`super Conference' Needs Adjustments To Serve All Teams 
When The Wyoming Valley West Swimming Team Destroys Scranton Prep, There Is No 
Blood In The Water.

4th Suit Filed Against City's `impact' Team

Sunday, January 18, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





Francona: `Perfect' man for rebuilding job ahead &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With his team resembling a grown-up version of the Bad News Bears during a
particularly woeful stretch of baseball last season, Terry Francona didn't
need to read the newspapers or listen to the radio talk shows to know he
wasn't the most popular guy in Philadelphia"They're dying for a winner," the
Phillies' second-year manager said of the team's fans. "During that period,
when I'd go to the grocery store, or go to get a paper, I found out people
really care. And they have a lot of comments and a lot of opinions- not always
necessarily positive- but it's good that people care." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not that Francona, frankly, gave a damn about what anybody- aside from the
Phillies' family, of course- thought or said about him. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Truth be told, the confident 38-year-old skipper knew all along he was
going to turn things around. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All he needed was time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I never felt like I was another manager that wasn't going to make it,"
Francona insisted Saturday at the annual Phillies/Comcast SportsNet Caravan,
held at the Wyoming Valley Mall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a real tough time for us. And we knew coming into it that there was
potential for tough times. Maybe not quite that tough, but I felt all along, I
knew why I had been brought in here. It was to work with the young guys and
try to keep an even keel and make sure they worked hard. And I felt really
good that we were doing that. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We just had no results to show for it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Phillies lost 61 of their first 85 games and were fast on their way to
setting a Major League Baseball mark for futility. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And Terry Jon Francona, a .274 lifetime hitter during a 10-year major
league career, was fast on his way to becoming a scout somewhere in the
organization's chain. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then, it happened. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The club swept a key series in San Diego in late July, then won two series
against St. Louis the following week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Suddenly, the Phils started executing all the little things that Francona
preached about from the first day of spring training. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I kept on these guys all season about our baserunning," he said. "I told
them, `Teams that run the bases can win games and close the gap on good
teams.' And that's what I noticed. Our baserunning got so much more aggressive
and so much better." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Victories followed. Lots of 'em. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "As the season wore on and we got our pitching back in order, as the
pitching kept us in games, our guys knew how to play and they were willing to
play hard all the time," Francona said. "And the second half showed that. We
beat some teams that were better than us, consistently, all through the second
half." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Phillies went 44-33 in the second half, the third-best mark in the NL.
They finished the season 68-94, one game better than the '96 squad. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Francona went from being labeled the game's youngest manager to one of its
brightest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When you get put in that position, you've got to be strong enough and
confident in what you're doing," he said. "It was a tremendous learning
experience. I'd be crazy to say that going through my first year I knew
everything. We had a young team, I was a young manager. I'd like to think we
kind of learned together and we're going to get better together." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's not to suggest Francona's work is done. Far from it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I really prepare heavily," he said. "I don't need to get it re-explained
to me (by the media). I watch our games a lot. It's a long process." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Terry's a workaholic," first baseman Rico Brogna said. "In many ways, he's
the perfect leader for this team." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That seems to be the general feeling throughout the organization. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Had it not been for Terry and the staff, it would have been easy to lose a
lot of those young players in those first two months," said Ed Wade,
Philadelphia's acting general manager. "But they kept the guys focused and
believing in each other. People say, `You're a lousy manager in the first two
months of the season, but you're great in the last four months of the season.'
I think the reality is Terry was a great manager the first two months to be
able to get the guys through a real toug

Francona: `perfect' Man For Rebuilding Job Ahead 
With His Team Resembling A Grown-up Version Of The Bad News Bears During A 
Particularly Woeful Stretch Of Baseball Last Season, Terry Francona Didn't 
Need To Read The Newspapers Or Listen To The Radio Talk Shows To Know He 
Wasn't The Most Popular Guy In Philadelphia.