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September 30, 2011

Pedroia: "I Wish I Could Have Played My Whole Career For Him"

When Terry Francona expressed frustration this evening about his "inability to reach guys I've been able to [reach] in the past" and how certain players exhibited a "sense of entitlement" while he "wanted desperately for our guys to care about each other on the field", we may not know exactly which players he was referring to (though we have a few clues in various news articles).

But we know he wasn't talking about Dustin Pedroia:
[T]he biggest thing that I am upset with, and I think a lot of guys are upset with, is the accountability of each other. It's not the manager's fault. We need to hold ourselves more accountable as a team, as players. There are a lot of things that went on that was disrespectful and we played like it. ...

[H]e gave me a chance when I was struggling as a rookie. I was hitting .150 and he stood by me and helped me become the player that I am today. I'll forever remember that. ... I hope he gets a job in the National League for a team that we don't get a chance to play because it would be like playing against one of my family members.

I love him. ... [H]e's done everything for me in the five years I've been in the big leagues. My heart's broken for him and I wish he was back and I wish I could have played my whole career for him.
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7 comments:

  1. johngoldfineSeptember 30, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    Fuck yeah! This is one last great PA for FY in 2011.

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  2. timSeptember 30, 2011 at 8:29 PM

    I wonder why Schilling grouped him with "the Ellsburys, the Papelbons, the Variteks"

    He seems like he is ready to lead this team going forward.

    Ellsbury, yeah, I can see him being a great player, doesn't seem to be a leader type. Papelbon seems like a dirtbag, Varitek just doesn't appear to give a shit.

    Of course, this is my TV-watching, comment reading, extremely narrow view of the situation. I have no idea what goes on in that clubhouse.

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  3. laura kOctober 1, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    Beautiful statement. It's wonderful to hear a professional athlete be so open emotionally - and eloquent, really. As John said, one last "Fuck Yeah!" for 2011.

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  4. GeoffOctober 1, 2011 at 8:41 AM

    Very sad to see Tito go. Glad to see Pedroia stand up for his manager

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  5. PatrickOctober 1, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    I want to see the 'C' on Pedroia's jersey. I love Varitek, and he has been our captain, but jesus, Pedroia is the life and soul of the team right now.

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  6. accudartOctober 1, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    I'm very sad to Terry leave and it didn't need to happen. What I took from his press conference last night was that had the front office given him more security in his contract that even this brutal Sept. wouldn't have driven him out the door. If I'm right, why didn't the Sox sign him to a 4 year deal or so. It's not like it cost a lot of money to eat a manger salary if you want to fire him.

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  7. allanOctober 1, 2011 at 12:51 PM

    What I took from his press conference last night was that had the front office given him more security in his contract that even this brutal Sept. wouldn't have driven him out the door.

    It sounds like the atmosphere among some of the players had changed, Tito had tried to get them back on track, and that had failed. The FO saw that it had failed. Maybe what the FO wanted him to do next year was not his style (he made a point of saying he had to be true to himself). And maybe some of the entitled assholes have long-term contracts and would be around for awhile. I think Tito saw the situation as unworkable, if some important players had tuned him out for good. He didn't want to be "someone else" just to keep his job (that would be miserable). Maybe they were going to let him go - since it is always easier to fire one guy than dump 7 (or however many) players - and maybe he quit first.

    It also seems like for part of yesterday's meeting(s), Theo was fighting for the team to keep Tito - Theo said something about "we" went in to talk to ownership -- but it did not good. It was suggested that Tito think things over for the weekend, and I think that was one of the times he left and then drove back, saying he wasn't going to do that. Then the evening press conf. was announced.

    I'd be shocked if Lackey wasn't one of the shitheads. Sounds like Yook was a huge pain in the ass, Beckett was out of shape and pitched like shit in Sept., Wakefield said fans "deserved" to see him keep trying for the win record. And Ortiz questioned not starting Aceves earlier in the month. (Interesting that in addition to the conditioning questions, there was talk of bad fundementals. We sure did see a shitton of asinine baserunning this year.)

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