I make no secret of my admiration of Terry Francona. Are we supposed to be objective on a blog? I’m not sure.

What I am certain of is that Terry Francona is the kind of manager I’d want to play for if I had even a smidgen of baseball talent.

I’m sure many readers were prepared to scream Tuesday night at Bradley Zimmer after he failed to run out a popup that the Rockies were able to turn into a double play. It was a perfect example of a rookie mistake and many managers would be among those screaming.

Not Francona.

He gave a lecture captured by television cameras. But when fate brought Zimmer to bat at the end of the game, Francona chose not to pinch hit. After the game he made a point of saying he wanted Zimmer to part of the rally. We all know that exclusion can be a powerful influence on young people. In childhood they call it a “time out.” But Francona manages adults, albeit young ones like Zimmer. So when he looked for a teaching moment, he apparently assumed Zimmer was completely informed about hustle. In the ninth inning it became time for Zimmer to learn how to overcome a stupid mistake and contribute. He wasn’t the hero; that was Yan Gomes. But Zimmer gathered his emotions and drew what could be described as a “clutch walk.” No small feat given the emotions he must have been feeling. Victory for Zimmer. Victory for Francona. Victory for the concept of treating people like adults.

XXX

The Indians placed Michael Brantley on the 10-day disabled list with a mild ankle sprain. He suffered an injury near his ankle in Tuesday night but his status was not immediately diagnosed. He is not in the lineup today.

No Rockies player has more than five at bats against Trevor Bauer and none has a home run. Charlie Blackmon is 2-for-4.

Bradley Zimmer is the only active Indian with a homer against Senzatela. Chisenhall, no on the DL, also homered against him.

Danny Salazar, 4-5, 4.32, is tomorrow’s starter against Tampa Bay. The Rays will start Blake Snell, 0-6, 4.98.

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