Ace in the Hole

It was his first day on the job and Ben Cherington already has won over the hearts of Red Sox Nation. How, you may ask? It was not by his smooth talking during the press conference. It was not by fielding difficult questions. No, no, Ben Cherington could have come out and been verbally assaulted by the harsh Boston media. Instead, instantly he managed to get one phrase trending in the Boston area on Twitter...

"Tommy John Surgery."

Ben Cherington took care of a major concern this off-season for Red Sox fans by telling everyone that the much despised John Lackey will miss all of the 2012 season after opting to have Tommy John surgery. Though it does not get Lackey out of Boston, like most fans want, it does get him out of our minds for a year.

Let's face it, if Lackey were healthy he would have been dealt. If we could not deal him, he would have to have been released and ownership swallow a $45million pill. Now, they will pretty much have to do the latter. There is no way they can rehabilitate this man in Boston. Listening to either sports radio station, there is no buzz about keeping Lackey. There are no articles bein written regarding the perks of trying to rehabilitate the man in this market.

Cherington also seems to have a bead on who he wants to interview for the new managerial position. Knowing that he (Cherington) has over 14 years in Major League Baseball is comforting. He came up the hard way, as a scout, conducting player development and analysis, finally moving into front office. He was a large proponent in the signing of Adrian Beltre, a man who far exceeded expectations while in Boston. I'm still sorry that he is not still here in Boston.

What I see with Cherington is a General Manager with a good head on his shoulders. His obvious passion and knowledge for the game is evident in just listening to him talk. While the Cubs fans are busy ushering in their "savior" in Theo Epstein - I think Red Sox fans will find that we have made out just fine in the deal.

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.

Lester Stands Alone

I sat down at my computer and started to look at the statistics of my website. It appears that my following is based purely on my Red Sox blogs, as they have the highest hits above any other article I've written. I guess I have to give readers what they want, primarily Red Sox musings, filled in occasionally with other baseball thoughts and news. So, since that is out of the way, it is time to address the latest Red Sox revelations.

Jon Lester has gone on record stating that he had in fact drank beer and ate fried chicken in the clubhouse during his off days. He completely downplayed the beer drinking and fried chicken eating. He claimed that the pitchers only did it a "handful of times" and attributed the weight gain of the pitching staff to a hectic travel schedule and inability to eat properly at proper times.

Give me a break.

I appreciate the fact that Lester is the first (and presumably will be the ONLY) guilty party to step forward, but don't patronize Red Sox Nation. We saw the staff get fat and lazy. We (fans collectively) would not have given a damn if the pitchers did this and won, but the fact is that they lost. They lost bad. They lost historically bad.

I won't get on Lester any more than that, I'm pretty sure he's taken his share. I will say this, Lester has shown to me that he is the true ace on this team. Josh Beckett should have been the first one out of the gate with fire and vitriol to comment on the whole issue. Lester has super-ceded Beckett on this team, in my eyes.

Going on record and opening himself up to the full ridicule of the Boston media says a lot about the character of Jon Lester. He is not too far gone. He can be saved. He can straighten up. He can be the anchor of this staff and I can see him coming into camp in the best shape of his life with a chip on his shoulder. I predicted Lester would win 20 games next season (of course, this was before the whole fried chicken fiasco) but now I firmly believe he will do it. He will take the hill on opening day and be a beast.

The problem still remains with Beckett and Lackey. At this point, I could give a damn if either of them comes back next season. They let me down. They let their team down. They let fans in Boston down. They haven't come out and apologized for it. They haven't acknowledged it. They are staying away, taking the easy road. I hope that easy road just leads them both out of Boston.

Lester will be your ace, in every sense of the word next season. Wait and see.

The Time Has Come

Dustin Pedroia has to emerge as the true leader of the Boston Red Sox. There is no room for debate. From the reports circulating now regarding the true downfall of the 2011 Boston Red Sox, Pedroia is one of only a small handful of players that look to be a bright spot on the organization. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

In this mornings Boston Globe, Bob Hohler unveiled details surrounding the firing of Terry Francona, drinking in the clubhouse and the general malaise of the Red Sox late in the season. There was no leadership on this team. Those that in the past stepped up for their team sat idly by while disorder and disunion overran the clubhouse.

As a fan, there are many players that I am ashamed of after having read this article. Though I was never a fan of John Lackey, I now have reason to dislike he, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. As it has been reported previously, questions of drinking in the clubhouse had arisen after the collapse. Now, names are being given. Apparently, Lackey, Lester and Beckett had a habbit of drinking beer, ordering fast-food fried chicken and biscuits, and playing video games during games. They became fat and lazy.

There are no rules against drinking beer, ordering food, or even playing video games in the Red Sox clubhouse. What the trio (occasionally joined by Clay Buchholz) did was violate an unwritten rule of not just baseball, but all competitive team sports: Support your teammates; especially in times of crisis. According to Hohler and his sources, the trio started this routine in late 2010 and on top of continuing this trend in 2011, they also cut back on their exercise regimentation despite appeals from the teams strength and conditioning coach Dave Page.

The one thing I will not agree with or endorse in his article is what Hohler writes about Francona. I believe the air is clear for him. Dealing with players that in essence just gave up on you is by no means an easy task and I feel that part of this article can be taken as kicking the man while he's walking out of town. Terry Francona brought this city two World Series championships and dealt with personalities like no other manager has had to overcome, (insert random Manny Ramirez joke here) while pushing his players forward.

This team needs to be looked at from the top to the bottom and players need to be set free, or traded. There are only four players that I feel entirely comfortable bringing back after having read this article. Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfredo Aceves, Jonathan Papelbon and Dustin Pedroia. Take the "C" off of Jason Varitek's chest. He no longer deserves it. He failed to step up and be the captain. He brushed aside his leadership role and became an observer. As did David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Those three men were all players that I thought very highly of, whose character is now definitely in question in my book.

Speaking of leadership, where was Adrian Gonzalez in all of this? The new poster-child for the Boston Red Sox came off as productive, bust soft. In this market you cannot be soft. Complaining about playing five Sunday night games will not win you over with the Boston fans or media. Sure, you may not have much time invested in this team, but you just got a huge contract and were pretty much granted a key to the city of Boston. You need to be a leader on this team and talk sense into these players that think they can do whatever they want. Not in my city. Not on the team I love.

It is time for Dustin Pedroia to become the official Captain of the Boston Red Sox. Give him the "C" on his chest. Pedroia is quoted as saying, "I just know that playing in Boston, you're required to play your tail off every day to try to win ballgames for this city. That's what hurt so much as a player, that we not only let each other down in the clubhouse but we let the city down." Pedroia gets it. His time has come to be the unenviable voice of the Boston Red Sox. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.