Pitchers Hooked On Beer, Fried Chicken, And Video Games! Francona

[Steve9347]

deadspin link

Boston Globe link

 

Pitchers Hooked On Beer, Fried Chicken, And Video Games! Francona On Pills! The Boston Globe’s Version Of The 2011 Red Sox Collapse

 

It took two weeks, but the Boston Globe has produced the definitive grisly autopsy of the 2011 Boston Red Sox meltdown, and it's lurid, all right. (You'll recall that the team collapsed in epic fashion and missed the playoffs.) The Globe's story is full of drink and drugs and player grousing, but the story's existence and its tone tell us more, maybe, about why the Red Sox failed. Ownership and management are lashing out anonymously at the players and Terry Francona for one wretched month, and the Globe is their faithful stenographer.

 

Here are some of the charges within the piece:

 

• Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey spent all September eating biscuits and fried chicken, drinking beer, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games. Writes the Globe's Bob Hohler, the trio also "joined a number of teammates in cutting back on their exercise regimens despite appeals from the team's strength and conditioning coach Dave Page." Never mind that the 2004 Red Sox—who are held up in the piece as a paragon of achievement, when the 2007 team isn't mentioned—were lauded for their not-so-svelte ways.
• Terry Francona melted down because of his marriage and a painkiller addiction. Tito, who's since been fired, apparently spent all season living in a hotel after separating from his wife of 30 years. All along, he was taking pain medication to recover from an October 2010 knee surgery. Francona told the Globe that he did not have a painkiller addiction, per a diagnosis by the Red Sox's team doctor. The story also blames Francona for panicking because the Red Sox might not pick up his contract option for 2012. (The piece speaks of "his commitment to the team," referring to his future with Boston, even though management held the contract option.)
• The players were angry because management rescheduled a doubleheader in advance of Hurricane Irene, the Globe says. The players were tired from a busy August, and wanted time to rest. Ownership wanted to avoid a potential makeup game. According to the Globe, the Sox attempted to fix things by giving all the players fancy headphones and inviting them out on John Henry's yacht. The Globe story pinpoints the doubleheader—which the Sox swept—as the beginning of the team's demise, even though the playoff-bound Yankees seemed to survive their doubleheader on the same date.
• All the leaders but Dustin Pedroia quit leading. The Globe chastises David Ortiz and Jason Varitek, both of whom declined to comment for its story. The paper also attacks Tim Wakefield for chasing his 200th win—he "appeared more interested in himself than the team"—toward season's end. Kevin Youkilis also tired of leading the team, the story claims, as he played through injuries even though golden boy Jacoby Ellsbury hadn't, the prior season. Infielder Jed Lowrie was Ellsbury's only friend.
• Ownership was angry that GM Theo Epstein splurged on Carl Crawford. The speedy left fielder came over from Tampa Bay as the highest-paid outfielder in history. He promptly hit .255/.289/.405 and stole only 18 bases. Unlike other Sox signings, the Crawford deal divided ownership, primarily because the Red Sox already had a "speedy lefthanded-hitting outfielder" in Ellsbury. Now its architect is skipping town and saddling the Sox with six grim years of Carlito.

 

And from this piece, we can see why Tito and Theo might be glad to leave. The anonymous sources—presumably ownership—it quotes are vengeful, disappointed in players for airing grievances about grueling seasons, complaints one would hear in any other locker room. Between the lines, the owners are alleging the Sox tanked the season because they were angry about having to play a doubleheader, and the horndog manager was too zonked out on pain medication to change anything. Uh-huh. The calamity that befell the 2011 Sox didn't come from God, as Adrian Gonzalez suggested. No, he should have looked aimed his eyes a little lower, at the owner's box.

[southsider2k5]

Kevin_Goldstein Kevin Goldstein

So when Kevin Millar had the team doing shots before games, but they were winning, that was cool, right?

 

[Soxfest]

Kevin_Goldstein Kevin Goldstein

So when Kevin Millar had the team doing shots before games, but they were winning, that was cool, right?

All good when winning.................BS when losing................Boston clubhouse in shambles, Epstein has to take some blame also.

[Steve9347]

All good when winning.................BS when losing...............

See blowup dolls in locker rooms.

[southsider2k5]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ken...ngels-1.3241698

 

When I wrote about Theo Epstein's imminent leap to the Cubs yesterday, I wasn't aware of the Boston Glove story that came out and dropped a few bombs on the Sawx chaos.

 

Holy crap.

 

It's not that the story was inaccurate. My understanding is that yes, the Red Sox were concerned that Terry Francona's job performance was being influenced negatively by outside factors. But to air that dirty laundry in public? And for the source or sources to hide behind anonymity and level such accusations against a guy who helped win two World Series titles?

 

Wow.

 

It's rare that I'll agree with Curt Schilling on something, but I think he nailed it on this one. Much of the information in this story had to emanate from the highest levels of the team's administration. There's going to have to be some sort of clearing of the air in order for the team to move forward. All the talk of "What happens in here, stays in here" feels pretty empty right now, if you know you're going to be sold down the river by your bosses if Jonathan Papelbon blows a save in Game 162.

 

No, Brian Cashman won't be joining the Red Sox. He'll be staying with the Yankees, and Ben Cherrington will succeed Epstein. Cherrington has much work ahead of him to heal some of these wounds. You're talking about a situation in which the team just crushed its best two pitchers, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

[southsider2k5]

TBrownYahoo Tim Brown

by BenBadler

Ben Cherington has been told he'll be next GM of Red Sox, according to Y sources.

 

[Texsox]

LOL at wanting a guy addicted to painkillers and more worried about signing an extension than his team's chances/

[southsider2k5]

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...ester_spea.html

 

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester admitted today that he drank beer in the clubhouse during some games this season and that, "it was the wrong thing to do." But he was adamant that such behavior was not to blame for the team's September collapse.

 

"There's a perception out there that we were up there getting hammered and that wasn't the case," Lester told The Globe via telephone from his home in Georgia. "Was it a bad habit? Yes. I should have been on the bench more than I was. But we just played bad baseball as a team in September. We stunk. To be honest, we were doing the same things all season when we had the best record in baseball."

 

Lester said the drinking was confined to starting pitchers who weren't in the game that day.

 

"It was a ninth-inning rally beer," he said. "We probably ordered chicken from Popeye's like once a month. That happened. But that's not the reason we lost.

 

"Most of the times it was one beer, a beer. It was like having a Coke in terms of how it affected you mentally or physically. I know how it looks to people and it probably looks bad. But we weren't up there just drinking and eating and nobody played video games. We watched the game."

 

Lester has not spoken to deposed manager Terry Francona, communicating with him only through text messages.

 

He said he was sorry to see Francona leave the team, but believes it might be for the best.

 

"I love Tito and he did a great job for us when he was here. On a personal level I was more than grateful for what he did for me and my family," Lester said. "But there comes a time when your authority is no longer there. You kind of run your course. People knew how Tito was and we pushed the envelope with it. We never had rules, we never had that iron-fist mentality. If you screwed up, he called you on it. That was how it worked.

 

"I never saw guys purposely breaking rules or doing the wrong thing in front of him and rubbing it in his face. But this particular team probably needed more structure. Tito was the perfect guy for this team for a long time but I think he got burnt out."

 

During a lengthy interview, Lester said he did not have permission to speak on behalf of Josh Beckett, John Lackey or the other starters, but felt he had to.

 

"Consider us a unit when it comes to these accusations," he said. "We either fall together or rise above it all together whether they like it or not. Things got magnified because we lost and sources started telling people what happened, which has me upset because if you're going to say something, be a man to put your name to it. But we're not bad people and we're not a bad group of guys.

 

"Are there things I regret? Sure there are. But nothing happened that had me unprepared to pitch. I don't blame people for wanting answers because we had a hell of a team and we lost. You can't have a team that gets paid like we get paid and loses and not expect people to want answers."

 

Lester also denied that poor physical conditioning was a reason for the team's 7-20 September collapse. He said that pitchers typically gain weight during the season.

 

"It's probably because of how we eat," he said. "We have some crazy hours with the travel and you get in at 4 a.m. and you get room service or something quick. But unless your body fat is going up 10 percent or something like that, you don't have a problem.

 

"I've heard what people are saying in Boston. I can tell you that guys were in the weight room. Guys were doing their shoulder [exercises] and guys were prepared to pitch. If we win a few more games in September and make the playoffs, none of this comes out. But we didn't and that's on us as a team and on me personally. I take a lot of the blame for this, a lot."

 

"In September, a lot of people had their weight jump up and I can see where the owner would look at that and say we're out of shape. But that's not the case Every time I was in the weight room, there were guys busting their ass."

 

Lester was 15-6 with a 2.93 earned run average in his first 27 starts. He was 0-3 with an 8.24 ERA in his last four starts with the team losing all four of the games.

 

"It bothers me because I'm supposed to be a stopper," he said. "I picked a terrible time to stink. That's on me."

 

Lester said the perception that he followed Beckett down the wrong path was untrue.

 

"I'm not a follower. I'm a grown-ass man. I made my decisions. He wasn't twisting my arm like I was in high school," Lester said. "Did I try to emulate him as a pitcher when I was younger? Sure I did because what he does works. Now, over time, I've tweaked what I do because that's what works for me.

 

"But as far as decisions, he doesn't make them for me. I'm who I am because of my wife and my mom and dad. Not Josh."

 

Lester said he would love to see David Ortiz and Jonathan Papelbon return to the team next season. But he also thinks the team needs more high-character type players like Alex Cora, Eric Hinske or Sean Casey.

 

"We need that good veteran presence," he said. "If you have somebody like that, it makes everybody better. Everybody is accountable and we have plenty of people to look up to. That's not the problem. But we have a lot of guys who are kind of middle-aged in terms of their careers. Sometimes you need veteran guys who know their roles and can reach out to everybody."

 

Lester is confident that the 2012 team will rebound from consecutive third-place finishes.

 

"There are lots of things we need to work on as a team and things did not go the way we expected this season," he said. "I think you'll have a lot of guys with chips on their shoulders next season to set things right. There are a lot of good people in that clubhouse and they'll show that."

 

See the Globe tomorrow for more from Jon Lester.

[southsider2k5]

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7..._medium=twitter

 

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox late Tuesday night released statements from three players, departed manager Terry Francona and CEO Larry Lucchino refuting a report by WHDH-TV in Boston that cited Red Sox employees as saying pitchers Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester drank beer in the dugout during games.

 

"I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough," Beckett said in the statement, his first public comments on the issue of beer drinking by the Red Sox pitchers during games, which Lester acknowledged occurred in the clubhouse in interviews Monday. "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."

 

“

 

Lester 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."

” -- Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett

 

Lackey also made his first public comments in the statement. "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 to stop this from going any further."

 

Lester, who earlier Tuesday night had called the WHDH report "completely false," expanded on his comment in the statement.

 

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

 

The employees cited as sources in the WHDH report said that Beckett, Lackey and Lester would leave the dugout around the sixth inning, walk back to the clubhouse and fill cups with Bud Light. They would then return to the dugout and watch the game while drinking beer. One Red Sox employee told the station that the pitchers were "bored on nights they weren't pitching and this is how they entertained themselves."

 

According to the report, another Red Sox employee said: "Beckett would come down the stairs from the dugout, walking through the corridor to the clubhouse and say, 'It's about that time.' Beckett was the instigator but Lester and Lackey were right behind him.

 

"It was blatant and hard not to notice what was going on with all three guys leaving at once."

 

Schilling Jon Lester saying that Terry Francona probably had to go because grown men needed more structure is sad, writes Curt Schilling. Blog

 

Francona, whose eight-year tenure as manager of the Red Sox ended when the team did not exercise a two-year option on his contract on Oct. 7, said he never witnessed the players drinking.

 

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

 

Lucchino addressed the comments by Francona and the players in his statement.

 

"Tonight our organization has heard directly from Jon, Josh, John, and former manager Terry Francona," Lucchino said in the statement. "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."

 

A Red Sox employee who was contacted by ESPNBoston.com on Tuesday evening to react to the latest story said he had heard complaints about players drinking in the dugout during the 2010 season but did not personally witness it either that season or in 2011.

 

More On The Red Sox

 

Gordon Edes and the rest of the ESPNBoston.com team have the Red Sox covered for you. Blog

 

Another Red Sox staffer who was in the dugout during every game told ESPNBoston.com he never saw Beckett, Lackey or Lester drinking in the dugout, nor had he heard anything about that happening.

 

On Monday, Lester, reacting to last week's Boston Globe report that said that he, Beckett and Lackey drank beer, ate fried chicken and played video games in the clubhouse during games, acknowledged to ESPNBoston.com and other media outlets that the pitchers had had an occasional "rally beer" in the clubhouse.

 

"People are making us out to be a bunch of drunk, fried-chicken eating SOBs, playing video games," Lester said.

 

"Did we drink an occasional beer? Yes. Did it affect our performance in September? No. This stuff has been going on long before September, and not only in this clubhouse, but 29 other clubhouses too. We ordered fried chicken maybe three times in six months. Other guys who were not playing that day would come in and have a bite to eat.

 

"But what people are trying to do is a witch hunt. They're looking for any reason to basically tear somebody's head off because we lost, and people right now are saying it's because we did this. I'm not shying away from saying I did it. I admit it, and I'm sure the other guys would say it too."

 

The Red Sox held a nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card race as late as Sept. 3, but went 7-20 in September and lost the playoff spot to the Rays on the final day of the regular season. It was the biggest collapse ever by a team holding as big a lead as the Red Sox did that late in a season. In the aftermath, Francona's contract was not extended in what he insisted was a mutual decision, and general manager Theo Epstein has agreed to a five-year contract to join the Chicago Cubs, the deal held up while the sides decide on compensation for the outgoing general manager.

 

The Globe report last week also said that the team lacked veteran leadership and called out longtime catcher Jason Varitek.

 

Reached by the Globe on Tuesday, Varitek refuted that characterization.

 

"We lost because we played poorly and we had some health issues and we probably taxed the bullpen too much. ... We didn't lose because of some issue in the clubhouse. That's a lot of crap," he said, according to the newspaper.

 

Varitek also said that the report of partying in the clubhouse was exaggerated.

 

"That's a minuscule issue," he said. "Guys are in the clubhouse all the time," he told the Globe. "I'm in there watching pitches because I can't see what I need to see from the bench. To me, that is not an issue at all."

 

Despite the collapse and the subsequent dissection of the team, Varitek said he still wants to return.

 

"I'm a free agent, that's out of my hands," he said, according to the Globe. "But I've bled in this uniform for a long time and I want to continue that. Hopefully that will be the case."

 

Gordon Edes covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com. Information from ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald was used in this report.

[Balta1701]

Did you excerpt something stuck under an image with a typo or did both Beckett and Lester release the exact same statement?

[southsider2k5]

Love it...

 

jcrasnick Jerry Crasnick

At least the #Braves had the courtesy to collapse, shut up and go away.