Animal House Or Red Sox Clubhouse?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wow! That’s pretty much the reaction of Red Sox Nation to a story in Wednesday’s Boston Globe which details the behind the scenes chicanery which was taking place during the Red Sox September collapse.
According to the Globe, Boston’s three top starters – Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey were “drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken and playing video games in the clubhouse while their teammates tried to salvage a once promising season.” Ouch!
If these allegations are indeed true, you can see why it was time for Terry Francona to go. For Francona, there were only three possibilities regarding his handling of the outright disrespect Beckett, Lester and Lackey were showing him, their teammates and the organization.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFirst, it is possible that Francona didn’t even know that such activity was going on in which case his lack of awareness could be considered grounds for termination. Second, it is possible that he knew of this activity but chose to do nothing about it which would also be good reason to let him walk. The last scenario would be that he knew about it and tried to do something about it but his words fell on deaf ears.
Whichever scenario you subscribe to, none of them paint Francona in a positive light.
But this is more about the players. How dare this trio show such blatant disrespect for the game they get so handsomely compensated to play. Do these men have any pride or self-respect? Do they respect others such as their teammates or their manager or the man that signs their paychecks? The answer to these questions is: apparently not.
No one is suggesting that the players not be allowed to have a beer in the clubhouse after the game. But during the game? What’s wrong with them?
The story also details how the team’s strength and conditioning coach Dave Page pleaded with the pitchers to work harder on their exercise regimens which they had cut back on throughout the course of the year but to no avail. Instead, the pitchers packed on the pounds and watched the losses pile up leading to the team’s historic September collapse.
It’s somewhat ironic that most of Boston vilified Manny Ramirez as being a “quitter” while he was here. Unlike the Mo, Larry and Curly of the Sox’ rotation, at least Ramirez produced on the field amidst all of his childish antics.
You wonder if we would have heard of any of this had the Red Sox won in September and made it into the playoffs. If we had, it probably would have had a positive spin to it as being something that kept the team “loose” allowing them to be a playoff team.
That’s the funny thing. Winning is the cure-all. But this team didn’t win. They suffered through the most embarrassing September collapse in the history of Major League Baseball meaning heads must roll.
Terry Francona already paid the ultimate price by losing his job and it appears that GM Theo Epstein is right behind him. But what will be done to the players? Maybe the question should be, what CAN be done to the players?
In this day and age of guaranteed contracts, there seems to be little repercussion for their sins.
I suppose that bringing in a no-nonsense manager who is a disciplinarian would be a good start to reeling in the clubhouse. But will that really take care of the problem?
Ultimately, what needs to happen is for Beckett, Lester and Lackey to look in the mirror and man-up to their disgraceful behavior. They should apologize to team owner John Henry and their teammates and promise that it won’t happen again. And while they’re at it, phone calls and apologies to Tito and Theo would also be appropriate.
After that, they should work hard to come into camp next February in the best condition possible and dedicate themselves to having as strong a season in 2012 as they have ever had.
That’s what SHOULD happen. Which is entirely different from what likely WILL happen.
What we’re more likely to see is either no response or a flat out denial from the trio followed by curt or no responses to the media that covers the team next season. If that’s the case, it will tell us all that we need to know about the character, or lack thereof, of all three of them.
NOTES:
-In typical Red Sox fashion, ownership appears to be trying to smear another member of the organization on the way out the door. That same Boston Globe story quotes team sources who suggested that Terry Francona “lost his ability to prevent some of the lax behavior that characterized the clubhouse.” The team sources also said that Francona was distracted by marital problems and the fact that he was popping pain pills for medical reasons.
It is absolutely shameful the way that this ownership group consistently smears those who are on their way out the door and how they feel the need to scapegoat people for what often are their own shortcomings.
-Dustin Pedroia went on WEEI’s “Big Show” Wednesday and refused to throw Beckett, Lester or Lackey under the bus for their alleged beer drinking in the clubhouse. Pedroia took the high road saying, “we’re all family” in his interview.
-In retrospect, it may be easier to understand why newcomer Carl Crawford had such a difficult time adjusting to life in Boston. He went from a club which worked tirelessly to compete with the likes of the Yankees and Red Sox each year to a club of selfish fat cats who treated the clubhouse more like the Delta Tau Chi frat house in “Animal House” than a place where professional baseball players prepare to play ball. We can criticize Crawford all we want for his lack of productivity in 2011, but by all accounts he was a hard worker from day 1 until the end of the season which is obviously more than we can say for some of his teammates.
-The latest report on Theo Epstein’s departure from Boston to join the Cubs has Red Sox ownership seeking money rather than prospects in return for their GM. The reports also say that Epstein has been offered a 5-year deal worth $20 million dollars to become Chicago’s team president and GM.
