What are we saying: Reds hiring of Terry Francona

By now, unless you’ve been hiding in Cincinnati’s abandoned subway tunnels, you’ve likely heard that the Cincinnati Reds have appointed Terry Francona as their new manager. Many have already shared their opinions on the move. Today, several Redleg Nation writers contributed brief thoughts on the hiring, and in the coming days, we can expect some longer articles from a few of our writers.

John Ring

I was surprised by Terry Francona’s hiring but gives the Reds credit for the decision. Acting swiftly in this case paid off, as Francona’s track record speaks volumes. He believes this is the best managerial hire by the Reds since Jack McKeon. Ring expects players to respect Francona, knowing he’ll hold them accountable for mistakes, especially in base running. Now, the pressure shifts to Krall and the team’s ownership to support the new manager. He hopes Francona replaces the current coaching staff with people he trusts. His only concern, aside from management, is Francona’s health. Overall, he views the hiring positively and rates it an A-.

Jim Walker

Bringing in Terry Francona to replace David Bell might be the Reds’ most significant positive move since Joey Votto’s contract extension in 2013. It could even be the most impactful decision since hiring Dusty Baker as manager before the 2008 season.

While it’s uncertain if ownership will follow through by improving the roster, Francona’s hiring has at least raised the team’s potential. He has a proven track record of maximizing player performance, something that didn’t seem to happen consistently under David Bell.

Doug Gray

In my view, the reasons behind the Cincinnati Reds’ recent lack of success had little to do with the manager. While I didn’t think David Bell was a great manager, the team’s issues went far beyond bullpen management, lineup choices, and players getting picked off repeatedly.

After the initial shock of “No way the Reds landed Francona,” I had two conflicting thoughts. The first was positive—it’s hard to imagine a manager of Francona’s caliber taking the job without some assurance from the front office and ownership that they would commit resources to bringing in the players the team needs.

The second thought was more cautious, stemming from the memory of the Ken Griffey Jr. era. I worried that ownership might make this one big move and assume that’s enough to start winning without addressing other issues, similar to what happened when Griffey was brought in. Hopefully, this fear is just the result of being a 40-year-old Reds fan who last saw the team advance in the playoffs back in 5th grade.

Mary Beth Ellis

That was quite the surprising announcement.

Josh The Pilot and I had just finished dinner in California, and as we got up from our meal, I checked my phone—and suddenly, everything had changed.

“We must call him Tito now,” I remarked.

How did this even happen? What did the Reds offer him? Fiona?

What worries me the most is that I’ve been away on the other side of the country for the past ten days. I waved goodbye with a handkerchief as I left, shouting, “I’ll be back in two weeks! Don’t do anything exciting while I’m gone!” And the Reds cheerfully waved back, saying, “It’s the offseason, go enjoy yourself!”

And then immediately:

*The Reds lose their TV broadcasting*
*Pete Rose dies*
*Terry Francona is hired*

Apparently, I need to leave Cincinnati for the Reds to make any moves. But I can’t stop thinking about these two lines from the piece I wrote earlier: “Maybe the Reds haven’t secured the new guy yet. I’m most amused by the idea that they don’t even have someone lined up.”

Maybe that explains the strange timing of Bell’s departure. Did Nick Krall burn the boats behind him? Could he really make such a bold move?

There’s an entire story behind this hiring process, and if I don’t get to write it, I definitely want to read it!