his role. Obviously, he's left-hand with a very good breaking ball. He's had starting experience, he's actually closed a little bit. I think as we do with all our bullpen guys, the way they pitch will define their role. But we fully expect him to have a hand in our success in our bullpen.
You know, both kids, I met both of them, you know. My Japanese is -- there's nothing there. But both of them had the most disarming smiles I think I've ever seen, and that's not so bad. I tried to find a way to explain to them. We will find a way to communicate where you guys have a comfort zone, where you will be as good a pitcher as you can be. That is what we care about and we will find a way to do that.

Q. Do you like the idea of just having two of them together so they can kind of have each other?
TERRY FRANCONA: I would hope that would be a help. When this is all said and done, the Red Sox are certainly going to make this as easy a transition for whoever's here. We always do. I think we feel very strongly that the more comfortable players are, the better success they are going to have. That's why we try to spend so much time with our younger kids that come over from the Dominican not speaking English because we think they are going to be better players once they do that.

Q. Terry, whose idea was it for Farrell to learn some Japanese and does it go beyond baseball phrases, is he trying to become fairly fluent or --
TERRY FRANCONA: Well, no, I don't think that is going to happen. Communication is a big word and I think he is just trying to -- you know, I mean, this is a little broader term but when we start spring training, you know, 60 guys come in our door, we try as a staff to know everything, as much as we can about them, whether it is David Ortiz or Joe McEwing, who is going to be a six-year free agent, that was battling for a spot on a team, because I think players appreciate that. One of these young pitchers realizes our pitching coach took the time to try to learn a little bit, a couple words, a couple phrases, a couple nuances, maybe it makes them feel a little bit more respected, a little bit more wanted.
I mean, when we met with Matsuzaka, we took the time to understand what he would think was respectful and not respectful. I mean, evidently, you can tell me if I'm wrong, in a Japanese culture when you first meet somebody, you don't go up and rap them around the neck. I do that with everybody, I had to tie my hands down. What's considered friendly here may not be so respectful in another culture, so we try to do the right thing.

Q. How much did you expect Varitek to sort of rebound next year with his knee and have the kind of year he had before last year?
TERRY FRANCONA: Go one past and include Timlin in that. You know, Mike never -- he went to the WBC, came back, his shoulder was weak, he never had a chance to get going. He's been on a program this winter, I think he is going to have a huge rebound year.
Jason came back, he was limping with that glute muscle pull or something. Jason never looked like he got comfortable from either side of the plate the whole year. And I think that will give us a huge boost just getting him to where he's got -- the threat he should be.

Q. Have you kept especially close tabs with any players during the offseason, like maybe Papelbon and strength of the shoulder?
TERRY FRANCONA: I think I have talked to just about everybody, whether it is email, text, conversations, I don't think I've missed anybody. Mike Reinold gives me a weekly update on everybody he speaks to and Reinhold just came back from seeing Pap, like three days ago. He is doing well, doing real well. Got a pretty good idea where we are.

Q. Coco?
TERRY FRANCONA: Doing well. Doing well. Okay, guys.

End of FastScripts

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