Red Sox Report: Beckett Not The Only One To Blame
Friday, May 11, 2012
Josh Beckett remains in the crosshairs of Red Sox Nation, and deservedly so. But while Beckett receives our scorn, it is also time we step back and take a look at the bigger picture.
As is the case in every instance, the perpetrator of the crime always shoulders a majority, if not all of the responsibility for his or her actions. Quite frankly, it’s the way things should be.
However, this latest problem with Beckett has also shined the light on an even bigger problem facing the Boston Red Sox – an organizational failure from the top down.
It’s worth noting that overall, the PR-conscious Henry Group that owns and operated the local nine has done a pretty nice job since purchasing the team in 2002. However, they have also failed miserably in some areas with the Beckett fiasco being the latest example.
To understand where Red Sox ownership went awry with Beckett, we need to turn back the clock to last season. After the team’s monumental September swoon, they were searching for a fall guy and they clearly picked the wrong person.
Apparently Larry Lucchino and company thought that we were dumb enough to think that it was Terry Francona’s fault that the team laid down in September and not that of the players. They wanted us to believe that Francona had lost control of the clubhouse which is why Beckett and some of his teammates were drinking beer and eating fried during games.
And while Francona clearly needed to share in some of the blame for those things, what ownership did by firing him was essentially let the actual perpetrators off the hook.
And they didn’t stop there. We learned that Beckett and some of his teammates were no longer being faithful to their workout regimen and listening to their strength and conditioning coach Dave Page. So what did ownership do? They didn’t call Beckett onto the carpet to face the music, they fired Page and assistant trainer Greg Barajas.
Then Lucchino thought it would be a good idea to hire a manager who was more of a disciplinarian to get the locker room back under control. A sound idea. But team ownership didn’t empower Bobby Valentine. Instead they essentially neutered him.
So what is Josh Beckett to believe? Obviously he feels like he can do whatever he wants because every time he screws up, Red Sox ownership sees to it that someone else suffers the consequences.
And that brings us to where we are today. Beckett was allowed to start Thursday night against the Indians where he did hear his share of boos from the crowd. But he was allowed to make the start. If ownership actually had a pair, they would have announced that he was suspended from his next start or two for playing golf when he should have been resting his strained lat. For if it were strained enough for him to actually miss a start as he did last week, then it certainly wasn’t in good enough shape to be playing golf with.
But this is what it has come to in Boston. Ownership has put together and enabled a team that is clearly the most unlikeable team since they have taken over. Tickets to games can be had for pennies on the dollar because many fans are disgusted with the organization.
If they were smart, they would start laying down the law with their players and allowing their manager to do what he feels is right. But that’s a pretty big “if.”
NOTES:
-Beckett didn’t help his cause Thursday night by lasting just 2 1/3 innings against the Tribe. He gave up 7 hits and 7 earned runs before leaving the mound in the third to a chorus of boos.
-One day after going on WEEI and saying that playing golf “was less than the best thing to do” for Josh Beckett, manager Bobby Valentine softened his stance. Valentine said, “I’ve never seen a pitcher get hurt playing golf.” It’s a shame that Valentine is no longer a man of conviction like he was when he managed the Mets. Maybe he was instructed to downplay the controversy by the Red Sox front office, or maybe he’s just taking a softer approach this time around. Whatever the case may be, it’s disappointing on a variety of levels.
-Valentine also accepted full responsibility for the team’s subpar start to the season. He also said, “we need to erase the negative feeling and we have done nothing in the first month to erase those feelings.” It seems obvious based upon that statement and with how he handled the Beckett situation that Valentine is trying to handle the team with kid gloves in hopes of getting them to respond to his managing. However, you wonder if this team wouldn’t be better off if Valentine were brutally honest with the players instead.
-Before the game, the Red Sox paid tribute to public address announcer Carl Beane who died in a 1-car accident on Wednesday in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Beane reportedly had a heart attack behind the wheel before his car crashed. The voice of Fenway Park since 2003, Beane loved his job and he will be missed. He leaves behind a wife and a daughter. Beane was 59 years old.
-Former Red Sox standouts Derek Lowe and Johnny Damon were back in town as members of the Cleveland Indians. Damon had an interesting take on the fact that the Boston has banned beer in the clubhouse. Damon told NESN that he felt that having a beer together in the clubhouse after the game could be a bonding experience for the team. The key word in that last sentence is AFTER the game.
Damon also said that he was expecting more boos from Red Sox fans despite being such a big part of the team’s first world championship in 86 years back in 2004. He attributes the boos for his decision to join the Yankees after leaving Boston. He also said that his teammate Derek Lowe would probably receive cheers because he did not go to New York.
-Kevin Youkilis talked to the media before the game about the sensational start for rookie Will Middlebrooks and his own future with the club. “I have no idea,’’ said Youkilis when he was asked about his future with the club. “I’m here to play baseball, to play for the Red Sox. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this game is you can’t predict the future and you don’t know what’s going to happen. All you can do is worry about now, which for me is getting healthy and playing, and I’m a Boston Red Sox until they tell me otherwise.’’
Youkilis also said he has been very impressed with the play of his replacement Will Middlebrooks. “Pretty amazing to watch,” he said of Middlebrooks. “Great for him to come up here at this stage and perform at a high level.’’
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