Trot Nixon thinks Grady Little took far too much blame for the Boston Red Sox' Game 7 loss to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
And Nixon was disappointed that the Sox decided not to pick up Little's option to manage the team in 2004.
"I'm a little surprised," said Nixon last night from his home in Wilmington, N.C. "I was close to Grady. A lot of guys in that clubhouse were close to Grady. Everybody enjoyed having Grady as manager. He did a good job. What more can you ask from a guy? He won almost 200 games (188, actually) in two years. That's a lot of wins in this profession."
Nixon said one of Little's strengths was his ability to relate to the players.
"I know as players we were pleased with how he handled the ballclub. He did a professional job. He was a quiet manager, but that was his style. Some guys are more fiery, but he was quiet, which was fine," said Nixon.
Little, though, wasn't distant from the players, even if he wasn't offering any stirring motivational speeches.
"He talked to the players a lot to get their feedback," said Nixon. "He had confidence in the players and in their abilities. That confidence spread through the clubhouse. Everybody had respect for him. All he asked us to do was go out and play hard and respect the game, respect the jersey you have on, play for the fans and also play for your families, and don't do anything that could embarrass yourself or the ballclub.
"Grady was one of those hard-hat, brown-bag-lunch guys," added Nixon. "He always came out and worked hard."
Nixon knows that Little will forever be known for his decision to leave in Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning, a move that backfired as the Yanks scored three runs off the Boston ace and tied the game, eventually winning in the 11th and advancing to the World Series. Nixon says that's an unfair image, placing too much blame on the manager.
"We're the players who lost it on the field. We could have done more offensively. It was not Grady's fault. It was not Pedro's fault. We all lost it," said Nixon.
Nixon hopes to meet up with Little, also a North Carolina resident, at a NASCAR race in the near future. And he planned to give Little a call. But he had no doubt that Little will find another job in the majors.
"Grady knows his baseball and he knows his players," said Nixon. "He'll land on his feet. I enjoyed being around him. I'm sorry to see him go."
