What a Mess

Have you ever read something and thought to yourself, "this has to be made up?" Every day it seems as though some new major development is happening to the Boston Red Sox that is just making this team and organization look absolutely terrible. It is literally a P.R. nightmare right now.

Just yesterday I wrote a blog in regards to Jon Lester coming out and admitting his wrongdoing during the 2011 season. It appears now, through verification from 3 apparent anonymous Red Sox sources, that Lester was telling half-truths. Apparently, according to a report on WHDH, Channel 7 Sports anchor Joe Amorosino, Lester, Beckett and Lackey were all drinking in the clubhouse and apparently in the dugout as early as the 6th inning on days in which they did not pitch. Between Amorosino's 2 sources, The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham has since come forth with another unrelated source that verifies this report.

It gets worse, apparently the Red Sox knew about the drinking and did nothing. At 11pm last night, the Boston Red Sox posted a denial of the drinking on their website. the following statements from Lackey, Lester, Beckett, Terry Francona and Larry Lucchino are taken from that release:

Jon Lester: "The accusation that we were drinking in the dugout during games is completely false. Anonymous sources are continuing to provide exaggerated and, in this case, inaccurate information to the media."

Josh Beckett: "I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough. I admit that I made mistakes along the way this season, but this has gone too far. To say that we drank in the dugout during the game is not true."

John Lackey: "There are things that went on this season that shouldn't have happened, but this latest rumor is not true, and I felt that it was important to try and stop this from going any further."

Terry Francona: "In 32 years of professional baseball, I have never seen someone drinking beer in the dugout."

Larry Lucchino (On behalf of the Boston Red Sox): "Tonight our organization has heard directly from Jon, Josh, John and former manager Terry Franconca. Each has assured us that the allegation that surfaced today about drinking in the dugout during games in 2011 is false, and we accept their statements as honest and factual. As we continue our internal examination to fully understand what went wrong in September, 2011, we appreciate these strong and clear statements from our players. It is time to look forward and move forward, rather than allow a reckless, unsubstantiated accusation from 'anonymous sources' to mislead the public."

Wow.

Somebody here is lying and it doesn't look good for the Boston Red Sox. I mean, if all of these other stories and rumors had not been coming out in tandem, this easily could be swept under the carpet and forgotten about, or taken as inaccurate information. The fact of the matter is that players are verbally, or non-verbally admitting that Terry Francona lost the clubhouse respect. The reasoning behind "why" will surely be another shoe to drop in the coming days/weeks, etc.

The Jon Lester article the other day, Lester stated (in regards to Tito) "there comes a time when your authority is no longer there." This of course coming shortly after referring to the drinking in the clubhouse as 9th inning rally beers.

This morning on 107.3 WAAF, team captain Jason Varitek was interviewed on the air. The same basic questions about Tito came up, and the same evasive answers were given. Here is the link to read his long-winded reply: http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2011/10/19/jason-varitek-on-waaf-i-believe-this-team-liked-each-other/

I am starting to really be confused by everything that is going on in Boston. Terry Francona, a players manager if there ever was one, is run out of town by his own team. To this day, Tito has their backs, not saying a damn thing negative about anyone. In return, the only player going to bat for Tito has been Dustin Pedroia. All of this while the recklessness inside the clubhouse is coming to light. This team is like a star before it dies - a bunch of hot gas, ready to explode.

I can't even begin to say who I believe and who I don't. What I do know is that the next person to come out and make any public statements needs to air out everything if this team is going to survive the winter. There are people already calling for the team to be blown up. If some type of honesty and integrity cannot be restored, then I think that idea may be best.

What needs to happen right now is this: The Red Sox ownership needs to stop playing around and 1) get the Theo deal done. End this stalemate with Chicago. 2) Sign a new general manager. Ideally someone who can deal with the drama - which might require over-paying for a guy like Joe Torre. 3) Cut the dead weight on this team. All of the non-organization guys: Lackey, Beckett, Ortiz, Wakefield, Varitek - and wipe the slate clean. Also - probably should replace some of their sponsorships with Tylenol Tension Headache... because that is certainly what the brass... and the fans are feeling right now.

Tito Looks to be the Scapegoat After All

Multiple sources are reporting this morning that Terry Francona's time is up as the manager for the Boston Red Sox. This coming on the heels of the historic September collapse that saw the Red Sox lose 19 games.

On Thursday, Francona and Theo Epstein addressed the media. Epstein went on record to state that "Nobody blames what happened in September on Tito. Collectively it was a failure." But it would seem that Tito's head will be the first to roll. Sure, they (the Red Sox) will do it as diplomatically as possible, by not picking up Francona's option for 2012. But is that not the same as firing the man? Anyone watching this team would tend to think it is.

Francona has been managing the Red Sox since the 2004 season. He brought the ball club 2 championships in 8 seasons (2004 & 2007.) While watching the press conference yesterday it became evident that Tito was uncomfortable being there. He had a scowl on his face and answered minimal questions.

Details have been slowly emerging this morning as to some of the things Francona was increasingly upset about in his own clubhouse. It has been reported by the Boston Herald's John Tomase, citing multiple sources, that more than one pitcher drank beer in the clubhouse on days he did not pitch. This called their professionalism into question. It has also been vastly reported that this team bought their own hype and held a feeling of entitlement, which lead to their ultimate demise.

Francona has been steering this ship for 8 seasons. He has been successful and has brought 2 World Championships to Boston. To me, this is an absolute shame if he in fact is let go. This team has undergone some serious transitions since the days of the "idiots" and it is vastly apparent. I do believe some major changes need to occur, but similar to that of the Boston Celtics and Doc Rivers, I feel it is vital to have a manager like Francona in place to help guide the team through this transition period. It appears that Epstein and ownership feel differently.

It's been fun, Tito. It's been fun.