As I’m sure most of you have already heard, Jon Lester broke his silence on Monday when he gave a lengthy interview discussing the details of what occurred in the clubhouse this season. While a few of his admissions came off as less than favorable to some, I admired the candid nature in which he spoke. He seemed to be honest and direct; took responsibility for his actions; and tried to clear up some of the rumors, innuendos, and misconceptions that have been spreading like wildfire as of late.
Regrettably, his candid nature didn’t win Lester many friends with either the fan base or the media. Honestly, I can’t say I’m surprised. To use a tired cliche, both the Boston sports media and Red Sox Nation are like sharks. The September collapse and post-collapse story lines are the blood. Once those two groups sensed the blood in the water, they attacked. Frequently, as we’ve seen, these attacks occur without certifiable proof or rational thought. They’re based on innuendo and second hand stories by shadowy unnamed sources, and are often blown out of proportion.
Enter Dan Shaughnessy. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Shaughnessy over the years it’s that he never lets facts get in the way of a good narrative. To be fair, it’s a tremendous narrative. On one hand, I can’t blame him for taking full advantage of it. On the other, it sickens me to know that he’s sacrificing his integrity to grossly exaggerate a non-story in hopes of satisfying his intense need for attention. Nevertheless, his latest disasterpiece on the never-ending “chicken, beer, and video game” news cycle was certainly one to behold.
“Your turn, Josh Beckett. You, too, John Lackey. Time for the rest of the beer-swillin’, biscuit-eatin’, fried-chicken munchin’ Red Sox starting pitchers to fess up.
The 1919 Chicago White Sox had Eight Men Out. The 2011 Red Sox have Three Men and a Bucket of Popeye’s.”
Wow. He didn’t even wait to slather on the hyperbole this time. He jumped right in, and demanded that Josh Beckett and John Lackey “fess up” for doing something baseball players have been doing for decades. If I could ask Shaughnessy one question, it would be: “Would an apology from Beckett and Lackey make things better?” I really don’t think it would. At this point, with the exception of maybe Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon, everyone on this team is “tainted.” If they speak, they’re widely criticized. If they don’t speak, they’re considered selfish and ungrateful. It’s a “no-win” situation for all of the parties involved.
Then, he goes and loosely compares them to the 1919 Black Sox. Yes, I can definitely see the resemblence between the two teams. One team threw a World Series in order to win some extra money off of shady gamblers, while other rode a perfect storm of poor performance and injuries to a brutal 7-20 finish. It’s almost like looking into a mirror…
“The Red Sox’ hideous offseason of 2011 continues, and yesterday we had more truth set free when Jon Lester returned a phone call from the Globe’s Peter Abraham and confirmed information that until now had been only a “sourced report’’ – instead of staying on the bench pulling for their struggling teammates, Sox starting pitchers were back in the clubhouse drinking beer and diving into the 16-piece family meal ($31.99, includes three large sides and eight biscuits) during the season.”
Actually Dan, David Ortiz confirmed the rumors of “chicken, beer, and video games” in the clubhouse last week in an interview with ESPN. I watched it. While he expressed that he would’ve loved to have his teammates on the bench cheering the team on, he admitted it wasn’t a huge deal. In fact, he went on to say that a lot of that stuff had been going on since he joined the team in 2003. That said, it’s nice to see that you put a lot of effort into investigating the cost of a 16-piece family meal from Popeyes, but chose to ignore an interview by the team’s most visible player.
“In addition to admitting the beer/chicken report, Lester gave up something that reflects poorly on the managerial reign of Terry Francona.
‘People knew how Tito was and we pushed the envelope with it,’’ said Lester. “We never had rules; we never had that iron-fist mentality.’
Wow. Francona’s still got steel-belted radial tracks on his backside from last week’s Bob Hohler opus, and now one of his trusted warriors has tossed him under the Fenway Fung Wah.
(snip)
“And now we get the truth we feared all along; the inmates were running the asylum. Francona treated them like men and they responded by walking all over him. He bit his lip and took bullets for his guys and this is how they rewarded him. The ‘players’ manager’ wound up getting treated like the ‘players’ doormat.’”
I get the fact that Terry Francona was managing adults. Theoretically, his players should have been able to police themselves, and show up prepared to work every day. Right? We all know it doesn’t work that way, though. Everyone has been in a job where they’ve worked with grown men and women that slack with regularity. They show up late to work, turn in assignments late, take long lunches, “forget” to answer emails, and occasionally make inappropriate comments. The same is true of a MLB clubhouse. Just because they’re being paid millions of dollars a year, it doesn’t mean they’re immune to the same character traits that plague you and me.
As the manager, it was Francona’s responsibility to recognize the atmosphere permeating through the clubhouse, assess the situation, and manage the personalities accordingly. If that meant establishing a few unpopular rules, so be it. If he had to either assess fines or bench players for breaking said rules, that’s what he should have done. I’m not trying to shift blame from the players to Francona. Instead, I’m trying to show that his managerial style stopped working, and maybe he didn’t do enough to reign the players back in.
Was it right for the players to “push the envelope?” Probably not. Still, it’s perfectly natural for people to try and stretch the boundaries set by an authoritarian figure. As children, we tested our parents in the same manner. Today, we do it with our bosses and spouses. This situation is no different. The players pushed, and Francona didn’t push back. As a result, they kept on pushing. Clearly, they pushed too far as their manager chose to leave because he felt his authority was no longer sufficient. It’s an unfortunate situation, but it may be best for both the players and the team.
“It’s going to be difficult to convince fans of that. And the Sox would be crazy to bring all three of these guys back.”
Luckily, the organization doesn’t consult the media or fans when making roster decisions. If they did, the Red Sox likely wouldn’t have won the 2007 championship because they would’ve been stuck with a roster full of aging players that had passed their prime. Just saying…
“Lackey simply has to go. He’s coming off the worst season by a starting pitcher in more than a century of Red Sox baseball, and he’s regularly shown up his teammates and his manager. Bookend all that with his TMZ personal issues and his place in the biscuit brigade and you’ve got a local pariah on a par with none other. The Red Sox are on the hook for three more years to the tune of $45.5 million, but they simply cannot bring him back. Even if they have to eat most of the money. Or all the money.”
This is classic Shaughnessy. He identifies the problem (Lackey), but doesn’t give a reasonable solution. While I agree it’s going to be tough moving him given his issues both on and off the field; suggesting the Red Sox not only trade him to an undisclosed team, but also eat every last bite of his remaining contract is ridiculous. There’s absolutely no way ownership will every agree to such a deal. It would’ve been nice to see him provide some actual analysis by showing us not only potential landing spots for troubled starting pitcher, but also expected compensation. Sadly, that didn’t fit the motif of blind, misdirected rage.
“Loyal folks who empty their pockets year after year in support of this team are never going to understand or get over this. Players, media members, and front office folks can talk about the ‘baseball culture,’ and explain that there was nothing extraordinary about what the Sox pitchers were doing, but nobody’s going to buy it.
(snip)
We applaud Lester for coming forward. Unfortunately, his statements are only going to amplify the noise. The admissions certify the notion that the 2011 Sox are destined to be remembered as perhaps the most loathed Boston team in history.”
The reason that “nobody’s going to buy it,” is because people like Dan Shaughnessy and many of his cohorts in the media are choosing (yes, choosing) to blow this ordeal out of proportion. If they wanted to present the facts in a fair, rational manner, they could do it. They’re not doing it because the narrative is sexier than the truth. Had the Red Sox made the playoffs, or even won the World Series, we’d be talking about how “chicken, beer, and video games” helped unite the clubhouse. Don’t believe me? Maybe we should ask Kevin Millar, Johnny Damon, and the rest of the Idiots about their pre-, post-, and mid-game activities…