On the surface, it looks like Terry Francona will be on a working vacation in Cleveland.
While Lake Erie isn’t exactly on par with, say, Bermuda as a relaxation destination, Francona will find the pressure of winning to be a bit more lax in northeast Ohio.
The former Phillies and Red Sox manager was formally introduced as the 42nd skipper in Indians history yesterday.
“Quite frankly, I think I lost maybe a little bit of perspective (in Boston),” Francona said. “Taking a year off, it’s not easy to accept the fact that you need to, but I think it was healthy for me to do it. To do this job correctly, I think you need to be all in, all the time. I think I was showing some signs of wear and tear. I think right now, I wouldn’t have interviewed here if I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. Again, you’ve got to be all in, all the time.”
Francona also spoke about how he will deal with managing a team with a much lower payroll.
“Having a big budget allows you to maybe cover up some of your mistakes,” Francona said. “So you have to limit your mistakes.”