Through Bambino's Curse and Boston Dirt Dogs I found this article about a Terry Francona interview. It's from a couple of weeks ago, but it looks like Francona is going to get the job. I found a couple of quotes impressive.

Francona touched on many of the key points stressed by Red Sox ownership. He admitted a predilection for preparation, which doomed predecessor Grady Little. He credited his year as Ken Macha's bench coach in Oakland for opening his eyes to the workings of a statistically oriented franchise. And he said he doesn't believe in his way or the highway.

Throw in a post-Phillies stint as a scout, and Francona feels his varied perspectives have enlightened him and increased his knowledge of the game.

"I believe in taking a team's strengths and adjusting," Francona said. "If I don't have guys who can run, we won't try to steal bases. I don't think the players should conform to my way of thinking."

A lot of people think sabermetricians don't like the stolen base. The truth is, they don't like the caught stealing. Not running players who can't steal is the adjustment few managers make.

Regarding the use of statistics to inform decisions, Francona feels he managed with an intuitively analytical eye. "As technology grows, different answers do arise," he said. "We believe the same thing here. It's not important how you get the right answer, as long as you put the players in a position to be successful."

I always thought this was Buck Showalter's strength with the Yankees, using players in situations in which there was a high probability of them succeeding. If that's Terry's philosophy as well, he'll do well with the Red Sox.

However, Larry Dierker is getting an interview. I'm surprised Dierker didn't get called in earlier. He'd be a very good fit.