Francona agrees game was pretty slow
Manager Terry Francona heads into the dugout in the eighth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Aug. 1, 2011) Credit: Getty
MINNEAPOLIS -- After the Yankees and Red Sox needed 4 hours, 15 minutes to complete a 10-inning game that ended early Monday morning, Sox manager Terry Francona said he wouldn't be surprised to hear from Major League Baseball.
Francona doesn't think starter Josh Beckett was stalling deliberately, but the warm night and the Yankees' patient hitters, coupled with the longer commercial breaks for the nationally televised game, caused it to drag.
"I thought Beckett was a little slow last night," Francona said. "If the league wants to send something and say speed it up, I don't blame them. But I'd rather us win. It was hot. They were working him really hard. We talk to all our pitchers about pitching quick because we believe in it. But he wasn't doing it on purpose."
Last year, umpire Joe West said the pace of play in a Red Sox-Yankees series was "pathetic and embarrassing."-- AP
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