Red Sox Dump Francona

Still reeling from their epic September collapse, the Red Sox have decided to part ways with longtime manager Terry Francona, sources tell the Boston Globe. The skipper is meeting with GM Theo Epstein and the team’s owners today, and the expected resolution will be that the team will not pick up his $4.5 million option for next year.

Sources say the decision was made on an ownership level; Epstein yesterday said he didn’t blame Francona for the Sox collapse, but John Henry has made no comment on the matter. Francona is expected to support the decision; asked yesterday if he wanted to stay, he was stunningly non-committal, saying only, “Theo and I talked today a little bit. I think we’ll continue to talk tomorrow. … It’s still pretty fresh and pretty raw. It’s a fair question.” (More Terry Francona stories.)