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March 19, 2008

Red Sox Refuse To Take The Field

1 PM Update: Red Sox win standoff with MLB. Game on!

***

The issue has not been resolved and the Red Sox have not taken the field. The game was supposed to begin about 10 minutes ago.

ProJo Blog:
Jason Varitek just said the Red Sox are not going to play today's game until "MLB gets this straightened out." When asked if the club would be going to Japan, he replied: "We'll wait and see."
It has also been reported that MLB also reneged on a promise to allow family to travel with the players during the trip.

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Mike Lowell:
It's not just the coaches, it's the staff, the trainers, a lot of people are affected by this," said Lowell. "I'm so super proud of this team. When we put it to a vote it was unanimous, we're all in agreement that we're not going to put up with this.
Curt Schilling:
It’s wrong, it’s wrong. It was part of the basic agreement when we talked about it last year. The coaching staff was part of the conversation, we all heard it. It’s not really surprising because the coaches and staff are people generally who have always been overlooked and undervalued.
Terry Francona:
We’re spending energy on something we don’t want to spend it on. I don’t understand it. I was embarrassed this morning. I had to tell them, "Hey, that money you may have already spent, go get it back." ... I did not have an off day yesterday. I had the phone glued to my ear because I was promised some answers and I haven’t even received a phone call. ... What I want to do this morning is get excited to play a baseball game and what I ended up doing is apologizing to the coaches and being humiliated.
Schilling:
Some of the things that have been promised to us have already been taken away. From the players' standpoint, we all felt the same way. This can't happen. ... They [MLB] wanted this trip to happen so badly, a lot of promises were made and they're falling by the wayside time and again. [The coaches being paid] is something we were adamant about at the time and we've reiterated it multiple times.
Stay tuned ....

49 comments:

  1. I'll try to post stuff as I find it. Game is on ESPN.

    Globe's Cafardo: "Apparently things aren't going too well."

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  2. Red Sox players have left their dugout and have gone to clubhouse.

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  3. This is crazy! I'm watching on NESN and ESPN2. No players on field. This fucking rules! Fight the power!

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  4. Amazing that MLB let this go this far. I was positive that the bad press this morning would lead them to immediately re-agree to their promises. But no.

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  5. Shades of Game 5 of the 1918 World Series!!!

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  6. Sean McAdam: "The Red Sox just made an announcement over the PA system here at City of Palms Ballpark, telling fans that the start of today's game -- scheduled for 12:05 -- will be delayed "because of a dispute between Red Sox players and the Major League Players Assoctiation and Major League Baseball."

    Predictably, that was met with a chorus of boos from the fans, who were unaware of the dispute which arose this morning.

    The Sox have announced that if the game doesn't start by 12:30, the players will be available to sign autographs for the the fans in attendance."

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  7. Cafardo mentioning the WS thing. Says he believes it was the 1907 WS.

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  8. Yankee beat writer Peter Abraham, who I thought I liked:

    "Remember when Boston GM Theo Epstein said how his team was together on going to Japan and couldn't complain about it? Yeah, not so much.

    Boston's players are all up in arms over their coaches not getting paid extra and may boycott today's game in Fort Myers. Thanks for coming to down to Florida to see us play!

    So let's review. The Yankees are charitable men of honor who help their fellow man in a time of need. The Sox are a greedy disgrace to the game."

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  9. We'd see how "greedy" Abraham was if his boss told him he wasn't getting paid.

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  10. Choker coaches and trainers got paid. As per their agreement.

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  11. Isn't Abraham supposed to be a reporter, not a Yankee shill? Thats some pretty disgraceful writing there.

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  12. Newspaper: Yo Pete, remember that raise we agreed to give you?

    Abraham: Sure. I really needed that dough.

    Newspaper: Well, we decided to take to back. Now get to work.

    Abraham: Yes sir! I was feeling a bit greedy for accepting it anyway.

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  13. NESN says the A's voted unanimously to do the same as the Red Sox!

    Woo-hoo!!!!

    ...

    Gotta fuck over the coaches so Bud can pocket his $15 million this year.

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  14. Maybe he was being sarcastic?

    If so, he hides it well.

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  15. I guess Peter "Raises are da Debil!" Abraham better break out his whupp'n stick on the A's too.

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  16. Reminds me of when Lupica would rag on players for going elsewhere for more $$$ -- he's changed newspaper jobs about eleventy-six times for better pay.

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  17. Guy in crowd holding a check out to NESN camera: "Pay the coaches, pay the coaches!"

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  18. SoSH:

    Jackie MacMullen on ESPN Radio [paraphrased]:
    MLB "nickel and diming" the Sox...promised the "moon and stars" to get the Sox to agree to the game...stiffing the coaches and trainers on a "promised" stipend...this has to be solved very soon--not days but hours....Commish looks bad....Sox players are "admirable"....

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  19. Well, this goodwill trip to bring the great game of baseball to Japan is off to a fantastic start!

    Good for you, Bud.

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  20. Is this for real?

    ***
    SoSHer bsj:
    Ft. Myers police have been mobilized?
    What is going on down there?
    FYI- Apologies if this is a game thread-esque posting...this is just developing very strangely before our eyes...
    ***

    ???

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  21. NESN not saying anything about mobilization... ESPN just had Hickman interviewing Stark, now on commercial. NESN just recapping stuff now.

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  22. My mom was down there, i think over the weekend. She mentioned the possibility of going to a game - I wonder if this is the one...heh

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  23. Three cops standing behind plte. Is that a "mobilization"?

    Jeremy Kapstein on cell phone in front of dugout on field....

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  24. Shit!

    FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Six Fort Myers police officers, along with stadium security, are now surrounding the warning track at the perimeter of the dugouts, so an announcement may be imminent.

    ***

    Do they do that for "good" announcements?

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  25. Players coming out. Lowell stretching on field. You k coming on field. I'd say game on....

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  26. I want a riot!

    True! This is one of those things that I wanted to be resolved bloodily.

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  27. Aardsmaaaa to staaaart. 1:10 PM. Don't know what that cop story was...

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  28. Bradford on EEI saying "the players got what they wanted"

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  29. "matter has been resolved" per NESN

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  30. Herald: "Red Sox players (and coaches) win"

    Solidarity!!

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  31. That was fun!

    Now back to work.

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  32. Herald: "On his way to the minor-league complex to make his re-jiggered start, Daisuke Matsuzaka told Japanese reporters, "I was cut.""

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  33. "On his way to the minor-league complex to make his re-jiggered start, Daisuke Matsuzaka told Japanese reporters, “I was cut.”"

    lmao, awesome.

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  34. That was fun!

    Now back to work.


    Yup, back to reality.

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  35. I'm going to assume Pete Abraham was being sarcastic and getting into the meta-narrative of it all...

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  36. And the game starts in extra-scrappy fashion, Pedroia throwing out Eckstein.

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  37. I am convinced---this will be the BEST SEASON EVER!!!!!

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  38. Solidarity forever.
    Solidarity forever.
    Solidarity forever.
    For the union makes us strong.

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  39. I was humming that too, phrenile.

    My heart swells.

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  40. You guys should be pretty fracking proud of your team today. They did themselves and the game of baseball proud. Well done.

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  41. It was fun to read this recap. I was too busy to follow it today -- busy getting shitcanned from my law office job. The firm had to cut staff because the 25-year-olds out of law school have to have their $160k a year.

    Fortunately, it's only one of my jobs, and not the good one (teaching college is very satisfying, even part time.)

    On top of that, the firm is scrambling to hire me as a contractor now because I'm the only person on earth that knows the particular corner of the money-grubbing world they need tended.

    I apologize for the personal rant -- it just seemed to have some resonance with the Sox' little labor strike as well as the anti-war protests that swept through San Francisco (and elsewhere, I hope) today.

    I am proud of the team.

    And fuck Peter Abraham.

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