As an avid fan of the New York Yankees, watching the Boston Red Sox collapse down the stretch to miss the playoffs was awesome. As a baseball fan I have long-respected the team’s manager Terry Francona.
As the Boston Red Sox disintegrated in what would become the worst September collapse in baseball history, some at Fenway Park grew concerned that the pain medication Francona was taking after a half-dozen procedures on his knee was affecting his ability to manage.
Francona left the team after the season when his contract options were not picked up. Since then, reports have surfaced about the dysfunction in a Red Sox clubhouse that produced a 7-20 record in September to turn what had been a once comfortable lead in the playoff race into an early offseason.
Team sources expressed concern that Francona's performance may have been affected by the use of pain medication. Rumors also have been flying around that Francona was worried about his son and son-in-law, who are Marine officers serving in Iraq. At the same time, Francona was living in a hotel, separated from his wife of more than 30 years.
Responding to the allegations that he was "distracted," Francona noted that he was dealing with the same problems during the four-month period when the team was going 80-41. Francona's ill health was no secret – he was taken to the hospital with chest pains from Yankee Stadium in 2005 – and he said he was taking the medication after multiple knee operations and at least five procedures to drain blood from his knee.
Francona told the paper that he confirmed with team Dr. Larry Ronan that he did not have a problem with drug abuse.
Were prescription painkillers to blame for the Red Sox collapse? No way! Could they have affected his judgment while on the mention? Absolutely.