This piece will not be as timely, considering the All-Star Game was days ago by now, but I just wanted to comment on Terry Francona’s dilemma.

I’ve obviously had plenty to gripe about as far as the All-Star Game goes, whether it be the notion of it “counting” or the faulty player selection from all involved. But the games of the last three years have certainly been entertaining, and I can safely say that Tuesday’s game was the most entertaining All-Star Game I’ve ever seen.

Games go extra innings all the time, but rarely do they have as many key, dramatic spots in getting there. Miguel Tejada should not have went to the All-Star Game, but he certainly put on a show while there. The opposite can be said for Dan Uggla, who seemed to be cursed or something. How about all those double plays that extended the game? How about that Nate McLouth throw to the plate?

While Uggla made blunders, he was simply nervous and having bad luck. Francona should know how to manage a game better than he did. With all the legends and pre-game speeches and whatnot about how this game means so much, it seems like the only person who didn’t believe that come game time was Francona, who was determined to get everybody in the game.

Of the American League starters, only Cliff Lee went two innings. This led to three closers — Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria, and George Sherrill — going more than one inning each. Sherrill set the high watermark for relievers, going two and a third innings. If I was an Orioles fan, I would be really angry. Not that my closer was getting taxed, but that it was so avoidable if the manager had been competent.

Meanwhile, the National League had three starters that went two innings each to kick off the game. None of their relievers pitched more than an inning, and Clint Hurdle even held back his own starter Aaron Cook to do a little long relief, showing both his commitment to the cause and his foresight.

So while both managers were basically in the same boat if there was a 16th inning, Hurdle got there in a much more respectable and effective manner. The All-Star rosters already are overloaded, so it is absolutely laughable that Francona ran out of players. The All-Star experience is what it is about. Sure, players would like to get in the game, but honestly, I don’t think there’s much difference from getting in that one-third of an inning under your belt and leaving. But that’s how long the AL saves leader Francisco Rodriguez pitched before Rivera relieved him, one of a few Yankee-pandering moves Francona made that night. Another game-management lowlight was pitching Roy “Seven Complete Games” Halladay for a mere inning.

Toward the end of the game, the FOX crew began to take pity on Francona. After the win, they highlighted that Francona was ecstatic, implying he felt lucky the game ended when it did. It felt like ESPN, FOX, and the national media implied that Francona was at fault for his game management but never really blamed him. In fact, Francona even patted himself on the back in the post-game press conference for getting everybody in. I wonder if New York, Kansas City, and Baltimore are as pleased.

According to ESPN.com, the Red Sox players are preparing for a boycott the opening series of the MLB season in Japan.

According to the report, the players are being paid $40,000 in order to go on the lengthy 18 day trip, and the coaches were originally set to receive the same amount. However, word came that the coaches wouldn’t be paid, so there will be a players-only meeting on how to handle the situation.

According to the report, the money isn’t as important to Terry Francona but other coaches who are going on the trip. For other coaches besides Francona, $40,000 could be up to two-fifths of their salary.

Update: 12:15pm

According to ESPN.com, the Red Sox players unanimously voted to skip their final spring training game and skip boarding their plane to Japan, scheduled to depart this afternoon. This is all in protest of MLB stiffing the Red Sox coaches of $40,000 they should be owed for going on the trip to Japan.

In the article, Jayson Stark writes how the players are doing the right thing by standing up for their coaching staff, while in the end they will ultimately have to board the plane due to the potential international ramifications.

Update: 1:10 pm

An hour after the scheduled start of 12:07 pm, the Red Sox seem prepared to take the field and the speculation is that the situation has been resolved and they plan to board the plane to Japan later today.

Can’t say I’ve seen anything quite like this before. They definitely have the right to be angry, because according to the report it was originally agreed that the coaches would be getting paid. If this is true, and the MLB is just revoking the money–not cool MLB.

Update 7:30pm Dan

Its now being reported by multiple sources that the dispute has been resolved. According the the AP, the league will pay $20,000 to the Boston coaches, trainers, etc while the Red Sox will pay the difference to bring them up the $40,000. There is no word if a similar deal will or has been reached for the coaching staff of Oakland.