Inside the Red Sox meltdown

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

No wonder these guys melted down.
Interesting stuff from Boston Globe inside the Sox meltdown.. Claims pitchers were playing video games eating fast food in the clubhouse during games. Francona had a pain-killer addiction and was separated from his wife. Players were pissed Epstein overpaid from Carl Crawford and only Pedora was still trying to lead the team.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/10/12/red_sox_unity_dedication_dissolved_during_epic_late_season_collapse/?page=full

John Lackey sounds like a Grade-A piece of ****.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Worth noting that the three villians of the piece, Lackey, Lester and Beckett, cannot be gotten rid of except at a loss of tens of millions of dollars and any chance of winning next year, too. Last spring, management and ownership were praised to the skies for locking up their starting rotation to long-term contracts.

 

[Azrael]

The Braves have a great clubhouse. So do the Mets. So do the Phillies.

 

[TigerVols]

Great reporting from the Globe.

Can't imagine reading something that well-researched and written on the web -- with the exception of Yahoo! Sports.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

And none of it matters if Papelbon throws one more strike past a clown hitter.

 

[wicked]

I don't know how I feel about the pain-killer stuff in there. At least Francona discussed the topic, so it's not totally based on an anonymous source.

And none of it matters if Papelbon throws one more strike past a clown hitter.

There's still a playoff game, which in all likelihood they choke away somehow.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Surprised Lester is involved in this.

Why did Hohler do this and not the beat writers?

 

[Double Down]

Good story, but I feel like ownership got of way, way too easy here. Which makes me feel like they were the source for a lot of it.

 

[TigerVols]

Surprised Lester is involved in this.

Why did Hohler do this and not the beat writers?

Umm, cause the beaters have to go back in the clubhouse next Spring?

 

[TigerVols]

Not a coincidence that WEEI is reporting Theo to the Cubs.

 

[sgreenwell]

Great reporting from the Globe.

Can't imagine reading something that well-researched and written on the web -- with the exception of Yahoo! Sports.

Really? There is pretty much nothing on the record, so we're pretty much relying solely on the Globe's reputation that their sources are reputable. While most of the article feels "true" to me, I don't really think there is anything factual that is confirmed by it, outside of Francona living in a hotel for the past couple months.

The thing that kind of raised a red flag for me - The only guys working hard were Pedroia, Aceves and Papelbon, according to the article. I imagine they were the only ones identified because they have name recognition. Fringe guys like Andrew Miller and Mike Aviles weren't working hard? That part struck me as more of trying to continue with a certain narrative as opposed to reflecting reality.

 

[suburbia]

Surprised Lester is involved in this.

Why did Hohler do this and not the beat writers?

Hohler was the paper's Red Sox beat reporter for a number of years. So he knows his stuff.

And as TigerVols said, the beat writers have to go back to that locker room in the future.

 

[Boom_70]

Good story, but I feel like ownership got of way, way too easy here. Which makes me feel like they were the source for a lot of it.

My thought too. Seems like Larry Luchino has his hands all over this one.

 

[sgreenwell]

Good story, but I feel like ownership got of way, way too easy here. Which makes me feel like they were the source for a lot of it.

My thought too. Seems like Larry Luchino has his hands all over this one.

Agreed. I didn't want to get into that whole can of worms, but the Globe is generally seen as the house organ for Red Sox management.

 

[Huggy]

The players got $300 headphones and a party on the owner's yacht? Since when did the Boston Red Sox become the University of Miami Hurricanes?

 

[Armchair_QB]

Great reporting from the Globe.

Can't imagine reading something that well-researched and written on the web -- with the exception of Yahoo! Sports.

Really? There is pretty much nothing on the record, so we're pretty much relying solely on the Globe's reputation that their sources are reputable. While most of the article feels "true" to me, I don't really think there is anything factual that is confirmed by it, outside of Francona living in a hotel for the past couple months.

The thing that kind of raised a red flag for me - The only guys working hard were Pedroia, Aceves and Papelbon, according to the article. I imagine they were the only ones identified because they have name recognition. Fringe guys like Andrew Miller and Mike Aviles weren't working hard? That part struck me as more of trying to continue with a certain narrative as opposed to reflecting reality.

I took it to mean that of the key regulars and pitchers those three were the only ones putting in the work.

 

[Stitch]

It can't get any better than pill-popping and playing video games in the clubhouse during games.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

They should have stuck to doing shots.

 

[wicked]

Agreed. I didn't want to get into that whole can of worms, but the Globe is generally seen as the house organ for Red Sox management.

How could I forget about that whole ownership stake.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

It can't get any better than pill-popping and playing video games in the clubhouse during games.

Well if they were getting blowjobs from groupies and making it rain at the makeshift stripper pole in the bullpen. ...