Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey had a
habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season. ...There is more (buying the players $300 headphones?!?!), including Theo Epstein being explicitly fingered as the man who pushed against management's doubts to sign Carl Crawford. If Epstein is truly having a "heart vs head" debate about whether to head to Chicago, waking up this morning to this article may clear his mind.
Francona spent the season living in a hotel after he moved out of the Brookline home he shared with Jacque, his wife of nearly 30 years. But he adamantly denied his marital problems affected his job performance. ... Team sources also expressed concern that Francona's performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication, which he also vehemently denied. ...
By all accounts, the 2011 Sox perished from a rash of relatively small indignities. For every player committed to the team's conditioning program, there was a slacker. For every Sox regular who rose early on the road to take optional batting practice, there were others who never bothered. For every player who dedicated himself to the quest for a championship, there were too many distracted by petty personal issues. ...
Sources said Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, who were joined at times by Buchholz, began the practice late in 2010. The pitchers not only continued the routine this year, sources said, but they joined a number of teammates in cutting back on their exercise regimens despite appeals from the team’s strength and conditioning coach Dave Page. ... For Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, the consequences were apparent as their body fat appeared to increase and pitching skills eroded.
Elsewhere, there is also a report of Beckett telling teammates that he no longer cared about the outcome of the season once his chances at the Cy Young faded away. Lou Merloni stated on WEEI this morning that the team meeting in Toronto was focused on Beckett.
Hohler lists Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Alfredo Aceves, and Jonathan Papelbon among the team's hardest workers. WEEI's Rob Bradford writes that he does not completely agree with the characterization of Ellsbury's relationship with his teammates as "chilled" after 2010's Ribgate.
Ellsbury clearly socialized and regularly interacted with more than just one player — Jed Lowrie — as the report suggested.A dysfunctional team can win (e.g., 1972-74 A's and 1977-78 Yankees, for two famous examples), but the wide-spread unprofessionalism - like when at least 4/5 of your starting rotation has oodles of time to eat fried chicken and play video games, but not to exercise - is a sign that things are seriously fucked up.
The big questions are: How much housecleaning has to be done to demonstrate that a weekend softball beer-league mentality will not be tolerated, and who gets cut loose or traded?
Wakefield and Varitek will probably not return in 2012, and that has as much, if not more, to do with their declining skills as any behind-the-scenes issues. Still, Pedroia was the only player to speak on the record to the Globe, while Varitek, the team's captain, "chastised a reporter for calling him at home and otherwise declined to comment".
Looking at the "I Like Beer" trio: Beckett and Lackey are both signed through 2014, with Beckett making $15.75 per and Lackey at $15.25. The team could get more value for Beckett (though he has 10-5 rights), but how can Lackey remain in Boston? The boos he got in September will likely seem like cheers compared to the reception he'll hear next spring.
Beckett, in a late August interview:
Baseball isn't my No. 1 priority anymore. ... I definitely find myself thinking about [my wife Holly and the baby] whereas a lot of times I used to be thinking about how I was going to get this guy out, or what I needed to do that day. ... I have three more years of obligation here and at that point my family is going to be even more important ... Can we get a job closer to home? Do we want to play in Boston still? Do we want to go out to the West Coast and be in the nice weather?Lester has two years remaining, with 2012 coming at the bargain rate of $7.6 (he will be paid $11.6 in 2013 and the team has a $13 option for 2014).
Kevin Youkilis, who has been hampered by injuries and, according to the Globe, "by nearly all accounts, grew more detached and short-tempered as he tried to play through his ailments", is in the final year of his contract, though the club holds an option for 2013.
As if that wasn't enough, SoSHer BroodsSexton points out: "There is going to be a constant effort by the press to stir shit up next year based upon the expectations set by these stories."
If only the team could get rid of the mediots who believe they are (or deserve to be) co-stars in the on-going story (drama, soap opera) of the Red Sox. But they can't, so we have to tolerate people like Peter Abraham, who suggests (with a straight face) that the Red Sox allow possible managerial candidates to be interviewed by the local media as part of the team's evaluation process.
[Other pertinent articles linked in comments]
I already posted my reaction to that article under the Theo post below. I am too lazy to retype it, but suffice it to say I am just not feeling like there is much reason to root for this team right now. But for Pedroia and the fact that they play in Boston, this team holds little attraction for me at this moment.
ReplyDeleteI assume I will feel differently by April. After all, I doubt there is any team that doesn't also have its problems.
Baseball isn't my No. 1 priority anymore.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's just what you want to hear from your supposed ace.
It's also terrible to think of Francona going through a separation during this crazy season. Whether or not it affected his performance, it must have been so awful for him.
Interesting, too, to see Lester prominently named as a slacker. So many people still thought of him as golden.
A dysfunctional team can win (e.g., 1972-74 A's and 1977-78 Yankees, for two famous examples), but the wide-spread unprofessionalism - like when at least 4/5 of your starting rotation has oodles of time to eat fried chicken and play video games, but not to exercise - is a sign that things are seriously fucked up.
That's the bottom line. Not who pals around with whom and who keeps to himself.
Also: I didn't think I could hate Lackey more. I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe article pains a pretty bad picture, but between those in the organization with an axe to grind and the obvious desire of the local media to point fingers, name names, and stir shit up, I'm not taking this article too seriously. I have no idea how true the accusations are and I have little faith in those leveling the accusations.
ReplyDeleteI will say though, if half that stuff is correct then Theo Epstein badly miscalculated again and again on whom to spend the organization's money.
I'm sure Francona was particularly hurt by Lester's behaviour.
ReplyDeleteTito was not going to manage for 25 years. Theo was not going to die in office at Fenway. All our favourite players will eventually move on. A lot of this kind of shit must happen everywhere - how tempting must it be to pop a cold one or sleep in and miss an optional work-out when you are 30 GB in August? That's when baseball must really become a job.
Nothing will ever be as grim for me as sifting through the ashes of 2003. Things got better. I could easily type a bunch of shit that would show how strong this team is, but you know all that already. This was 2011, not 2001.
Time was I would have stewed about 2011 for months, well into winter. Now, I closed the door on 2011 right as the ALDS began. Baseball is about failure, and hope. You can stop watching the games, switch teams, or hibernate - realize we have been blessed with a minimum of bullshit surrounding our team for the last 8 years - and come back refreshed in February.
(But not totally hibernate, since the MFY's best starter may opt out of his deal and their GM will be without a contract in less than 3 weeks.)
Big story on Crawford and Gonzalez:
ReplyDeleteCarl Crawford kept more and more to himself as the season progressed, largely because the clubhouse culture here was unlike any he'd experienced during his decade with Tampa Bay. A consummate pro, Crawford had once grabbed Pat Burrell and thrown him up against a wall, angrily telling Burrell that his unprofessional ways were not accepted in the Rays' clubhouse. Tampa Bay management had their speedy outfielder's back, trading Burrell a short time later. That's the kind of cache Crawford had in that room, and with that organization.
But in Boston, Crawford apparently felt he couldn't exert his influence because he wasn't one of the veterans who understood what the Sox organization considered acceptable and what had led them to victory. Finally, late in the season but before the team entered its death spiral, Crawford had had enough. He launched into an impassioned speech, imploring teammates to get it together. It fell on deaf ears. ...
The other big offseason acquisition, Adrian Gonzalez, was dumbfounded by the lack of professionalism that surrounded him, and couldn't believe it was allowed to continue. And while he struggled with a variety of injuries that sapped him of his power, Gonzalez still showed up, still worked, still competed. The same couldn't be said of some of his new teammates. ...
In the days that followed Francona's dismissal, very few Sox players stepped to his defense. Francona was understandably hurt by that, but it wasn't as if he didn't see it coming. Players whom Francona had defended (Varitek), supported through difficult times (David Ortiz) and considered to be almost like a son (Jon Lester) had already tuned him out long before the late collapse.
Their silence was just a reinforcement of how bad the Red Sox clubhouse had gotten and - sources reiterated - how it will remain until those responsible for it are moved out or held accountable for their failings, both on and off the field.
*********
This is promising.
Have FY, Craw, Bert, and LBJ take charge next year.
FY on WEEI at 2:30, pissed (though not drunk!). Will look for audio/transcript.
ReplyDeleteGammons:"I must say, I'm pretty sickened. I don’t need the Terry Francona out-the-door trashing. It’ll be interesting to see if they can screw it all up and trash Theo [Epstein] once he leaves."
I admire his work ethic and sentiment, but how much cache could Crawford have when he was performing like he was on the field?
ReplyDeleteA.J. Pierzynski:
ReplyDelete"The eating part doesn't surprise me. The video game part doesn't surprise me. I'm not going to say I haven't had a beer during the game. Yes, absolutely I have before. Sometimes you are just really struggling and you need something to calm you down. Let's have a beer. ... It's not a full beer. You just take a sip of a beer to take the edge off a little bit. Sometimes you just need a rally beer. If you are in extra innings, you are in about the fifteenth inning and you really need to get going again, that sometimes works for you."
But they can't, so we have to tolerate people like Peter Abraham, who suggests (with a straight face) that the Red Sox allow possible managerial candidates to be interviewed by the local media as part of the team's evaluation process.
ReplyDeleteAbraham, of course, use to be a beat writer for the Yankees. He was terrible. He loves to hear himself talk, makes as much about him as he can, attacks anyone that doesn't agree with them (he would constantly attack a commenter and later delete it), and often shows very little baseball knowledge.
I'm surprised that he's gotten as much respect as he has since coming to boston to cover the red sox. He's god awful, and I hope he eventually moves on to another team.
Have FY, Craw, Bert, and LBJ take charge next year.
ReplyDeleteNOW we're talking!
OK, perhaps I should go hibernate and come back refreshed, as you suggested, Allan. I just am really angry and disappointed and needed some place to vent. Sorry to be so negative, but it's how I am feeling.
attacks anyone that doesn't agree with them (he would constantly attack a commenter and later delete it)
ReplyDeleteHe still does that, repeatedly.
The blood is in the water big time, now.
ReplyDeleteI'm extremely skeptical about this article. The stuff about Francona - especially the allegations about painkillers - is truly low (and may actually be criminal, depending on the source). Edes, Gammons, and Keith Olbermann have all, already, come to Tito's defense. They're all worth reading.
The Olbermann piece - http://keitholbermann.mlblogs.com/2011/10/12/the-curse-of-the-lucchino/ - makes a great point. If you want to know who the sources are for this article, "follow the blame". KO says the main source for this article is ownership. I tend to believe him.
On SoSH, there are commenters who have often written "winning breeds chemistry, not the other way around". Conversely, the collapse in September breeds a lot of finger-pointing, and that's exactly what we're seeing now. Again, I think it has more to do with pitching issues than anything else, and that falls mostly on injuries, depth problems, and the utter awfulness of John Lackey. The morale issues in the clubhouse make a good story that the Globe is going to try to sell papers with. But please, take it with a grain of salt.
Edes:
ReplyDelete"Terry Francona is paying a dear price for deviating, however briefly, from the script.
He was supposed to say the decision to end his eight-year run as Red Sox manager was all his, and leave it at that. Instead, he said that he wasn't sure ownership had his back, suggesting that the reason he walked out the door was because it was held wide open for him. ...
This is how it's done, Tito, Boston-style. No one ever escapes clean ...
The Globe contacted Francona about the team's alleged concerns. Francona, according to the story, reacted strongly, noting that he has used pain medication for years due to knee and back issues stemming from the double-digit knee surgeries he has had, including knee replacements.
"I went and saw the proper people and it was not an issue," Francona said of his use of pain medication. "It never became an issue, and anybody who knew what was going on knows that."
Makes you wonder how much trust Sox players will have in their medical staff going forward, knowing that any issues they might have could be fair game for public consumption.
**********
@willmichaeliam: @GordonEdes Agree w/column but let me ask u, what's the role/responsibility of the journalist? If source gave u this info would u write it?
ReplyDeleteEdes: I knew about Tito's personal issues. Didn't feel they were germane
"Have FY, Craw, Bert, and LBJ take charge next year."
ReplyDeleteOutside of Crawford, these are the guys who performed for us this year. I would put Bot in there too and hope he is back at the tune of 2 yrs/$22m. We need him if we want any shot at a WS with this core.
Crawford will turn it around. He wants to win and so does Bert.
Nasty stuff, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteTaking a step back though I really think this is all fixable. Crawford and Gonzalez are going to be fine going forward. Lackey contract has to be eaten. Ownership knows who has to go and should be able to correct this train wreck.
This is straight out of the Billy Herman era though for sure. Going to be an interesting winter for Sawx fans.
Baseball isn't my No. 1 priority anymore. ... I have three more years of obligation here and at that point my family is going to be even more important ... Can we get a job closer to home? Do we want to play in Boston still? Do we want to go out to the West Coast and be in the nice weather?
ReplyDeleteThis is disgusting. There is nothing more important to me than family. I understand that completely. But, you don't say these things out loud...you don't have them printed. You don't denigrate your job to raise your family up. What a douche. I hope he enjoys the 'nice weather.'
Beckett might be traded. Either of the Texas teams would probably love a shot at him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe back to the Marlins straight up for Hanley Ramirez could be arranged......
pitiful.
ReplyDeleteMaybe back to the Marlins straight up for Hanley Ramirez could be arranged......
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling generous. They can have Lowell, too.
I would put Bot in there too and hope he is back at the tune of 2 yrs/$22m.
ReplyDeleteIf Papelbon took a 2/22 deal, I'd be THRILLED, but I don't think he'll be keen on accepting a pay cut. (He made $12 this year.)
Plus, I'm sure he wants more than two years as a FA.
I also posted comments in the Theo thread.
ReplyDeleteAnd...courtesy of tonights Bruins game..NEW ADS!!!!
The on-screen scoreboard now morphs into ads! YAY!!!!
Those should be hitting NESN soon enough...
I dont know if anyone else is watching the LCS games. But I am, and after watching 162 of the Red Sox and a majority of Yankee games.
ReplyDeleteI see what people are talking about . These teams seem to playing game where as when I watched the Red Sox it seemed like just wathing people work.
The energy and enthusaism these teams have is infectious and if somehow we can get that back , it would be fun to see.
It might be easy for me to say now after everything that has been written about, but these guys seem to care about each other.
And with Lester who concerns me the most, try to think back to some of his starst and his demeanor on the mound , he seemed cry about pitches alot and seemed awfully frustrated.
The new voice is going to be huge. Leaders will emerge they don't have to hit 300 or 30 Hr's. They just need to be themselves.
Rick Peterson is available. He is the actual pitching coach who developed the big three in Oakland. Not Curt Young.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was being optimistic on Bot. Maybe 3/$14m per? I doubt ownership goes beyond 3 yrs.
ReplyDeleteI have been watching parts of the games, Tim. I never get enough baseball, no matter what teams are playing. And I know exactly what you mean. It's fun to watch these teams play even though I don't really care who wins.
ReplyDeleteWinning may create chemistry, but I still say chemistry also motivates players to play well and to care enough to play hard.
Oops, that was 9Casey's comment! I should have known...he and I tend to be more old school about things like team chemistry.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but I think this is Lucchino's bid for Steinbrenner status. Since coming on board, he's been the guy who hired Epstein. In the last ten years in the Bronx it was always George who got the credit for doling out the cash and Cashman has played second fiddle. Of course, to do this Larry needed to make a splash, send off Theo and let the clubhouse and the media know that big changes were on the way. Even if he puts together a winning team, I'll still feel a bit icky about the whole thing, like it's not the team I grew up with any more.
ReplyDeleteI see what people are talking about . These teams seem to playing game where as when I watched the Red Sox it seemed like just wathing people work.
ReplyDeleteOf course it looks like they're having fun, they're in the playoffs. Did you see the Yankees the last few games against Detroit? They looked miserable. Because they were losing. Any team that has the dive the Red Sox had in September would look like they were going to work, because it wasn't any fun I'm sure.
he and I tend to be more old school about things like team chemistry.
And like many things old school, it's at the very least vastly over-rated. The Royals can have a team that borders on being one giant family, and they will still suck.
Lack of chemistry didn't hurt the Red Sox when they were the best team in the majors for 3 months. I'd rather have a team that has great chemistry, but I'd trade all that chemistry for a team with 4 solid starters. It's not even close.
"Baseball isn't my No. 1 priority anymore."
ReplyDeleteI've read this quote before and I don't doubt that Beckett's apparently newfound "I don't give a crap about working out anymore" attitude is related to his anticipation of his "new family."
What I don't get is, why do the two things seem to be mutually exclusive in his mind? Okay, so he's looking forward to being a dad. Why does that somehow mean he also has to throw out all personal integrity and waste the fans' time and stuff his face with chicken? Couldn't he, you know, anticipate fatherhood and also not make me want to shoot him in the face?
Maybe it's me, and certainly it's through the narrow lens that Tim has mentioned earlier, but why do I get the feeling that fatherhood will not cramp Josh Beckett's style all that much? Do we imagine this guy is going to be so hands-on, so obsessed with raising his kids, that he will be unable to focus on anything else?
ReplyDeleteRe this elusive thing called chemistry, it's right up there with mystique and aura and pitchers' W/L record as the important measure of their performance.
Tito was not going to manage for 25 years. Theo was not going to die in office at Fenway. All our favourite players will eventually move on.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, and/but there's always a period of adjustment, and while many of us are still nursing hangovers from the way the season ended, this is a tough one. Losing Tito and Theo, for me anyway, closes the door on an era - and it's the greatest, most glorious era the Sox have had that any of us can personally remember.
It doesn't change anything for most fans, except it gives us a lot to do this winter. Well, other fans. I'll be doing my own thing and just tuning in to JoS for the big news, as always. And back for Opening Day, as always.
I am no psychologist, but it seems pretty obvious to me that someone who is motivated to win is going to prepare better and work harder to make sure that happens. I sure know that that is true for me. When I am inspired and motivated by the people around me and want to work towards a mutual goal, I work much harder than when I am indifferent to the people and their goals. To me, that is not just something imaginary, but something real. That's what I mean by chemistry.
ReplyDeleteSure, a bunch of people without talent (e.g., the Royals) still may not win no matter how hard they work or how much they like each other. But I still believe that a team of talented players can fail when they don't have the motivation to work hard enough or play well enough. What is so irrational about that? I don't get the skepticism here. Clearly Beckett and his boys were not motivated, they did not care, they did not exercise, they overate. Thus, they performed badly. If they had been motivated, if they had cared enough about their team, I believe that they would not have behaved that way and would have performed better.
Call it chemistry, call it motivation, call it whatever you want, but I believe that players are not just robots with skills. They are human like the rest of us, and when they don't care, they will not perform as well as when they do. I don't think the 2004 team was more talented than this team nor was the 2007 team, but they were much more motivated to win than at least the starting pitching rotation on the 2011 team.
In my experience, team chemistry usually refers to the way players get along. A team said to have chemistry enjoys each other's company off the field, pals around, likes each other. A team without chemistry, the old "25 players, 25 cabs home".
ReplyDeleteAll athletes (all people) need motivation to perform well. But players can be highly motivated to perform well and to win whether or not the team has chemistry.
In my experience, team chemistry and personal motivation refer to two different things.
In my experience, team chemistry and personal motivation refer to two different things.
ReplyDeleteSure, they can, but I think they can also be very much interrelated. If players are not personally motivated, it affects team chemistry and brings down other players, who then lose their personal motivation. If players like each other, i.e., have team chemistry, they may be less likely to perform without motivation. They may perform at their best to please their teammates.
There will always be people who have enough inner drive that they will do their best no matter who they work with or work for. Then there are others whose work ethic will more likely be affected by those around them. Somehow I have to believe that a young rising pitcher like Lester would not have been chomping on KFC and swilling beer unless he was led down that path by jerks like Beckett and Lackey.
@Amy - the main reason I'm so skeptical is that they played so well for a long stretch of the season, with the same personalities and clubhouse dynamics. If chemistry is so important, what explains that?
ReplyDeleteThere may be something to the stories about conditioning, but there's even reason to question that. By objective measures, wasn't this one of the best seasons of Beckett's career?
Tom, I think they played as well as they did until September based on the offense, not the pitching. Sure, the injury to HH cannot be blamed on chemistry, I assume. But once Beckett and Lester fell apart and Lackey continued to suck, so did the rest of the team. The offense could only carry them so far. As the starters kept getting thrown out of the games earlier and earlier, it was clear that they were not in condition to make it through the rest of the season. I think once that happened, many of the position players started to give up. So I guess I would say that the offense had some chemistry until the pitching totally collapsed.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Beckett did pretty well until September, but obviously all that fat, grease, and beer caught up with him, as did his attitude.
Like I said, I am not a psychologist, and I am speculating, but I don't think this was about lack of talent or injuries or bad luck.