Francona leaves Red Sox following collapse
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The Boston Red Sox announced Friday that manager Terry Francona will not return to the team in 2012 two days after finishing the team's second straight season without a playoff appearance.
The Red Sox led the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games for the final American League playoff spot in September before the club finished 7-20 in the last month to miss the postseason by a game.
Francona leaves the Red Sox, his second managerial position, with a 744-552 record and two World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. He went to the playoffs five times in his eight years at the helm.
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"(Francona) said that after eight years here he was frustrated by his difficulty making an impact with the players, that a different voice was needed and that it was time for him to move on," the Red Sox ownership group said in a statement.
MORE TO FOLLOW.