I Usually Hate National Broadcasts

But then, Terry Francona isn't on most national broadcasts.

Last night's ESPN broadcast was a refreshing break from the doomsday slanted offerings from the local media. It was amazing. Aceves gave up three hits, and nobody mentioned that if he gave up back to back home runs, the Cubs would win.

They were talking about the Red Sox and their standing in the East, and said "if this score holds, they're only 4 back in the wild card." They didn't say, "If the Sox blow this lead, they'll drop to an amazing 5 games out of even the wild card."

None of the Red Sox pitchers were lucky to get a swinging strike. The Sox weren't lucky the Cubs made errors...they took advantage of miscues.

Ahh.

But, the best conversation of the night was about Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. they were discussing the powerhouse combination those two provided six or seven years ago. One of the other broadcasters asked Francona point blank how he decided who batted third, and who batted fourth. Francona admitted that they both, obviously, wanted to bat third. So, he called them both into his office at the same time. Told them he, obviously, couldn't bat them both third. It was going to be up to them to decide who bats where. Uh-oh. I smell conflict. So, Tito, what happened? "Manny said, bat me fourth." Francona said he quickly made out the card before Manny could change his mind.

So, Manny put his personal feelings aside, and volunteered to do what was best for the club. (Clearly, Manny was the right choice for fourth) As the best hitter on the team, he deserved the three-hole, but saw that it was better all around if he protected Ortiz. You don't hear many "unselfish Manny" stories.

I bet there are more of them though.