Red Sox set to hire Francona

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003 | 10:41 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Four of the first dozen men to manage the Boston Red Sox led the team to a World Series title. In more than eight decades since, twice as many and then some have tried and failed.

Now Terry Francona will give it a shot.

Francona will be hired as the next Boston Red Sox manager, according to two baseball sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The team has scheduled a news conference today to make the announcement, the sources said.

The ex-Philadelphia Phillies manager will join his former ace, Curt Schilling, as they try to bring the Red Sox their first championship since 1918.

The Red Sox also interviewed Los Angeles third-base coach Glenn Hoffman, Anaheim bench coach Joe Maddon and Texas first-base coach DeMarlo Hale. But Francona was established as an early front-runner, and his hiring was delayed only by the team's pursuit of Schilling.

Maddon said Wednesday night that Boston general manager Theo Epstein called him earlier in the day.

"He just told me it wasn't me," Maddon said in a telephone interview. "We had a nice exchange and he was very complimentary and I was the same to him. There's nothing to get upset about."

The Red Sox traded four players for Schilling last week, but the deal was held up while they negotiated a contract extension with the 37-year-old pitcher to get him to waive his no-trade clause. They agreed Friday to a deal that will pay him $37.5 million over the next three years, with an option for a fourth.

Schilling said one incentive for him to sign in Boston was word that Francona, 44, was "a slam dunk" to be the new manager. Even so, he made it clear that he did not make Francona's hiring a condition of the deal, nor did the Red Sox promise it.

In exchange, the Yankees will send Montreal first baseman Nick Johnson, outfielder Juan Rivera and left-hander Randy Choate. The deal is contingent on the players passing physicals.

The Twins also get a player to be named.

Milton, who won 41 games from 2000-02, started just three games last season after having surgery on his left knee during spring training.

Cheng, 18, is a member of the Taiwan's national team. He is the ninth player from Taiwan to sign with a major league club. The Blue Jays will allow Cheng to participate in the 2004 Athens Olympics if he is selected.

Hawkins, a right-handed setup reliever who turns 31 later this month, was 9-3 with a 1.86 ERA in 77 1/3 innings.

Rodale Inc., which is publishing "My Prison Without Bars," said the book will go on sale Jan. 8. The book was written with Rick Hill.

The publication date is two days after the announcement of 2004 Hall of Fame inductees. Rose is ineligible for the Hall of Fame ballot because of the lifetime ban.