Inside the Red Sox meltdown

[Double Down]

Kicking dirt on Francona on his way out the door is pathetic, and the more I think about it, the Globe carrying someone's water on the prescription pills thing makes me totally uncomfortable. It's sort of sad the way some things always remain true about Boston. As Gee said, when you leave, it can never be just because it's time for a change, it has to be because you're a bad person, according to management/ownership (and it doesn't seem to matter who management/ownership is). The way the Sox constantly obsess over spinning their fanbase is bizarre.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

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?

I don't know about now, but it's happened for years. Heck, in Game 6 of the '86 World Series, Hernandez was sitting in Davey Johnson's office for the 10th inning, getting plastered because he was so depressed. And Kevin Mitchell was already undressed when they called on him to pinch-hit. He had to throw his uniform back on.

The other thing that I found funny about the story was how Sox management gave the players $300 headphones and a night out on Henry's yacht. Like the majority of those millionaries can't afford $300 headphones.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

In 2004, on a road trip to the Coast, Derek Lowe was driven off the mound in Anaheim in like the fourth inning, one in a string of horse**** performances. When we reporters got to the clubhouse after the game, Lowe was more than slightly drunk. That's a guy who was IN a damn game.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

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.

Boy, do you get it.

 

[93Devil]

In 2004, on a road trip to the Coast, Derek Lowe was driven off the mound in Anaheim in like the fourth inning, one in a string of horse**** performances. When we reporters got to the clubhouse after the game, Lowe was more than slightly drunk. That's a guy who was IN a damn game.

But he could not re-enter the game once he was taken out. To me there is a big difference, even though neither is kosher.

 

[Bubbler]

There's a trail of slime underneath the lyrics to Sweet Caroline.

Which has nothing to do with the Red Sox. :D

 

[Michael_ Gee]

93, that's true enough. I forgot to add that Lowe went from the Highway to Hell to one of the heroes of the team's first World Series win in 86 years and has been a well-paid and reasonably productive player ever since (sucked this year). It's all retroactive morality. The '04 Sox win, everybody's a hero. The '11 Sox lose, they're all degenerates. It's nonsense. Ballplayers are really insecure yet egomaniacal people locked in a claustrophobic world for months on end under severe stress. Winning or losing, they all act out. You only hear about the losers doing it.

 

[terrier]

This dates back even to Sox management's treatment of Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn when they left town. Particularly Vaughn, who was still pretty popular, so management had to pump out the tales of food and strip clubs.
They're definitely going Jerry Bruckheimer here. I don't expect to recognize this club next spring. I would not be shocked to see Beckett and/or even Lester dealt to reload the farm system, particularly since Anthony Ranaudo won't be ready for the rotation until at least '13.
If I accept this story at face value, I would not blame Ellsbury a bit for leaving. Since nobody came out and supported him last year when he was under fire, I don't blame him for not wanting to take part in the ass-kissing.
The record sellout streak ends Tuesday, May 1, against Oakland (the first homestand is Rays, Rangers and Yankees).
As far as misbehavior, the marital (and extramarital) track record of the '04 Sox merits a look.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Good luck dealing Lester and Beckett. You'll get tenths of pennies on the dollar and wind up with Tim Wakefield as your Opening Day pitcher.

 

[Stitch]

How many other teams have papers as "house organs"? I'd think the Denver Post is the house organ of the Rockies based on the DNA being a limited partner.

 

[SnoopyBoy]

Drinking openly in the clubhouse after games has disappeared in the last few years. In visiting clubhouse, such as Cincinnati, beer would be rolled in on a cooler after games, but very little was consumed really.

Most players would rather go out to a bar on the road than sit in the clubhouse, and at home players generally split quickly.

Since think the death of that Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock a few years ago, I've noticed less and less beer provided on road. Even in the coolers in the visiting managers' office, which seemed to always have a stockpile of beer on the road.

 

[Gehrig]

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 ****.

Local article wrote about drinking in the clubhouse too. Yes, during games. Said one of Francona's reasons for leaving was these "discipline issues".

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Lengthy profile of Ben Cherington by Alex Speier.

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2011/10/12/heir-apparent-how-ben-cherington-emerged-theo-

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2011/10/12/peter-gammons-on-mm-im-pretty-sickened-by-trashing-of-terry-francona/

"I must say, I’m pretty sickened,” Gammons said. “I don’t need the Terry Francona out-the-door trashing. It’ll be interesting to see if they can screw it all up and trash Theo [Epstein] once he leaves. … It doesn’t speak really well about the way Tito left and the things he said, and the way Theo’s leaving, about how insane New England has become."

“That’s my feeling on it, it’s just going to happen now with Theo, too. It’s not attractive. When I read this at, whatever, 4 o’clock in the morning here in St. Louis. I went, ‘Why?’ … A couple of players texted me, ‘Who in the world would read this?’ … It may be that some people in ownership think that Theo betrayed them. Maybe in the next week, we’ll get the owners of the Red Sox, the New York Times corporation, will trash Theo, too.”

 

[CarltonBanks]

How many other teams have papers as "house organs"? I'd think the Denver Post is the house organ of the Rockies based on the DNA being a limited partner.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has minority ownership in the Pirates. I think they put money into the team to keep it in Pittsburgh a few years ago.

 

[wicked]

I'm pretty sure the Nuttings have bought out most if not all of the limited partners.

Which reminds me ... the Ogden papers have a lot of see no evil, hear no evil when it comes to the Buccos.

 

[Double Down]

I think Curt Schilling is one of the biggest blowhards in sports (although I loved watching him compete), but he's saying some pretty good stuff on Baseball Tonight right now. Ownership is absolutely behind the character assassination of Tito, ownership completely destroyed the credibility of the franchise that Theo and Tito spend nine years building, free agents won't come to Boston because of this, Lackey will never pitch for Boston again, and he believes everything in the article is true after being in the big leagues for 20 years, but the fact that ownership felt it was necessary to hammer Tito and Theo on the way out of town when most of the fanbase was ready for a change shows how little class they have. "They're bad, bad people," Schilling said, referring to ownership.

 

[Chef2]

I heard a story that on off-days, Smoltz and Glavine would show up to Turner just a few minutes before first pitch, throw on their pants and a pullover and call it good.

That, however, is a far cry from drinking beer in the clubhouse during the game.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

When Curt Schilling and I agree, the end times are upon us. But I do.

 

[wicked]

Schilling has an ax to bear here, too. He's carried Tito's water for a long time. Forgive me if I take his comments, which do sound very plausible, with a touch of skepticism.