Inside the Red Sox meltdown

[DanielSimpsonDay]

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.

This does have the slight odor of the classic Red Sox method of doing things. It's almost too perfect that the only players who performed down the stretch (Papelbon, Pedroia, Aceves) are also the only ones who come off as being good team guys. I'd imagine that Nomar, Damon and Manny would see a lot of similarities between this piece and the dirt that just happened to be found when they each left town. The Globe manages to find "sources" that vilify selected payers who have either left or fallen out of favor. Varitek and Francona's personal lives weren't any less interesting in the past, but they weren't noteworthy until today? Please...

 

[Webster]

How hard is it to say that everyone has to be on the bench or in the bullpen during games? And no beer until after the game is done?

 

[Stitch]

Poor work ethic is considered a quirk if you're doing well. Pill-popping is just a bad habit when you're managing a team destined for the playoffs.

 

[RickStain]

If Tampa Bay loses two more games and the Red Sox get hot for a few weeks in October, everyone writes a puff piece about how awesomely loose the Red Sox clubhouse was.

 

[93Devil]

You don't want to be on the bench, your choice is to workout, scout other teams or research other team's batters. You are a paid employee, get some work done.

When the game is being played, you are on the roster and expected to contribute, or at least be able to contribute, to the game. If you are needed to pinch run, be sober. We need you to pitch to a batter, be sober.

You want to get drunk, fat and lazy? Do it after the game. When the game is being played, you are expected to be in uniform and on call at all times.

It amazes me that this was allowed. Did Francona ever try to stop it? Was he not backed by upper management?

 

[poindexter]

It amazes me that this was allowed. Did Francona ever try to stop it? Was he not backed by upper management?

Yeah, it really is a missing piece of the story.

 

[93Devil]

I quickly looked a the story again to see if I had missed it, but I don't think it was brought up.

I know the manager should keep this crap in the clubhouse and not let it trickle up, but, Jesus. I would have thought Theo would have been contacted.

It really makes you think about where all the dirt on Francona was coming from.

 

[DanOregon]

That article read like the "price of fame" segment about 35 minutes into a "Behind the Music."

The 2011 Red Sox - Bizarro Major League.

 

[sgreenwell]

Here's the thing I kind of wonder about the clubhouse stuff - How uncommon is that for a major league clubhouse? I've never covered a pro team, so I have no clue. I sometimes feel that with a lot of these "clubhouse" stories about the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies and others, it's only a story because you have really intense media scrutiny. From the DWIs in St. Louis and Atlanta, it does seem like drinking and baseball go hand in hand for a lot of players.

 

[Gator]

Here's the part that really bothers me:

"Sources said Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, who were joined at times by Buchholz, began the practice late in 2010. The pitchers not only continued the routine this year, sources said, but they joined a number of teammates in cutting back on their exercise regimens despite appeals from the team’s strength and conditioning coach Dave Page.

“It’ s hard for a guy making $80,000 to tell a $15 million pitcher he needs to get off his butt and do some work,’’ one source said.

For Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, the consequences were apparent as their body fat appeared to increase and pitching skills eroded."

How the **** can you really write that and expect it be considered good reporting? So Beckett was a Cy Young candidate from May-August, but he fell apart in September, and it was APPARENT his body fat increased? In a month?!? That's shoddy at best.

And until someone proves to me that the clubhouse (under Francona) wasn't the exact same way in 2004 and 2007, I'm not going to believe this was the root of the problem.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Bob Hohler's a damn good reporter, but this was dynamiting perch in a barrel for him. Telling that Francona went on the record for the story and his critics did not.
I didn't cover the 2011 team, but I covered the 2004 bunch, and while they were loose, they were not exactly a band of Chip Hiltons in the personal conduct department. If Dave Roberts is a little slower getting down to second base, they'd have been crucified through the anonymous leak method, too. It's a Red Sox tradition. Nobody can just leave, they have to leave because management knew they were bad people.
There's a trail of slime underneath the lyrics to Sweet Caroline.

 

[dirtybird]

I came away from this one pretty underwhelmed. Seemed like a lot of vague baseball cliches applied after the fact. Not enough leadership and work ethic, which of course only become apparent when a team actually misses the postseason.

 

[93Devil]

I came away from this one pretty underwhelmed. Seemed like a lot of vague baseball cliches applied after the fact. Not enough leadership and work ethic, which of course only become apparent when a team actually misses the postseason.

Can anyone answer if there is a clubhouse in MLB where players on the active roster are drinking beer during the game?

 

[heyabbott]

Steinbrenner smiles.

 

[TigerVols]

I came away from this one pretty underwhelmed. Seemed like a lot of vague baseball cliches applied after the fact. Not enough leadership and work ethic, which of course only become apparent when a team actually misses the postseason.

Can anyone answer if there is a clubhouse in MLB where players on the active roster are drinking beer during the game?

Well, all I know is they only drink Cokes in Oakland -- and only if they have spare change for the machine.

 

[dirtybird]

I came away from this one pretty underwhelmed. Seemed like a lot of vague baseball cliches applied after the fact. Not enough leadership and work ethic, which of course only become apparent when a team actually misses the postseason.

Can anyone answer if there is a clubhouse in MLB where players on the active roster are drinking beer during the game?

Well, all I know is they only drink Cokes in Oakland -- and only if they have spare change for the machine.

... How soon we forget Esteban Loaiza

 

[wicked]

The most comical part in this whole thing is Jim Rice calling out Red Sox players for a "spa"-type atmosphere, the same guy who personified 25 cabs, 25 players in the '70s and '80s.

 

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

Here's my take on the Red Sox situation:

1. This has been festering for quite some time. Francona was operating on the last year of his contract which in itself showed a lack of support from the ownership group and which undercut his authority right from spring training. The ownership should have at least exercised the 2012 option just as a thank you for years of good service.
2. The leadership dearth stems from the ownership shortsighted penny-wise pound-foolish approach. Francona, David Ortiz, and Jason Varitek were all operating without a contract for 2012 and they are expected to be the ones to take stands in the clubhouse?
3. This is no coincidence that the article comes out the same day as Theo leaving for the Cubs. This was a preemptive PR stunt from the Red Sox. They paint Francona as a man pre-occupied with marital issues and pill-popping because Francona is still too well liked in Boston for the ownership's liking. The bit about the Crawford signing is pure cover your ass by Lucchino or whoever was the gutless anonymous source.
4. The treatment of Francona in this manner is disgusting. I don't recall John Henry's divorce being newspaper fodder even though it had the potential to harm the club much more than anything Francona was going through (just ask the Dodgers). Also maybe if John Henry took a pain killer he could have made that press conference instead of taking the easy way out.
5. The Red Sox other than Pedroia and Ellsbury are not very likable at this point. Look for ratings on NESN to tank next year. Fans are getting fed up. Also look for road attendance and national TV appearences to be reduced next year. As you sow so shall you reap. Nobody wants to watch a bunch of pricks.

 

[goalmouth]

Great hatchet job by the Globe, enabled by Sox management. Another shining day for scribes everywhere.

 

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

I remember when the New York Mets had their epic fail in 2007 losing 12 of their last 17 games - the big joke was about how bad their team physicians were. A player would stub a toe and people would automatically guess that he'd be soon on the 60-day DL. How come the Red Sox health and healthcare isn't given the same scrutiny? Did Hohler even mention injuries in his hit piece?

In the fall of 2004 Dr. Bill Morgan was hailed as a hero in New England. The man who made it possible for Curt Schilling's bloody sock to go down in baseball history. The next year Dr. Morgan was gone - replaced by Dr. Thomas Gill which was rumored to be part of a package deal with Massachusetts General Hospital. Supposedly it was a marketing deal / partnership which had nothing to do with on the field performance and absolutely something Terry Francona had no control over. Could Francona be paying the price for that partnership today? I'm guessing Dr. Bill Morgan wouldn't be anonymously talking about a patient's prescriptions but this new group of "medical professionals" seemingly have no such compunctions.

Of course this is speculation and I'm not a doctor but as a fan I have to wonder why Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz were allowed to play hurt. Pedroia ended up having his knee scoped in June and was immediately a different player. What if that healthy Pedroia started the season? Would that have been worth an extra win or two? Two more wins and the Red Sox are still playing. What about Clay Buchholz? When did he really get hurt and why did the rehab seemingly take so damn long?

Remember how badly misdiagnosed Jacoby Ellsbury was last season? I guess that's Terry Francona's fault too.

Boston is supposed to have some of the best hospitals and doctors in the world. You would never know that looking at the health of the Red Sox these past few seasons. If I were a Red Sox player I would get a second opinion on anything the Red Sox medical staff said.