He may have been sitting on top of the world, just one win away from bringing the World Series trophy back to a town that has waited 86 torturous years to throw itself a party, but the Red Sox manager hardly needed reminding how precarious that perch can be. He might be the last man in baseball, in fact, who needs to hear how this can be a fickle game.

Home plate umpire Brian Gorman watches as Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek reaches to tag out St. Louis' Larry Walker to end the first inning. (AP photo) • Photo gallery • Interactive multimedia • AP World Series coverage

His predecessor in Boston was fired after getting within a game of the World Series, so there was never any doubt how the job description read the day Francona signed a contract.

In Philadelphia, during his only previous stop as a big-league manager, Francona left the ballpark one day to find somebody had slashed his tires - on Fan Appreciation Day, no less.

But that wasn't the only reason why, even after his Red Sox pulled steadily away to a 3-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-seven series, Franconca fidgeted in the dugout and nervously shifted the plug of chewing gum in his mouth from cheek to cheek.

"Anybody ever seen me play when I was a player?" Francona asked reporters after Boston's 4-1 win Tuesday night. "You can understand why I never get too confident."

Self-deprecation is a lost art in the major leagues, but Francona could be the man to revive it. With one more victory, he becomes living proof that nice guys don't always finish last.

That was the rap against him in Philly, where Francona strung together an unimpressive 285-363 mark before being chased out of town in 2000 amid talk that his own players ran him over. But that was the strange thing about his rebirth in Boston. The very same qualities that made him a patsy in one clubhouse made him a hero in another.

Bald as a cue ball himself, Francona did nothing but chuckle when a handful of his Red Sox began sporting hairstyles and beards that even with Halloween just around the corner would stand out in any crowd of trick-or-treaters. He still insists on taking the heat in public for his players' mistakes, but instead of laughing at Francona behind his back, this bunch loves him for it.

"Grounded" is the way third baseman Bill Mueller describes Francona. "I'm just very happy I had a chance to play for him."

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