After 1,000 games as the Red Sox manager, one would think that there would be little to learn about Terry Francona. Apparently, that assumption is flawed.

Consider the hallmark trait of Francona’s tenure in Boston. The manager is proud of being described as loyal to a fault, and those who watch him believe that his patience and willingness to remind mindful of the bigger pitcher have been essential components of both his and his team’s success.

Yet it turns out that the characteristic is not one that comes naturally to Francona.

“I don’t think I’m a very patient person. You talk to anybody who knows me – who really knows me -- I’m not,” Francona said. “But if I’m not patient [as a manager], I’m not doing my job properly, or have a chance to not do it properly. It doesn’t mean you don’t care. It doesn’t mean you are patient. I just really think you can make some mistakes.

“I just think that when I went to Philadelphia, that was supposed to be part of my job description. I knew that going in. [Philly] I knew going in that it was going to take some patience. I just couldn’t attack the players every night. That’s not what was needed for us to get better.”

That lesson in Philadelphia has remained prominent for Francona in his Sox tenure, which is now the fourth longest in team history. And on the night when Francona reached the quadruple-digit milestone, it would have been nearly impossible to imagine a more fitting contest than the Sox’ 3-1 win over the Angels. (Recap.)

Popular opinion insisted that it was time to cut bait with David Ortiz, time for him to yield the designated hitter role in which he had forged an indelible mark on franchise history. On Tuesday, Ortiz suffered one of the worst games of his career, going 0-for-4 with a pair of punchouts and a pair of double play grounders.

The chorus of those calling for Mike Lowell to displace Ortiz as DH swelled. The ranks of Ortiz’ defenders diminished.

Yet the only opinion that truly mattered remained unchanged.

Francona kept Ortiz in the lineup against right-hander Joel Pineiro, noting that he had a career .391 average, .483 OBP and .783 slugging mark in 29 career plate appearances against the Angels starter. Given that success, as well as the near-certainty that Ortiz will sit on Thursday against Angels left-hander Scott Kazmir, Francona decided to stick with his embattled DH.

“I understand David’s having a tough time,” Francona explained before the game. “He’s hitting almost .400 off this guy and Kazmir is tomorrow. [The Sox are] trying to put players in a position where they can succeed and trying to put our team in a position where [it] can succeed and trying to do it at the same time.”

On Wednesday, both things happened. Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a single, an opposite field homer and a walk. On a night when he reached base three times for the first time in 2010, Ortiz’ offense proved a pivotal component of his club’s victory.

The Sox have no idea whether the 2010 season will follow a similar arc to the trajectory traveled by Ortiz in 2009, when he seemed all but done through the first two months of the season before emerging as one of the leading power hitters in the game over the final four months. Yet clearly, there is reason for some encouragement, with Ortiz now having hit three homers in his last four games.

That said, it may well be that the 34-year-old does not enjoy the sort of dramatic rebound that he achieved last year. It could be that moments like the homer on Wednesday are nearly over.

But it is all but certain that the Sox and Francona will keep Ortiz in the lineup for as long as possible in order to make a determination about his ability to produce.

The willingness to give players a chance to show whether they are capable of performing to their career levels has been a hallmark of the success of the Sox for a half-dozen seasons under their manager. (For a list of examples in which Francona remained more patient than popular opinion, click here.) There’s no reason to expect that to change now.

“[Francona] lets us play. He doesn’t have a lot of rules and lets us play,” said catcher Jason Varitek. “Of course you have to give him credit. You can’t not give credit where credit is due. A tenure that long here means you’ve got to be winning a lot of games. He deserves credit for that.”

Here are some other items of note from Wednesday:

 

ORTIZ COULD BE A RALLYING POINT FOR THE SOX

In apparent homage to Teddy Roosevelt, David Ortiz took the “speak softly but carry a big stick” approach to his performance on Wednesday. He took off after the game without talking to the media.

In doing so, it seemed apparent that he was still taken aback by the criticism engendered by his 0-for-4 performance on Tuesday. Seemingly, he was not alone.

Dustin Pedroia had rushed to Ortiz’ defense on Tuesday, noting that he had suffered through a period of desperate struggle in 2007, only to see his career take off that same season. On Wednesday, Red Sox players’ enthusiasm for Ortiz’ strong performance against the Angels came with an edge.

“We win a game [Tuesday] night and [the struggle of Ortiz] is the top story. That’s B.S. That was a huge win for us,” said Sox catcher Jason Varitek. “He’s a part of our team. He’s not our whole team. He had a night like he did [Wednesday], he hit a huge valuable run that was our go-ahead run. I’m very happy for him.”

It has been fair to wonder whether the struggles of Ortiz are a distraction to his teammates, who have had to answer questions on numerous occasions about whether there is an end to his struggles. But it is also fair to wonder whether the opposite effect is possible, and whether Sox players might circle the wagons to support a beloved teammate.

“If it is a distraction, then we have to figure out a way for it not to be. There’s all kinds of distractions,” Francona said before the game. “But he’s one of our 25 guys and he’s been a valuable member of our team. I like the fact that there’s some loyalty.

“It’s not choosing. You mentioned about [Pedroia] saying something [in support of Ortiz. Pedey is probably best friends with Mike Lowell but this is his teammate, too. I guess I appreciate that part.”

 

JOHN LACKEY MADE A POWERFUL IMPRESSION ON HIS FORMER CLUB

Red Sox starter John Lackey made a statement of sorts in the first inning. He began the game by catching Erick Aybar looking at a 95 mph fastball on the black.

Lackey was in command of his most powerful fastball of the season on Wednesday. Indeed, Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said that he could not recall an instance where the big right-hander had ever featured that kind of velocity when the two were Halos teammates.

“He looked so relaxed on the mound and when he throws the ball, it gets on you,” said catcher Victor Martinez. “I can tell you as a hitter facing him, that’s what makes him so tough. He looks like he doesn’t even try, and when he throws the ball, you’ve got to be ready to hit.”

On Wednesday, the Angels were not ready or able to answer that challenge. Lackey fired seven innings, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out four and inducing 14 groundball outs.

It was yet another excellent performance by Lackey in his inaugural season with his new club. He has been the most consistent Sox starter thus far this year. Of his six outings, five have been quality starts (6+ innings, 3 or fewer runs), tied for the most such outings in the American League.

Slowly, the Red Sox rotation has been rounding into shape around Lackey. Over the last eight games, Sox starters own a 5-1 record and 2.82 ERA.

“We have five guys in the rotation who can do that every day,” said third baseman Adrian Beltre. “Lackey was outstanding today, and of course he’s been like that throughout the year. We knew that the first four weeks we saw of our pitching staff was on and off. It was going to change. We expect the guys can hopefully stay healthy and keep doing that.”

 

ADRIAN BELTRE IS TOUGHER THAN CHUCK NORRIS

Adrian Beltre was outstanding in the field and at the plate. At the plate, he collected three hits -- a pair of singles and a solo blast to dead center, for his second homer of the season -- and is now hitting .435/.490/.652/1.142 in his last 12 games.

“I’m hitting the ball with more power, more often. That’s what I wanted to do,” said Beltre, who is hitting .340/.374/.470/.844 this year. “Hitting .300 is really good for me. I’d always rather be a .300 hitter, but you add some power to it, some RBIs, that’s always even better.”

The recent power display -- including Wednesday’s monster shot to dead center, which crashed just behind the camera well in the bleachers -- is a fairly compelling demonstration that the Sox third baseman is once again playing healthy after struggling with injuries throughout 2009. Last year, he hit .265 with a puny .683 OPS, and he simply couldn’t swing with any conviction.

“It’s different, knowing that I have nothing to hold back and I can concentrate on the ball and hitting it,” said Beltre. “It makes it easier not to be thinking about if something’s going to hurt after you swing. So far, thank God, I’ve been healthy. I’m hoping to stay that way the whole year.”

Of course, Beltre very nearly compromised that objective on Wednesday while turning in some excellent defensive work. He ducked a broken bat that nearly impaled him to start a 5-4-3 double play in the top of the third, and later made a terrific pick of a ball on a short hop.

Beltre was startled when he saw a replay of the double-play ball, when the barrel of the bat very nearly took out his legs after he threw the ball to second.

“I saw the bat far behind [the ball], so I thought, ‘It’s never going to get here.’ So when I caught the ball and I threw it, that’s when I felt the air [of the bat flying] by my right foot,” said Beltre. “Then I went to see in the replay, I saw how close the bat was. It’s scary sometimes.

“The good thing is it was low. If it was going to hit you, it would hit you in the feet somewhere. It might take your feet off, but when it’s high, that thing can kill you. That’s different. The thing is, it didn’t come off at the same height. It came off low, which allowed me to see the ball better and made me think the bat wasn’t going to get there.”