Unless you've been in a cave in northern Waziristan for the past year you've no doubt read or heard about Bob Hohler's expansive piece inside the collapse of the 2011 Boston Red Sox. Some call it immaculately researched, others a boot in the ass Francona rip job, either way it was a boon for sports and print media last fall and will continue to be as spring training begins (this Blog is a willing participant). The one and only Josh Beckett recently pontificated on the gobbling fried chicken while swilling beer revelations with his old yee haw buddy Kevin Millar on MLB Network's Intentional Talk:
“I think the biggest key is what [Jon] Lester said to the end that, we stunk on
the field and that was the bottom line,” Beckett said. “If we would have pitched
better, none of that stuff would have even been an issue. And it shouldn’t be an
issue anyway because what goes on in the clubhouse should stay in the
clubhouse"
Apparently Beckett shares a certain out of touch attitude with Mitt Romney. Doesn't he realize a simple mea culpa would clear the air with fans and media alike? Instead he falls back on the old if you ain't never been to the clubhouse don't ever come to the clubhouse defense. Take heed Mr. Beckett, the wrath of the common, hard working, no 401k having fan is flamed by filthy rich, dogging it, blister having starting pitchers like few other antagonists. Unlike our next victim however, Beckett has the talent to make this all blow over with an early Ace performance against the Yankees.
Tim Wakefield, mop up duty, a bloated era and whiny is no way to go through life son. From the aforementioned Hohler piece:
"Amid a seemingly interminable quest for his (Wakefield's) 200th career victory,
he went 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA in September, taxing the bullpen as the Sox lost
four of his five starts. The 45-year-old knuckleballer then appeared more
interested in himself than the team when he asserted in the final days of the
season that the Sox should bring him back in 2012 to pursue the franchise’s
all-time record for wins (shared by Roger Clemens and Cy Young at 192).“I think
the fans deserve an opportunity to watch me chase that record.’’
You've been a good soldier, an innings eater, a hero for charity, and provided one heck of a show in 1995, but the only thing we fans deserve is for you shut.....up. You should be thanking the organization, Francona, and the fans for showering you with unrequited respect, patience and opportunity. You are no Roger Clemens or Cy Young my friend (although Young's incredible lifetime win total of 511 is padded with stats built in one wacky and wild early baseball era). Why some athletes seem bound and determined to tarnish their legacies with 'invented the question mark' type statements this Blog will never understand. Do yourself a favor Tim, profusely thank pretty much everyone when you make the right choice to hang it up, because those making major league hitters look plain silly performances are long gone and a fan has only your words as a lasting impression.
Finally we have Tim Thomas. Let this Blog make it clear, political views mean nothing, stopping the puck, stopping the puck, and stopping the puck again are the only things that do. You are a legend, a case study in perseverance, and one of the main reasons puck heads all over Bruins nation are having a renaissance. But this Blog heard TT mention privacy and personal life about 15,000 times whilst holding court in the locker-room. If you don't want reports peppering you with question about your personal views change your Facebook privacy settings. Until then spout your personal views in a public setting and answer the damn questions!
Until next time,
The SAHD
I agree with you... sort of. Beckett may be a blockhead (ok hold on, I just had a flashback to a "Charlie Brown Christmas" when, after they fix Charlie's lame tree into a beautiful one, Lucy proclaims, "Charlie Brown *may* be a blockhead, but he did pick out a good tree.") but he does have a small point. The clubhouse is off-limits to everyone besides the players and coaches. No media, no fans, no exceptions. I would imagine that there are probably far worse things that have happened in a clubhouse than a beer and fried chicken meal-- drugs, fights, philandering, etc.-- and Beckett was probably defending the fact that you can make all of the shots you want about his performance on the mound but what happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse. That being said, what he really should have said (and thus, made him "sort of" a blockhead) is that if they won last year than none of the poor September performance, the seemingly lack of conditioning, or the apparently lack of team cohesiveness would have come into play. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the 2004 and 2007 teams had some major issues and that a few pints of beer and buckets of KFC may have been ingested in that same clubhouse. And since they won, no one cares-- not only that, but some of us would probably think that they deserved a nice cold brew and tender breast (note: still talking chicken here) after a game.
ReplyDeleteWith Wakefield, it is clear he has a personal goal first: to finish with more wins than any other Red Sox player. Wakefield is still revered amongst Red Sox fans but the fact remains that RSN is tolerant to a point: start to suck, and you'll hear it. We all know Wake relieved, mopped up, emergency started, hell even pinch-hit when asked and he did it fairly quietly and in a "dirt dawg" fashion. However lots of people can throw a 60 mile pitch and end up with a 5 ERA. I will say this: the Red Sox should do the right thing here with Wakefield and sign him to a contract, have him make the team out of Spring Training, and if he really sucks, encourage him to retire in front of the fans and with dignity and go off to the sunset. If he's good, then we win.
Clarification: Just as most important think for TT is puck stopping, most important for Beckett and the boys is results. No doubt the '04 club of 'idiots' had a mad clubhouse, seem to remember the shots of Crown Royal was frowned upon by an estimated .2% of Sox Nation back then, otherwise we might have heard more stories of the insanity. Love your Wakefield idea. Please PLEASE don't do the Nomar thing, have him make the team as you said then get the full on tipped cap treatment from the Fenway crowd. That would be a fitting end. Thanks a lot for the comment :)
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