Yep! Thanks for noticing. I am the proud Owner/Broker of Church Street Realty. Since I am an Indians fan, and eternally optimistic, I figured now is the right time to go on my own.
Please send me leads, money and food (in that order)!
LOL
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
317My wife and I are downsizing now that we are empty nesters. We both want to get to the Southeast eventually (her.....SOON!), but she has a job she loves the most of all the college jobs she has ever held out here.
I work based out of the house and can live anywhere out here.
As a compromise in our downsizing and eventual move back East (for me) we (she) were thinking of renting (ugh!) in transition in a place to get her with a lesser commute to her campus.
Now that interest rates are in the 3.X% range I am lobbying for us to buy a property in our compromise solution and take a moderate little gamble on the upswing.
Amazing stuff on the market for about 40% of what it was built and sold for as recently as 2004 in some communities east of The San Francisco Bay.
We have my old farmhouse from 1830 or so in South Carolina that needs much work but has had no mortgage for several years. Ideally, I'd love to restore it. We have a little rental property about 9 miles away from the farmhouse that would be perfectly acceptable for either of us as a "parachute" solution for enjoying life.
My wife's former brother in law lives in Waxhaw NC. He's a mortgage broker and Spanish is his native Puerto Rican of Spain origin language. His wife is seriously German, having been in the US less than 20 of her 40 years. Neither speak English without seams and jerks.
It's a real hoot drinking a couple bottles of wine with them and trying to keep a fluid conversation going.
But it's fun!
After a few drinks she starts reminiscing about how sexually liberated and uninhibited she thinks German women are. I just keep pouring her more wine, asking her to elaborate and expound......as my wife kicks me under the table.
I'll see if I can get some leads........
I work based out of the house and can live anywhere out here.
As a compromise in our downsizing and eventual move back East (for me) we (she) were thinking of renting (ugh!) in transition in a place to get her with a lesser commute to her campus.
Now that interest rates are in the 3.X% range I am lobbying for us to buy a property in our compromise solution and take a moderate little gamble on the upswing.
Amazing stuff on the market for about 40% of what it was built and sold for as recently as 2004 in some communities east of The San Francisco Bay.
We have my old farmhouse from 1830 or so in South Carolina that needs much work but has had no mortgage for several years. Ideally, I'd love to restore it. We have a little rental property about 9 miles away from the farmhouse that would be perfectly acceptable for either of us as a "parachute" solution for enjoying life.
My wife's former brother in law lives in Waxhaw NC. He's a mortgage broker and Spanish is his native Puerto Rican of Spain origin language. His wife is seriously German, having been in the US less than 20 of her 40 years. Neither speak English without seams and jerks.
It's a real hoot drinking a couple bottles of wine with them and trying to keep a fluid conversation going.
But it's fun!
After a few drinks she starts reminiscing about how sexually liberated and uninhibited she thinks German women are. I just keep pouring her more wine, asking her to elaborate and expound......as my wife kicks me under the table.
I'll see if I can get some leads........
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
318More bad news for Detroit- Ordonez fractrured his ankle and Young is still a question mark.
Tough break but we have certainly been there.
Tough break but we have certainly been there.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
319I'm still reserving a chance I might eventually be pulling for The Tiggers for Victor Martinez, but at this time I want our division rival gone in the playoffs before The World Series.loufla wrote:More bad news for Detroit- Ordonez fractrured his ankle and Young is still a question mark.
Tough break but we have certainly been there.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
320Theo Epstein on brink of joining Cubs
By Steve Buckley
Two baseball sources have confirmed that Theo Epstein is on the cusp of leaving his job as general manager of the Red Sox [team stats] to accept a position with the Chicago Cubs that is believed to include powers greater than he has in Boston, with an announcement expected to be made “within the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The hangup in the negotiations has been twofold. One of them is that Red Sox ownership was still hoping to have Epstein remain with the team. The other is compensation: If Epstein is to leave Boston, said one source with knowledge of the negotiations, the Red Sox are going to want “something real.”
Whether that involves a player, money or a combination of the two remains unclear.
“But this is going to be resolved very soon,” said a second baseball source.
Epstein, a native of Brookline, joined the Red Sox in 2002 and in November of that year, at age 28, became the youngest general manager in baseball history. Though he put together teams that won the World Series in 2004 and 2007 and made the playoffs in six of his nine seasons, the 2011 Red Sox had one of the biggest collapses in baseball history, going 7-20 in September to blow what had been a nine-lead for the American League wild card when the month began.
Terry Francona, who had been manager since 2004, severed ties with the Red Sox just two days after the season ended. Attention immediately focused on whether Epstein would also be leaving the Red Sox, leading to reports that the Cubs, who have not won the World Series since 1908, had asked Sox ownership for permission to speak with the Boston GM.
By Steve Buckley
Two baseball sources have confirmed that Theo Epstein is on the cusp of leaving his job as general manager of the Red Sox [team stats] to accept a position with the Chicago Cubs that is believed to include powers greater than he has in Boston, with an announcement expected to be made “within the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The hangup in the negotiations has been twofold. One of them is that Red Sox ownership was still hoping to have Epstein remain with the team. The other is compensation: If Epstein is to leave Boston, said one source with knowledge of the negotiations, the Red Sox are going to want “something real.”
Whether that involves a player, money or a combination of the two remains unclear.
“But this is going to be resolved very soon,” said a second baseball source.
Epstein, a native of Brookline, joined the Red Sox in 2002 and in November of that year, at age 28, became the youngest general manager in baseball history. Though he put together teams that won the World Series in 2004 and 2007 and made the playoffs in six of his nine seasons, the 2011 Red Sox had one of the biggest collapses in baseball history, going 7-20 in September to blow what had been a nine-lead for the American League wild card when the month began.
Terry Francona, who had been manager since 2004, severed ties with the Red Sox just two days after the season ended. Attention immediately focused on whether Epstein would also be leaving the Red Sox, leading to reports that the Cubs, who have not won the World Series since 1908, had asked Sox ownership for permission to speak with the Boston GM.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
321Astros Expected To Complete Sale, Move To AL
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [October 12 at 11:05am CST]
Astros owner Drayton McLane is expected to complete the sale of the team to Jim Crane in mid-November, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). The arrangement would move Houston to the American League West and even MLB into two leagues of 15 teams.
The sale of the Astros is intertwined with baseball's current round of collective bargaining. MLB is likely to add a Wild Card team by 2012 or 2013 and moving the Astros to the American League would likely accelerate expanded playoffs.
McLane recently said he expects the sale to be complete within three or four weeks. Last week, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked ahead to Houston's offseason.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [October 12 at 11:05am CST]
Astros owner Drayton McLane is expected to complete the sale of the team to Jim Crane in mid-November, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). The arrangement would move Houston to the American League West and even MLB into two leagues of 15 teams.
The sale of the Astros is intertwined with baseball's current round of collective bargaining. MLB is likely to add a Wild Card team by 2012 or 2013 and moving the Astros to the American League would likely accelerate expanded playoffs.
McLane recently said he expects the sale to be complete within three or four weeks. Last week, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked ahead to Houston's offseason.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
322Should be titled: "Boston writer outrage at missing post season"
Inside the collapse
Dedication waned, unity unraveled, and manager lost influence as a once-inspiring Red Sox season ended in epic failure
Key factors in collapse
By Bob Hohler
Globe Staff / October 12, 2011
With their team in peril and their manager losing his authority, three Red Sox pitchers last month were uniquely positioned to prevent the greatest September collapse in major league history. All the Sox needed was Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey to apply the skills and commitment that previously made them World Series champions.
Instead, Boston’s three elite starters went soft, their pitching as anemic as their work ethic. The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season.
The story of Boston’s lost September unfolds in part as an indictment of the three prized starters. But the epic flop of 2011 had many faces: a lame-duck manager, coping with personal issues, whose team partly tuned him out; stars who failed to lead; players who turned lackluster and self-interested; a general manager responsible for fruitless roster decisions; owners who approved unrewarding free agent spending and missed some warning signs that their $161 million club was deteriorating.
How a team that was on pace in late August to win 100 games and contend for its third World Series title in seven years self-destructed is a story of disunity, disloyalty, and dysfunction like few others in franchise history.
This article is based on a series of interviews the Globe conducted with individuals familiar with the Sox operation at all levels. Most requested anonymity out of concern for their jobs or potential damage to their relationships in the organization. Others refused to comment or did not respond to interview requests.
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, portrayed on a Sports Illustrated cover in August as “the heart of the Red Sox,’’ declined to hold any individual culpable.
“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,’’ Pedroia said. “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.’’
By numerous accounts, manager Terry Francona lost his ability to prevent some of the lax behavior that characterized the collapse. Team sources said Francona, who has acknowledged losing influence with some former team leaders, appeared distracted during the season by issues related to his troubled marriage and to his health.
Francona spent the season living in a hotel after he moved out of the Brookline home he shared with Jacque, his wife of nearly 30 years. But he adamantly denied his marital problems affected his job performance.
“It makes me angry that people say these things because I’ve busted my [butt] to be the best manager I can be,’’ Francona said. “I wasn’t terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did.’’
Team sources also expressed concern that Francona’s performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication, which he also vehemently denied. Francona said he has taken pain medicine for many years, particularly after multiple knee surgeries. He said he used painkillers after knee surgery last October and used them during the season to relieve the discomfort of doctors draining blood from his knee at least five times.
Francona acknowledged that he consulted the team’s internist, Dr. Larry Ronan, during spring training after one of his children expressed concern about a pill bottle in his hotel room. Francona said the doctor told him he did not have a drug abuse problem. Ronan could not be reached.
“I went and saw the proper people and it was not an issue,’’ Francona said. “It never became an issue, and anybody who knew what was going on knows that.’’
Commitment lacking By all accounts, the 2011 Sox perished from a rash of relatively small indignities. For every player committed to the team’s conditioning program, there was a slacker. For every Sox regular who rose early on the road to take optional batting practice, there were others who never bothered. For every player who dedicated himself to the quest for a championship, there were too many distracted by petty personal issues.
The closer the Sox inched toward September, the more their ill temperaments surfaced.
As Hurricane Irene barreled toward Boston in late August, management proposed moving up the Sunday finale of a weekend series against Oakland so the teams could play a day-night doubleheader either Friday, Aug. 26, or Saturday, Aug. 27. The reasoning seemed sound: the teams would avoid a Sunday rainout and the dilemma of finding a mutual makeup date for teams separated by 2,700 miles.
But numerous Sox players angrily protested. They returned early that Friday from Texas after a demanding stretch in which they had played 14 of 17 games on the road, with additional stops in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Kansas City. The players accused management of caring more about making money than winning, which marked the first time the team’s top executives sensed serious trouble brewing in the clubhouse.
As it turned out, the Sox swept the Saturday doubleheader, but that stormy day marked the beginning of the end for the 2011 team. It was the last time the team would win two games in a row. After getting two days off, the Sox spent the rest of the season playing uninspired, subpar baseball, losing 21 of their final 29 games.
Sox owners soon suspected the team’s poor play was related to lingering resentment over the scheduling dispute, sources said. The owners responded by giving all the players $300 headphones and inviting them to enjoy a players-only night on principal owner John W. Henry’s yacht after they returned from a road trip Sept. 11.
But the gestures made no difference. The hapless Sox became the laughingstocks of baseball as they went from holding a two-game divisional lead over the Yankees after the Aug. 27 doubleheader - and a nine-game advantage in the wild-card race over the Rays - to finishing a humiliating third in the AL East.
While the seeds of failure were sown long before the shame of September, other foreboding signs emerged earlier. In springtime, there proved to be regrettable irony in the entire starting rotation - Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Tim Wakefield, and Clay Buchholz - donning Sox uniforms and hamming it up in front of the Green Monster for a video of a country music ditty, “Hell Yeah, I Like Beer.’’
Drinking beer in the Sox clubhouse is permissible. So is ordering take-out chicken and biscuits. Playing video games on one of the clubhouse’s flat-screen televisions is OK, too. But for the Sox pitching trio to do all three during games, rather than show solidarity with their teammates in the dugout, violated an unwritten rule that players support each other, especially in times of crisis.
Sources said Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, who were joined at times by Buchholz, began the practice late in 2010. The pitchers not only continued the routine this year, sources said, but they joined a number of teammates in cutting back on their exercise regimens despite appeals from the team’s strength and conditioning coach Dave Page.
“It’ s hard for a guy making $80,000 to tell a $15 million pitcher he needs to get off his butt and do some work,’’ one source said.
For Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, the consequences were apparent as their body fat appeared to increase and pitching skills eroded. When the team needed them in September, they posted a combined 2-7 record with a 6.45 earned run average, the Sox losing 11 of their 15 starts.
Wakefield also was part of the problem. Amid a seemingly interminable quest for his 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,’’ Wakefield told Fox Sports, raising eyebrows on Yawkey Way.
Growing ineffectiveness Francona, who mutually parted with the Sox after the season, has been careful not to criticize individual players. He generally downplayed the pitchers’ drinking in the clubhouse, but he left little doubt that their absence from the dugout reflected a lack of dedication to the team.
Beckett, Lackey, and Lester did not reply to messages left on their phones and with their agents.
“The guys that weren’t down on the bench, I wanted them down on the bench,’’ Francona said last week in a contractual appearance on WEEI. “I wanted them to support their teammates.’’
But Francona’s troubles ran deeper than the three starters. As he completed his eighth year as manager - a historic run in which he guided the Sox to two World Series titles - Francona by his own admission grew less capable of motivating the team. His losing influence with some former leaders came into sharper relief after he convened a closed-door meeting Sept. 7 after a 14-0 victory the previous night to address the clubhouse malaise. His players responded by failing to adjust their attitudes or improve their slipshod performances.
In the face of his team’s corroded spirit, Francona became increasingly ineffectual, according to team sources. Francona was burdened not only by the frustration of coping with the least dedicated group of players of his Boston tenure, but by the likelihood that Sox owners would not exercise his contractual option for 2012.
Francona took strong exception to the suggestion that his problems motivating the players had anything to do with his commitment to the team.
“You never heard any of these complaints when we were going 80-41 [from April 15 to Aug. 27] because there was nothing there,’’ Francona said. “But we absolutely stunk in the last month, so now we have to deal with a lot of this stuff because expectations were so high.’’
While Francona coped with his marital and health issues, he also worried privately about the safety of his son, Nick, and son-in-law, Michael Rice, both of whom are Marine officers serving in Afghanistan.
In the end, only Pedroia and a few other players appeared to remain fully committed to winning, according to team sources. They said the veterans who no longer actively exerted their leadership included the captain, Jason Varitek, who was saddled with injuries and ineffective on the field (he batted .077 in September).
The 39-year-old catcher, in a brief conversation, chastised a reporter for calling him at home and otherwise declined to comment.
Other than Varitek and Wakefield, the only holdovers from Francona’s 2004 championship run were David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Although Ortiz once gathered his teammates in September to try to rally them, his most memorable act off the field in 2011 was bursting into a Francona news conference to profanely complain about a scorer’s decision that could have cost him credit for batting in a run.
Weeks later, Ortiz committed another disrespectful act by suggesting Francona was hurting the team by failing to insert reliever Alfredo Aceves in the starting rotation. Reached for this story, Ortiz said of his role in the collapse, “I don’t feel like talking about it anymore.’’
Nor was Youkilis willing to talk after a second straight injury-marred year in which his production suffered. Youkilis, by nearly all accounts, grew more detached and short-tempered as he tried to play through his ailments. He also factored in a divisive clubhouse issue as the only player last year who publicly criticized Jacoby Ellsbury - several others privately chided the outfielder - when Ellsbury missed all but 18 games with rib injuries.
The episode chilled Ellsbury’s relationship with the team. As joyful as Ellsbury’s MVP-caliber season was to many fans, his interaction in the Sox clubhouse was limited mostly to his friend Jed Lowrie. Ellsbury produced one of the most sensational seasons for a leadoff hitter in franchise history - he also ranked with Pedroia, Aceves, and Jonathan Papelbon among the team’s hardest workers - but he contributed little to the clubhouse culture.
Leadership errors The gift of leadership also eluded Adrian Gonzalez. On the field, Gonzalez’s overall production was superb, but he provided none of the energy or passion off the field that the Sox sorely needed. His most unfortunate act in September was grousing about the Sox schedule, which required the team to play five getaway games on Sunday nights.
“We play too many night games on getaway days and get into places at 4 in the morning,’’ Gonzalez complained. “This has been my toughest season physically because of that.’’
Blaming five stressful nights over a six-month season for a tough year smacked of the self-interest that is uncommon among leaders of championship-caliber teams.
To general manager Theo Epstein, acquiring Gonzalez by trade last winter from San Diego was crucial to solidifying the middle of the Sox lineup. But Epstein struck out in trying to beef up the bullpen, most notably by investing $12 million over two years in Bobby Jenks, so far a bust.
The Sox also suffered from the exorbitant signing of Lackey ($82.5 million over five years), as the righthander logged the worst ERA (6.41) among regular starters in team history.
While Epstein has accepted blame for signing subpar performers such as Lackey and Jenks, the owners share the responsibility of unanimously approving their signings. But Carl Crawford was a different story.
Ownership was divided over Epstein’s push to acquire Crawford as a free agent, sources said. At least one top executive believed Crawford’s skills as a speedy lefthanded-hitting outfielder seemed to duplicate Ellsbury’s. But the owners ultimately agreed to gamble $142 million over seven years on Crawford - a lost wager to date.
The owners also indicated in postseason remarks they were generally unaware of how deeply damaged the Sox had become until after the season. They denied being distracted by their expanding sports conglomerate - from the Sox and NESN to Roush Fenway Racing and the Liverpool Football Club - but they professed to have no knowledge about players drinking during games, among other issues.
In the ugly aftermath, the Sox owners privately vowed to correct any lingering problems. And at least some players were expected to look in the mirror.
“We have to hold ourselves more accountable,’’ Pedroia said. “That has nothing to do with the manager or coaches. On the great major league teams, players police each other, so we’ll get back to doing that.’’
Bob Hohler can be reached at hohler@globe.com; Globe staffers Nick Cafardo and Peter Abraham contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
Inside the collapse
Dedication waned, unity unraveled, and manager lost influence as a once-inspiring Red Sox season ended in epic failure
Key factors in collapse
By Bob Hohler
Globe Staff / October 12, 2011
With their team in peril and their manager losing his authority, three Red Sox pitchers last month were uniquely positioned to prevent the greatest September collapse in major league history. All the Sox needed was Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey to apply the skills and commitment that previously made them World Series champions.
Instead, Boston’s three elite starters went soft, their pitching as anemic as their work ethic. The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season.
The story of Boston’s lost September unfolds in part as an indictment of the three prized starters. But the epic flop of 2011 had many faces: a lame-duck manager, coping with personal issues, whose team partly tuned him out; stars who failed to lead; players who turned lackluster and self-interested; a general manager responsible for fruitless roster decisions; owners who approved unrewarding free agent spending and missed some warning signs that their $161 million club was deteriorating.
How a team that was on pace in late August to win 100 games and contend for its third World Series title in seven years self-destructed is a story of disunity, disloyalty, and dysfunction like few others in franchise history.
This article is based on a series of interviews the Globe conducted with individuals familiar with the Sox operation at all levels. Most requested anonymity out of concern for their jobs or potential damage to their relationships in the organization. Others refused to comment or did not respond to interview requests.
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, portrayed on a Sports Illustrated cover in August as “the heart of the Red Sox,’’ declined to hold any individual culpable.
“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,’’ Pedroia said. “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.’’
By numerous accounts, manager Terry Francona lost his ability to prevent some of the lax behavior that characterized the collapse. Team sources said Francona, who has acknowledged losing influence with some former team leaders, appeared distracted during the season by issues related to his troubled marriage and to his health.
Francona spent the season living in a hotel after he moved out of the Brookline home he shared with Jacque, his wife of nearly 30 years. But he adamantly denied his marital problems affected his job performance.
“It makes me angry that people say these things because I’ve busted my [butt] to be the best manager I can be,’’ Francona said. “I wasn’t terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did.’’
Team sources also expressed concern that Francona’s performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication, which he also vehemently denied. Francona said he has taken pain medicine for many years, particularly after multiple knee surgeries. He said he used painkillers after knee surgery last October and used them during the season to relieve the discomfort of doctors draining blood from his knee at least five times.
Francona acknowledged that he consulted the team’s internist, Dr. Larry Ronan, during spring training after one of his children expressed concern about a pill bottle in his hotel room. Francona said the doctor told him he did not have a drug abuse problem. Ronan could not be reached.
“I went and saw the proper people and it was not an issue,’’ Francona said. “It never became an issue, and anybody who knew what was going on knows that.’’
Commitment lacking By all accounts, the 2011 Sox perished from a rash of relatively small indignities. For every player committed to the team’s conditioning program, there was a slacker. For every Sox regular who rose early on the road to take optional batting practice, there were others who never bothered. For every player who dedicated himself to the quest for a championship, there were too many distracted by petty personal issues.
The closer the Sox inched toward September, the more their ill temperaments surfaced.
As Hurricane Irene barreled toward Boston in late August, management proposed moving up the Sunday finale of a weekend series against Oakland so the teams could play a day-night doubleheader either Friday, Aug. 26, or Saturday, Aug. 27. The reasoning seemed sound: the teams would avoid a Sunday rainout and the dilemma of finding a mutual makeup date for teams separated by 2,700 miles.
But numerous Sox players angrily protested. They returned early that Friday from Texas after a demanding stretch in which they had played 14 of 17 games on the road, with additional stops in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Kansas City. The players accused management of caring more about making money than winning, which marked the first time the team’s top executives sensed serious trouble brewing in the clubhouse.
As it turned out, the Sox swept the Saturday doubleheader, but that stormy day marked the beginning of the end for the 2011 team. It was the last time the team would win two games in a row. After getting two days off, the Sox spent the rest of the season playing uninspired, subpar baseball, losing 21 of their final 29 games.
Sox owners soon suspected the team’s poor play was related to lingering resentment over the scheduling dispute, sources said. The owners responded by giving all the players $300 headphones and inviting them to enjoy a players-only night on principal owner John W. Henry’s yacht after they returned from a road trip Sept. 11.
But the gestures made no difference. The hapless Sox became the laughingstocks of baseball as they went from holding a two-game divisional lead over the Yankees after the Aug. 27 doubleheader - and a nine-game advantage in the wild-card race over the Rays - to finishing a humiliating third in the AL East.
While the seeds of failure were sown long before the shame of September, other foreboding signs emerged earlier. In springtime, there proved to be regrettable irony in the entire starting rotation - Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Tim Wakefield, and Clay Buchholz - donning Sox uniforms and hamming it up in front of the Green Monster for a video of a country music ditty, “Hell Yeah, I Like Beer.’’
Drinking beer in the Sox clubhouse is permissible. So is ordering take-out chicken and biscuits. Playing video games on one of the clubhouse’s flat-screen televisions is OK, too. But for the Sox pitching trio to do all three during games, rather than show solidarity with their teammates in the dugout, violated an unwritten rule that players support each other, especially in times of crisis.
Sources said Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, who were joined at times by Buchholz, began the practice late in 2010. The pitchers not only continued the routine this year, sources said, but they joined a number of teammates in cutting back on their exercise regimens despite appeals from the team’s strength and conditioning coach Dave Page.
“It’ s hard for a guy making $80,000 to tell a $15 million pitcher he needs to get off his butt and do some work,’’ one source said.
For Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, the consequences were apparent as their body fat appeared to increase and pitching skills eroded. When the team needed them in September, they posted a combined 2-7 record with a 6.45 earned run average, the Sox losing 11 of their 15 starts.
Wakefield also was part of the problem. Amid a seemingly interminable quest for his 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,’’ Wakefield told Fox Sports, raising eyebrows on Yawkey Way.
Growing ineffectiveness Francona, who mutually parted with the Sox after the season, has been careful not to criticize individual players. He generally downplayed the pitchers’ drinking in the clubhouse, but he left little doubt that their absence from the dugout reflected a lack of dedication to the team.
Beckett, Lackey, and Lester did not reply to messages left on their phones and with their agents.
“The guys that weren’t down on the bench, I wanted them down on the bench,’’ Francona said last week in a contractual appearance on WEEI. “I wanted them to support their teammates.’’
But Francona’s troubles ran deeper than the three starters. As he completed his eighth year as manager - a historic run in which he guided the Sox to two World Series titles - Francona by his own admission grew less capable of motivating the team. His losing influence with some former leaders came into sharper relief after he convened a closed-door meeting Sept. 7 after a 14-0 victory the previous night to address the clubhouse malaise. His players responded by failing to adjust their attitudes or improve their slipshod performances.
In the face of his team’s corroded spirit, Francona became increasingly ineffectual, according to team sources. Francona was burdened not only by the frustration of coping with the least dedicated group of players of his Boston tenure, but by the likelihood that Sox owners would not exercise his contractual option for 2012.
Francona took strong exception to the suggestion that his problems motivating the players had anything to do with his commitment to the team.
“You never heard any of these complaints when we were going 80-41 [from April 15 to Aug. 27] because there was nothing there,’’ Francona said. “But we absolutely stunk in the last month, so now we have to deal with a lot of this stuff because expectations were so high.’’
While Francona coped with his marital and health issues, he also worried privately about the safety of his son, Nick, and son-in-law, Michael Rice, both of whom are Marine officers serving in Afghanistan.
In the end, only Pedroia and a few other players appeared to remain fully committed to winning, according to team sources. They said the veterans who no longer actively exerted their leadership included the captain, Jason Varitek, who was saddled with injuries and ineffective on the field (he batted .077 in September).
The 39-year-old catcher, in a brief conversation, chastised a reporter for calling him at home and otherwise declined to comment.
Other than Varitek and Wakefield, the only holdovers from Francona’s 2004 championship run were David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Although Ortiz once gathered his teammates in September to try to rally them, his most memorable act off the field in 2011 was bursting into a Francona news conference to profanely complain about a scorer’s decision that could have cost him credit for batting in a run.
Weeks later, Ortiz committed another disrespectful act by suggesting Francona was hurting the team by failing to insert reliever Alfredo Aceves in the starting rotation. Reached for this story, Ortiz said of his role in the collapse, “I don’t feel like talking about it anymore.’’
Nor was Youkilis willing to talk after a second straight injury-marred year in which his production suffered. Youkilis, by nearly all accounts, grew more detached and short-tempered as he tried to play through his ailments. He also factored in a divisive clubhouse issue as the only player last year who publicly criticized Jacoby Ellsbury - several others privately chided the outfielder - when Ellsbury missed all but 18 games with rib injuries.
The episode chilled Ellsbury’s relationship with the team. As joyful as Ellsbury’s MVP-caliber season was to many fans, his interaction in the Sox clubhouse was limited mostly to his friend Jed Lowrie. Ellsbury produced one of the most sensational seasons for a leadoff hitter in franchise history - he also ranked with Pedroia, Aceves, and Jonathan Papelbon among the team’s hardest workers - but he contributed little to the clubhouse culture.
Leadership errors The gift of leadership also eluded Adrian Gonzalez. On the field, Gonzalez’s overall production was superb, but he provided none of the energy or passion off the field that the Sox sorely needed. His most unfortunate act in September was grousing about the Sox schedule, which required the team to play five getaway games on Sunday nights.
“We play too many night games on getaway days and get into places at 4 in the morning,’’ Gonzalez complained. “This has been my toughest season physically because of that.’’
Blaming five stressful nights over a six-month season for a tough year smacked of the self-interest that is uncommon among leaders of championship-caliber teams.
To general manager Theo Epstein, acquiring Gonzalez by trade last winter from San Diego was crucial to solidifying the middle of the Sox lineup. But Epstein struck out in trying to beef up the bullpen, most notably by investing $12 million over two years in Bobby Jenks, so far a bust.
The Sox also suffered from the exorbitant signing of Lackey ($82.5 million over five years), as the righthander logged the worst ERA (6.41) among regular starters in team history.
While Epstein has accepted blame for signing subpar performers such as Lackey and Jenks, the owners share the responsibility of unanimously approving their signings. But Carl Crawford was a different story.
Ownership was divided over Epstein’s push to acquire Crawford as a free agent, sources said. At least one top executive believed Crawford’s skills as a speedy lefthanded-hitting outfielder seemed to duplicate Ellsbury’s. But the owners ultimately agreed to gamble $142 million over seven years on Crawford - a lost wager to date.
The owners also indicated in postseason remarks they were generally unaware of how deeply damaged the Sox had become until after the season. They denied being distracted by their expanding sports conglomerate - from the Sox and NESN to Roush Fenway Racing and the Liverpool Football Club - but they professed to have no knowledge about players drinking during games, among other issues.
In the ugly aftermath, the Sox owners privately vowed to correct any lingering problems. And at least some players were expected to look in the mirror.
“We have to hold ourselves more accountable,’’ Pedroia said. “That has nothing to do with the manager or coaches. On the great major league teams, players police each other, so we’ll get back to doing that.’’
Bob Hohler can be reached at hohler@globe.com; Globe staffers Nick Cafardo and Peter Abraham contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
323Manuel promises improved offense in 2012
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com | 10/12/11 4:30 PM ET
Charlie Manuel found himself in an unenviable situation.
Had the Phillies played like the best team in baseball against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series, which they were for six months and 162 games, they would have been in Milwaukee on Wednesday, preparing to play the Brewers in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series. Instead, he was answering questions about his offense during an offseason news conference at Citizens Bank Park.
"I take a lot of pride in hitters," Manuel said. "I get upset sometimes when we don't hit as good as I want us to hit or think we should hit. Let me tell you something. I don't care whether you like it or not, I know how good a hitting coach I am. Whether you want to believe that or whatever, really. We will get better."
The Phillies averaged 4.80 runs per game from July 1 through the end of the regular season, which was the best mark in the National League. They outscored the Cardinals in the best-of-five series, 21-19. Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt -- two of the rotation's four aces -- allowed 10 of those 19 runs, but more people are focusing on the offense because it hit just .226 in the series, just .161 after the second inning in Game 2 and went scoreless in 31 of their final 34 innings, including a 1-0 loss in Game 5.
The Phillies struggled similarly in the 2010 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants.
"We would like to grind out more at-bats, learn how to work more counts, plate discipline," Manuel said. "All those things [Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.] talks about, I talked about. I teach that. It's a matter of keep reminding guys. We definitely will have meetings and things like that in Spring Training, and carry it out during the season. We have to get better hitting."
Two at-bats in the series captured the frustration of fans: First, Shane Victorino swinging at a first-pitch sinker from Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter in the first inning in Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park. Carpenter had not retired a batter to that point, allowing a leadoff single to Jimmy Rollins, walking Chase Utley and Hunter Pence, and allowing an infield single to Ryan Howard when Victorino swung at the first pitch and flied out to center field for the first out. Second, Skip Schumaker working a 10-pitch at-bat against Roy Halladay in the second inning in Game 5. He worked a double to score Rafael Furcal for the game's only run.
The Cardinals had numerous at-bats like that, while the Phillies allowed St. Louis pitchers to throw six or seven pitches in an entire inning.
That's not grinding out at-bats like Manuel wants.
"I go back to pitchers and scouting reports," Manuel said. "You make adjustments, the pitchers make adjustments and the hitters have to make adjustments. If you don't like to or are afraid to go deep in the count or to hit with two strikes on you, you are going to get anxious, you'll be aggressive and chase bad balls. At times, we'll take a fastball right down the middle, some guy will throw a breaking ball down and we'll roll over it and swing at it and miss. That's not good hitting. We talk about that all the time.
"That's how I talk to our hitters and so does [hitting coach Greg Gross]. At the same time, pitching in baseball is getting better. They know who likes to swing, who won't walk, who doesn't take pitches, who will go out of the strike zone and take bad pitches."
Other than talking to their hitters more regularly, Amaro and Manuel did not offer specifics on how they can get them to change. It is fair to wonder how much a hitter truly can alter his approach, if that has been the way he has hit his entire career.
Can Manuel and Gross teach their hitters patience?
Will they listen?
"Do the players listen to me? Without a doubt," Manuel said. "I know they listen to me. Does every one of them? There might be somebody who didn't get to play or who's upset or something, he'll tell you. The only way to find out is if you ask them and I'm sure they will tell you. I think they listen to me."
Manuel believes he can reach his hitters to prevent these types of shortcomings in the future. That is why he isn't shying away from future expectations. Somebody suggested the Phillies should be World Series favorites again in 2012. He's not scared of that.
"That's the way I like it," he said. "We play the everyday game. You can put expectations on all you want to, it's the expectations that they put on themselves and how we look at things. Right now when we go to Spring Training, what we will be talking about is getting to the World Series and win. That's been our goal ever since we won after 2008."
By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com | 10/12/11 4:30 PM ET
Charlie Manuel found himself in an unenviable situation.
Had the Phillies played like the best team in baseball against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series, which they were for six months and 162 games, they would have been in Milwaukee on Wednesday, preparing to play the Brewers in Game 3 of the NL Championship Series. Instead, he was answering questions about his offense during an offseason news conference at Citizens Bank Park.
"I take a lot of pride in hitters," Manuel said. "I get upset sometimes when we don't hit as good as I want us to hit or think we should hit. Let me tell you something. I don't care whether you like it or not, I know how good a hitting coach I am. Whether you want to believe that or whatever, really. We will get better."
The Phillies averaged 4.80 runs per game from July 1 through the end of the regular season, which was the best mark in the National League. They outscored the Cardinals in the best-of-five series, 21-19. Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt -- two of the rotation's four aces -- allowed 10 of those 19 runs, but more people are focusing on the offense because it hit just .226 in the series, just .161 after the second inning in Game 2 and went scoreless in 31 of their final 34 innings, including a 1-0 loss in Game 5.
The Phillies struggled similarly in the 2010 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants.
"We would like to grind out more at-bats, learn how to work more counts, plate discipline," Manuel said. "All those things [Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.] talks about, I talked about. I teach that. It's a matter of keep reminding guys. We definitely will have meetings and things like that in Spring Training, and carry it out during the season. We have to get better hitting."
Two at-bats in the series captured the frustration of fans: First, Shane Victorino swinging at a first-pitch sinker from Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter in the first inning in Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park. Carpenter had not retired a batter to that point, allowing a leadoff single to Jimmy Rollins, walking Chase Utley and Hunter Pence, and allowing an infield single to Ryan Howard when Victorino swung at the first pitch and flied out to center field for the first out. Second, Skip Schumaker working a 10-pitch at-bat against Roy Halladay in the second inning in Game 5. He worked a double to score Rafael Furcal for the game's only run.
The Cardinals had numerous at-bats like that, while the Phillies allowed St. Louis pitchers to throw six or seven pitches in an entire inning.
That's not grinding out at-bats like Manuel wants.
"I go back to pitchers and scouting reports," Manuel said. "You make adjustments, the pitchers make adjustments and the hitters have to make adjustments. If you don't like to or are afraid to go deep in the count or to hit with two strikes on you, you are going to get anxious, you'll be aggressive and chase bad balls. At times, we'll take a fastball right down the middle, some guy will throw a breaking ball down and we'll roll over it and swing at it and miss. That's not good hitting. We talk about that all the time.
"That's how I talk to our hitters and so does [hitting coach Greg Gross]. At the same time, pitching in baseball is getting better. They know who likes to swing, who won't walk, who doesn't take pitches, who will go out of the strike zone and take bad pitches."
Other than talking to their hitters more regularly, Amaro and Manuel did not offer specifics on how they can get them to change. It is fair to wonder how much a hitter truly can alter his approach, if that has been the way he has hit his entire career.
Can Manuel and Gross teach their hitters patience?
Will they listen?
"Do the players listen to me? Without a doubt," Manuel said. "I know they listen to me. Does every one of them? There might be somebody who didn't get to play or who's upset or something, he'll tell you. The only way to find out is if you ask them and I'm sure they will tell you. I think they listen to me."
Manuel believes he can reach his hitters to prevent these types of shortcomings in the future. That is why he isn't shying away from future expectations. Somebody suggested the Phillies should be World Series favorites again in 2012. He's not scared of that.
"That's the way I like it," he said. "We play the everyday game. You can put expectations on all you want to, it's the expectations that they put on themselves and how we look at things. Right now when we go to Spring Training, what we will be talking about is getting to the World Series and win. That's been our goal ever since we won after 2008."
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
-- Bob Feller
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
324A lot of friendly advice that our hitters should be thinking about next season.
How familiar does that sound ?!?!? Poster board material for our scrappy, young ball club!!!If you don't like to or are afraid to go deep in the count or to hit with two strikes on you, you are going to get anxious, you'll be aggressive and chase bad balls. At times, we'll take a fastball right down the middle, some guy will throw a breaking ball down and we'll roll over it and swing at it and miss. That's not good hitting. We talk about that all the time.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
-- Bob Feller
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
325Sox owners soon suspected the team’s poor play was related to lingering resentment over the scheduling dispute, sources said. The owners responded by giving all the players $300 headphones and inviting them to enjoy a players-only night on principal owner John W. Henry’s yacht after they returned from a road trip Sept. 11.
If true, that is a sad commentary on today's pro athletes.
If true, that is a sad commentary on today's pro athletes.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
326
Last edited by rusty2 on Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
327That's the same one that TDU posted above.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
328TDU wrote:Should be titled: "Boston writer outrage at missing post season"
Inside the collapse
Dedication waned, unity unraveled, and manager lost influence as a once-inspiring Red Sox season ended in epic failure
Key factors in collapse
By Bob Hohler
Globe Staff / October 12, 2011
Agreed.
Ironic that Theo Epstein goes from Fenway Park to Wrigley Field.
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
329PETER GAMMONS ON M&M: ‘I’M PRETTY SICKENED’ BY TRASHING OF TERRY FRANCONA 10.12.11 at 1:28 pm ET
By Justin Doubleday
Peter Gammons
Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons joined Mut & Merloni Wednesday morning for his weekly appearance. Gammons gave his take on Wednesday’s Boston Globe article that gave a picture of the dysfunction that reigned in the Red Sox clubhouse during the team’s September collapse and even before that. One of the most controversial items in the article detailed how ex-manager Terry Francona may have been distracted by a failing marriage and health problems that forced him to use pain medication.
“I must say, I’m pretty sickened,” Gammons said. “I don’t need the Terry Francona out-the-door trashing. It’ll be interesting to see if they can screw it all up and trash Theo [Epstein] once he leaves. … It doesn’t speak really well about the way Tito left and the things he said, and the way Theo’s leaving, about how insane New England has become. There’s so much freneticism.”
The article suggested that Francona’s use of pain medication may affected his managing during the season. Francona has denied these claims. Gammons said that he feels that similarly controversial stories on Epstein may come out now that he is leaving for the Cubs.
“That’s my feeling on it, it’s just going to happen now with Theo, too,” Gammons said. “It’s not attractive. When I read this at, whatever, 4 o’clock in the morning here in St. Louis. I went, ‘Why?’ … A couple of players texted me, ‘Who in the world would read this?’ … It may be that some people in ownership think that Theo betrayed them. Maybe in the next week, we’ll get the owners of the Red Sox, the New York Times corporation, will trash Theo, too.”
Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.
On Epstein leaving with a year left on his contract: “It was my understanding that they would have discussed extending him. I don’t think he was interested in that. They clearly wanted him to stay. I’ve heard that some people in ownership have felt that he should stay for the last year of his contract. And I think the Cubs made it very difficult to turn it down with the power he’s going to end up having. … I sense more and more this year that it was getting difficult, that Theo was feeling claustrophobic. He went in there and right away had great success. He became, in a sense, a rock star. That burns out. … I think that it burned out a little bit. I think that was really, really hard on him. He’s such a private person. To lose that privacy I think is something that impacted him and his family.”
On what the Red Sox will get for compensation for Theo: “I think that more important is going to be the $15 million to $20 million, and then I think it’s going to be a prospect. A guy like Brett Jackson who is young, would immediately take over as the Red Sox’ regular right fielder, right-handed hitter, which they need. A guy like that is probably the most logical The Red Sox aren’t going to get Starlin Castro. They’re not going to take [Carlos] Zambrano or [Alfonso] Soriano, who they’ll probably end up releasing anyway. I think it will maybe be Jackson or a couple of young arms. They don’t have many major league-ready young pitchers.”
On who wanted to sign Carl Crawford: “It was Theo and Terry. They were in together on it. And Terry went down there with Theo to Houston and did a tremendous job recruiting him. There was no question that John Henry is wary of free agency. There’s no doubt about that.”
On Josh Beckett’s future after allegations of drinking in clubhouse: “I think they can turn it around with Josh. I really believe that. I have found him to be very accountable. … He blames himself and goes into it. And [Jon] Lester is the same way.”
On if the chances that Jonathan Papelbon re-signs with Boston are lowered with Epstein leaving: “It could be. … I don’t think there’s going to be another Francisco Rodriguez contract for a closer. And I think that’s the question. Is there going to be a four year, 50-60 million dollar contract for a closer who’s around 30 [years old]. I’m not sure that’s going to happen. You have to find the right team to be able to be able to spend that money. And I think there’s more and more of a tendency to say, ‘Wow, if we can find John Axford out of the semi-pro league in Canada and he ends up our closer …’
“So, it’ll be interesting. I do believe that Papelbon is really important. A couple of players, a coach have said to me, ‘In the last year, he’s really looked in the mirror and become something of a leader.’ And we know he can pitch in Boston, which not everybody can close in Boston. And he also gives you the opportunity to say OK, you go find a couple of eighth-inning guys and you put Daniel Bard in the rotation and you’ve got 180-200 innings, which they need. So I think it’s going to be fascinating. There are those people who say, ‘Jeez, Papelbon was in great shape in his walk year.’ I think he has proven over six years that he’s one guy who can really do it in Boston.”
By Justin Doubleday
Peter Gammons
Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons joined Mut & Merloni Wednesday morning for his weekly appearance. Gammons gave his take on Wednesday’s Boston Globe article that gave a picture of the dysfunction that reigned in the Red Sox clubhouse during the team’s September collapse and even before that. One of the most controversial items in the article detailed how ex-manager Terry Francona may have been distracted by a failing marriage and health problems that forced him to use pain medication.
“I must say, I’m pretty sickened,” Gammons said. “I don’t need the Terry Francona out-the-door trashing. It’ll be interesting to see if they can screw it all up and trash Theo [Epstein] once he leaves. … It doesn’t speak really well about the way Tito left and the things he said, and the way Theo’s leaving, about how insane New England has become. There’s so much freneticism.”
The article suggested that Francona’s use of pain medication may affected his managing during the season. Francona has denied these claims. Gammons said that he feels that similarly controversial stories on Epstein may come out now that he is leaving for the Cubs.
“That’s my feeling on it, it’s just going to happen now with Theo, too,” Gammons said. “It’s not attractive. When I read this at, whatever, 4 o’clock in the morning here in St. Louis. I went, ‘Why?’ … A couple of players texted me, ‘Who in the world would read this?’ … It may be that some people in ownership think that Theo betrayed them. Maybe in the next week, we’ll get the owners of the Red Sox, the New York Times corporation, will trash Theo, too.”
Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.
On Epstein leaving with a year left on his contract: “It was my understanding that they would have discussed extending him. I don’t think he was interested in that. They clearly wanted him to stay. I’ve heard that some people in ownership have felt that he should stay for the last year of his contract. And I think the Cubs made it very difficult to turn it down with the power he’s going to end up having. … I sense more and more this year that it was getting difficult, that Theo was feeling claustrophobic. He went in there and right away had great success. He became, in a sense, a rock star. That burns out. … I think that it burned out a little bit. I think that was really, really hard on him. He’s such a private person. To lose that privacy I think is something that impacted him and his family.”
On what the Red Sox will get for compensation for Theo: “I think that more important is going to be the $15 million to $20 million, and then I think it’s going to be a prospect. A guy like Brett Jackson who is young, would immediately take over as the Red Sox’ regular right fielder, right-handed hitter, which they need. A guy like that is probably the most logical The Red Sox aren’t going to get Starlin Castro. They’re not going to take [Carlos] Zambrano or [Alfonso] Soriano, who they’ll probably end up releasing anyway. I think it will maybe be Jackson or a couple of young arms. They don’t have many major league-ready young pitchers.”
On who wanted to sign Carl Crawford: “It was Theo and Terry. They were in together on it. And Terry went down there with Theo to Houston and did a tremendous job recruiting him. There was no question that John Henry is wary of free agency. There’s no doubt about that.”
On Josh Beckett’s future after allegations of drinking in clubhouse: “I think they can turn it around with Josh. I really believe that. I have found him to be very accountable. … He blames himself and goes into it. And [Jon] Lester is the same way.”
On if the chances that Jonathan Papelbon re-signs with Boston are lowered with Epstein leaving: “It could be. … I don’t think there’s going to be another Francisco Rodriguez contract for a closer. And I think that’s the question. Is there going to be a four year, 50-60 million dollar contract for a closer who’s around 30 [years old]. I’m not sure that’s going to happen. You have to find the right team to be able to be able to spend that money. And I think there’s more and more of a tendency to say, ‘Wow, if we can find John Axford out of the semi-pro league in Canada and he ends up our closer …’
“So, it’ll be interesting. I do believe that Papelbon is really important. A couple of players, a coach have said to me, ‘In the last year, he’s really looked in the mirror and become something of a leader.’ And we know he can pitch in Boston, which not everybody can close in Boston. And he also gives you the opportunity to say OK, you go find a couple of eighth-inning guys and you put Daniel Bard in the rotation and you’ve got 180-200 innings, which they need. So I think it’s going to be fascinating. There are those people who say, ‘Jeez, Papelbon was in great shape in his walk year.’ I think he has proven over six years that he’s one guy who can really do it in Boston.”
Re: Just Baseball: Major League teams OTHER THAN the Tribe
330The offense is the most obvious place for Beane to spend. Oakland's lineup featured little pop besides Josh Willingham in 2011 and ranked 12th in the American League in runs scored (645). Willingham, Coco Crisp and David DeJesus will be among the most sought-after free agent outfielders of the offseason, so re-signing them won't be easy, though the A’s appear to have interest in bringing Willingham and Crisp back.
The A's can obtain two draft picks for Willingham, who would obtain a raise from $6MM if he accepted arbitration from Oakland. It's an acceptable risk for the A's given the possible picks, Willingham's free agent prospects and the limited downside of a one-year deal. An offer of arbitration for DeJesus, a bounce-back candidate in 2012, seems less likely.
Without the organizational stability to spend aggressively or the ability to attract big-name free agents, the A's may turn to the trade market, where Ryan Spilborghs, Carlos Quentin, Angel Pagan and B.J. Upton could be available as alternatives to internal options such as Michael Taylor, Ryan Sweeney and Jai Miller. Oakland's pitching staff is a definite strength and it could be the currency Beane uses to acquire outfield help and address minor needs.
It appears likely that designated hitter Hideki Matsui will return on a one-year deal. Matsui generates revenue and won’t command more than a few million, but most teams look for more than 12 homers and a .696 OPS from their designated hitter. David Ortiz would provide more offense, but he’ll be significantly more expensive than Matsui.
The A's can obtain two draft picks for Willingham, who would obtain a raise from $6MM if he accepted arbitration from Oakland. It's an acceptable risk for the A's given the possible picks, Willingham's free agent prospects and the limited downside of a one-year deal. An offer of arbitration for DeJesus, a bounce-back candidate in 2012, seems less likely.
Without the organizational stability to spend aggressively or the ability to attract big-name free agents, the A's may turn to the trade market, where Ryan Spilborghs, Carlos Quentin, Angel Pagan and B.J. Upton could be available as alternatives to internal options such as Michael Taylor, Ryan Sweeney and Jai Miller. Oakland's pitching staff is a definite strength and it could be the currency Beane uses to acquire outfield help and address minor needs.
It appears likely that designated hitter Hideki Matsui will return on a one-year deal. Matsui generates revenue and won’t command more than a few million, but most teams look for more than 12 homers and a .696 OPS from their designated hitter. David Ortiz would provide more offense, but he’ll be significantly more expensive than Matsui.