In my house, there have been some notorious Boston Red Sox postseason squanders, often occurring in some pretty big – in terms of seasonal significance – games that remain family legends in terms of reaction to these blunders.

In 1986 when the Red Sox had seemingly wrapped up Game 6 of the World Series against the now-hated New York Mets, I turned to my wife Shelly, ready to share the joy of the moment as only long-suffering Red Sox fans can – prior to 2004, of course. Problem was, she was nowhere to be found.

“Come quick,” I hollered. “They’re about to win it – finally.”

Tracing the sound of her voice, I found my little pixie locked in the kitchen closet. “I can’t stand it,” she said. “I know something bad will happen.”

I returned to my spot and watched everything unravel as she had predicted.

These days, Boston fans are experiencing similar problems, and I decided to delve into a new book, “Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston’s Rise to Dominance.” The book, by former Boston Globe sportswriter Michael Holley, explains in great detail how new ownership thinks relative to general manager Theo Epstein and current field manager, Terry Francona, and how they got around to winning.

At times pretty heady stuff, Holley, the celebrated writer of such worthy sports titles as “Patriot Reign,” gives readers the opportunity to see up close and in person how the daily goings-on in Boston Red Sox board rooms affect what transpires down on the field.

Epstein is a disciple of his Oakland Athletics counterpart Billy Beane, who made a name for himself with the book “Moneyball,” a treatise built around the notion that a team can get the most for less money. The second rule of “Moneyball” is to play the percentage in every manager’s decision that involves who can do what based on the recorded history of what players and those managers have done in the past.

I also enjoyed author Holley’s penchant for detail in the Red Sox book because of his approach to what makes every aspect of movement by participants, on and off the field, significant to the franchise’s ultimate success or failure.

The book is unusual because few baseball treatises before the aforementioned “Moneyball” come at you with as much detail.

Most of these so-called jock books require that readers understand the life and the times of this scenario, and most can be judged by the same mechanism: ho-hum boredom.

Not this one.

Want to know what makes former Philadelphia Phillies and current Red Sox manager Terry Francona lose sleep? Then learn by studying Epstein and what makes him tick. Want to know what makes millionaire owner John Henry excited? Then learn he has put together a management team in Beantown that meets regularly and keeps sharp eyes on all aspects of the game from bunting to advertising.

Yes, details are important and this group doesn’t miss a trick. Two World Series titles later, the proof of the pudding is – as my mother used to say – in the taste of the stuff or in the end results.

Or, if she ever managed this year’s Sox team, Alex Cora, backup infielder, would be seeing more time as a starting shortstop. Hey, Moneyball in action: More for less.

This book is a good read and worth every bit of its $25.95 price.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net