By Stephen Sears

Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little’s story these past few weeks is rather sad. If his team got swept in the ALCS or if his guys lost 10-1 in Game 7, then he would have kept his job. But if you know anything about the Red Sox, they do not just lose, they tear your heart out, they bring you to the edge and then they lose.

Therefore, the level of scrutiny rises considerably.

Boston has discussed l’affiare Grady Little to death the past two weeks. We all know the situation. And now he has been fired. It is a good move, not only because of his catastrophic decision in Game 7, but for a litany of questionable moves throughout the postseason.

* He somehow managed to have Adrian Brown pinch-hit in a pivotal situation in Game 1 of the Oakland series.

* During Game 4 of the Oakland series, he left John Burkett in to pitch in the sixth when it was apparent to anyone with two eyes that Burkett was on fumes. Jermaine Dye hit a two-run homer off him that could have buried the Old Towne Team for good.

* He brought the infield in with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning of Game 5 in Oakland. That means any hard grounder gets through and the Red Sox lose the series.

* Remember that seemingly endless streak of strike-him-out-throw-him-out double plays against the Yankees?

Some are saying that is unfair to judge Little on one bad decision. They say he perfectly handled a combustible clubhouse and that it is easy to second guess a manger’ moves if they don’t work out. They say it is another case of negative, blood-thirsty Red Sox Nation looking for a scapegoat to add to its collection.

Look at the situation. Grady Little single-handedly lost Game 7 to the arch-rival New York Yankees because he failed to see what almost everyone else saw. This is not second guessing. I questioned it while it was happening and so did many others. Countless stories are being bandied about where people who have never watched baseball before could not understand why “that pitcher” was still in the game. The Sox were five outs away from beating a hated rival and advancing to the World Series against a team they beat 25-8 during the season.

Pretty big implications from one decision, don’t you think?

Little had Mike Timlin in the bullpen to pitch the eighth and Scott Williamson to close it out. If the bullpen had struggled all postseason, then Little’s decision would be understandable, but the bullpen was the main reason the Sox made it as far as they did. Mike Timlin was better than Mariano Rivera in the postseason. He gave up no runs in 9.2 innings. He was dominating, and the Timlin-Embree-Williamson combination had worked very well in the playoffs. Yet, Little decided to shake it up because he had a hunch.

Sox players have gone to bat for their manager, decrying the bitterness of Boston. This is not new. Sox players and managers have blamed Boston’s negativity for years. They use it as a crutch for their constant failures. What they forget is that New York is just as bad, if not worse. Ralph Branca is still hearing it 52 years after the fact. Ask Chuck Knoblauch how easy it is to play in New York. Joe Torre’s job has been rumored to be on the line all season, and he has won four World Series!

The Grady-bashing is not just a result of the negative Boston fans. It is a reaction to one of the worst managed games in playoff history. Sox fans, like myself, did not root for Little to fail. We wanted him to help get this city a world championship. Grady seems like a good man and his firing is unfortunate, but his postseason managing left a lot to be desired and that is why Sox fans wanted him fired.

Little told the Globe on October 23 that he was not even sure if he wanted the job. He had some very interesting quotes. “Just add one more ghost to the list if I’m not there, because there are ghosts. That’s certainly evident when you’re a player in that uniform,” he said.

For a guy and for a whole team who spent the entire season brushing off curses and ghosts, that is an odd statement. It was Babe Ruth who left Pedro out there! It was Denny Galehouse who gave up the Aaron Boone home-run!

The article ended with a veiled threat. “If Grady Little is not back with the Red Sox, he’ll be somewhere. I’ll be another ghost fully capable of haunting.”

Well Grady, thanks to your managing, I have three words for you: Mission already accomplished.

-Stephen Sears can be reached at [email protected].