The Red Sox and manager Terry Francona are expected to agree on a contract extension that will run through the 2008 season.

01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 14, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Before the end of the week, the Red Sox are expected to come to an agreement with manager Terry Francona on a contract extension that will carry through the 2008 season.

Francona's original contract with the Sox was for three years, with a club option for 2007. The new deal is a two-year deal, wiping out the club option for next season.

After managing the Philadelphia Phillies to four consecutive losing seasons, from 1997-2000, Francona waited more than three years before getting a second managerial position. Accordingly, he was given a deal that was near the bottom end of the pay scale for big-league managers, paying him $1.65 million over three years.

The new contract, by contrast, is expected to boost Francona's salary dramatically, in recognition of the team's performance in his two seasons in the dugout. It also will include performance bonuses for postseason achievement. In his first year with the Red Sox, Francona led them to their first World Series victory since 1918, then guided them to a 95-win season in 2005 and a second straight postseason appearance.

Francona has won more games (193) in his first two seasons than any other Red Sox manager in history.

The team's willingness to extend Francona's contract months before its guaranteed portion expires and a full 18 months before the end of the option year may be a signal that ownership did not want a repeat of the contract negotiations that forced general manager Theo Epstein out the door for a period of 10 weeks last fall and winter.

Epstein, whose contract expired last Oct. 31, negotiated with the Red Sox for months before deciding to resign on the final day of his deal, upset at the way the negotiations were handled and at odds with the organization's philosophical shift.

He returned in January, having settled his differences.

The New York Yankees' Joe Torre is the highest-paid manager in the game at $6.5 million annually. A handful of others -- including Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals, Dusty Baker of Chicago Cubs, Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves and Buck Showalter of the Texas Rangers -- are thought to be paid more $2 million per season.

It's unlikely Francona will crack the $2-million plateau, though he could reach that figure with available bonuses.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340