Francona Admits Red Sox 'Didn't Handle Frustration Very Well'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Terry Francona will go down as one of the best managers in Red Sox history, but his tenure in Boston ended amid one of the worst September collapses in the history of the sport.
Now the manager of the Cleveland Indians, Francona admitted that he could have and should have been better in his final month as Red Sox skipper.
"We didn't handle frustration very well and we paid the price," Francona said Monday at his introductory press conference.
Despite his .574 winning percentage in Boston, the ever-self-depreciating Francona did not express arrogance heading into his new post in Cleveland.
"I will do a lot of listening. I've got a lot of learning to do," Francona said of his planned meetings this offseason.
Francona, who will turn 54 shortly after Opening Day next season, served as a television analyst for ESPN this past year, but he said he's back in a managerial role for the long haul.
"I don't want to be a rental manager. I didn't want to come in worried. I want to be part of the solution. I want to stick around," he said. "I didn't come here to go to pasture."
