As many of you have probably read by know there was a big article on the failure of the Red Sox on Boston.com today (To read CLICK HERE). As DP pointed out earlier there was a part that said Francona has some problems with his wife, and take painkillers. DP was also ripping me for making jokes on how we rip everyone who leaves Boston. After reading this I am just not sure what to think anymore...
The article goes on to say how Beckett basically didn't give a shit once he dropped out of the Cy Young race, and was seen eating/drinking a ton more and playing video games during game instead of supporting his teammates. He wasn't the only one, as the article also goes on to say that Lester/Lackey also took up these kinds of activities. They liked it so much they even were shown in the "I like beer" music video.
If that wasn't enough, it calls Wakefield basically a self absorbed douchebag during his chase for 200th win.
That not enough drama for you?
The article also points out that when the hurricane came and the Red Sox owners moved the game up and played a doubleheader the players revolted. The owners tried to calm them down by giving them $300 headphones, and a trip to Henry's yacht. Doesn't seem like that worked. After the hurricane the Red Sox never won 2 games in a row the rest of the season.
Still not enough?
Ok, there are also reports that Francona asked Lester, Lackey, and Beckett to join the Red Sox on the bench while they battled for their postseason lives during September. They declined.
The article goes on to say that Pedroia was one of the few players that truly tried to get this team going. Ortiz did hold a team meeting in September, but it's hard to imagine a lot of people took him seriously afer "bursting into a Francona news conference to profanely complain about a scorer’s decision that could have cost him credit for batting in a run". Plus, publicly questioning the coach by saying Aceves should be starting.
Where was Tek? People say he was less interested as he was batting .077, and injuries.
What about Ellsbury? Well, after getting called out by Youk before the article indicates that he only really talks to Lowrie, and that's about it.
There didn't seem to be many complaints about Gonzalez, just that he really isn't a leader.
With Francona gone, and Theo on his way out there is no one left to blame, but the player. I'll end this post the same way the article does...
“We have to hold ourselves more accountable,’’ Pedroia said. “That has nothing to do with the manager or coaches. On the great major league teams, players police each other, so we’ll get back to doing that.’’
In the end, that's all that's left. We can keep ripping the GM, the manager, and so on, but they are all gone. One thing we can probably all agree on is this has to be the most unlikeable Red Sox team of all-time.
Yet, was it really THIS bad?
Beckett - Fat/Drunk/self absorbed
Lester - Fat/Drunk/Bad teammate
Wake - Self absorbed
Lackey - Terrible husband/Drunk/Fat/Bad Teammate
Ortiz - Self absorbed
Youk - Angry/calling out teammates
Ellsbury - Seperates himself from everyone/Nonleader
Tek - Worn out
Francona - Drugs/Lost control
Gonzalez - Nonleader
Epstein - Fighting with manager/fighting with owners over signings
Owners - Sending lineups card/fighting with players
Maybe it was, maybe everything just went to hell. I also just caution a little bit that this is Boston, and when things don't go well, especially with the Red Sox, all hell breaks loose.
Is it like Nomar explained?
"For me, what it's more about it just seeing the pattern," he said. "What I've come to realize is it's happened all along. It's the history here, in Boston. If we want to go through the list real quick: Terry Francona's coming out. A guy who's had tremendous success in that uniform, brought two championships, tremendous manager. Before he left, before this is going on, and now we're taking a personal rip on him.
"You had guys like Pedro Martinez before him. We had Manny Ramirez. We had Johnny Damon we had to take personal rips on. Before Johnny, before Manny, then you've got Derek Lowe. Then you have myself. Then there was Mo Vaughn, And then there was Roger Clemens. And then there was Jim Rice. And then there was Carl Yastrzemski. And then there's a guy by the name of Ted Williams. There is a distinguished list here that goes on. And if I'm part of that list, thank you very much. I'm very proud to be on it. But I don't take it personally. I just think that's what comes with it. And I think now people are starting to understand this is what comes with it. Why can't we just part ways (WEEI)?"
Then again, maybe this was just the team from hell.
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