So this whole thing has gotten way out of hand in my opinion. I am not saying that as a Red Sox fan I approve of the actions of no less than three of our pitchers during the games. However, do these stories really need to continue coming out. I am a little skeptical about some of the stories. As someone who has worked in media before, I am inclined to believe that some of these reporters do not have the integrity to not make up these sources, just so they can latch onto the big story in sports and make a name for themselves. I mean, really. There are just a few too many anonymous sources making these allegations. Now, the beer and fried chicken? I will believe that. You give me the name of a single man who does not enjoy some good beer and fried chicken at night. Do I agree that it should be done when your, "On the job"? No. These guys are baseball players who are paid GOBS of money to go out every night and do something that as kids we beg out parents to let us stay out late and do for free. If you are playing the sport professionally, it can be assumed that you enjoy it. And if you enjoy the game of baseball, why not sit in the dugout and cheer on your team? But then again....sitting in a dugout watching the game, or watching it on tv with beer and fried chicken? I wont say that I wouldn't consider the latter.
P.S. Can you believe the timing? A music video just came out recently called Hell Yeah I Like Beer by Kevin Fowler and all five of the Sox starters are in it singing it. I'm serious! Go hit youtube real quick, and I'll wait here until you get back.
See??!! Even I'll admit that the timing is funny.
But let's get serious here. There are some holes in this story that I need to point out. I am inclined to believe Jon Lester in his reports yesterday. He admitted to the beer and fried chicken. Thank God. I just wanted someone to come out and confirm it. But he said that he, Josh Beckett and John Lackey do not play video games...not in the club house and not at home. I believe that. I have a hard time picturing John Lackey playing XBox or PlayStation, let alone Beckett or Lester. Why would Lester come out and admit to the beer and chicken and not to the video games? It makes no sense. The other hole is this new report that just "leaked" about the Red Sox drinking in the dugout. Am I supposed to believe that just as Lester comes out and admits to the drinking and chicken in the club house it is just a coincidence that this story comes out the next day? No. The media wants to cash in on this cash cow for a little bit longer. So now that Lester has admitted it and taken responsibility, what should a media member do? How about fabricating some story about drinking that supersedes the previous story? What could be more offensive than drinking in the club house? How about drinking on the field? Yea, why not. With all this going on, it could be believable, but not to me. I know how easy it would be to make up a story. For God sake, I could tweet to someone at ESPN right now that I heard David Ortiz on the phone with Brian Cashman at D'Angelo's in Boston earlier today. Do you have any idea how quickly that would be the head story on ESPN.com? That ESPN person would say a reliable source said it. Reliable source?! I don't even have a picture on twitter, and that's what they would say. That is why when I hear a story like this, something this insane, I cannot believe it.
Here are the facts, folks. The Red Sox had the biggest collapse in baseball history. A team with millions of follower and fans falls apart in a month. And now all of those millions are asking why? How? Who? Who is to blame? Who is the one person we can blame for this? And as such, Francona is gone. Epstein is gone. Boston media members are calling for the heads of players that 2 months ago they would have bought them champagne for just sitting in the same restaurant as them. Then this story breaks about the beer and chicken and now we blame the three pitchers on our team for it. Now yes, we turned to Beckett and Lester to stop the bleeding and they couldn't. But am I supposed to believe that them drinking on off days lead to that? Because I don't. I believe that this is a team that became to confident in their playing and thought they had the playoffs in the bag and that they could let up a bit. Just like every other person in the world. When you could try hard and be successful or slack and be only slightly less successful, they will slack off. Then by the time the team realized they were in trouble, it was too late. They were nervous, and Tampa was confident. Even guys like Boston legend (I say gingerly, because he was only here for 5 years) Curt Schilling who said they wouldn't make it. Let's face it everyone. The team blew it. It's not the first time we've seen a collapse in sports. And it wont be the last. And this witch hunt that the media is doing to point the finger for it is only hurting the team. But they don't care. They just want to make a name for themselves. "Hey did you know I'm the one who broke the story about the Sox drinking in the club house?" That's all these people want. Do you think they really care? Look, we all know what happened. We understand about the beer and chicken. But do we really need some young reporter trying to make a name for themselves by falsifying reports because they could make sense based on the crazy things that have wound up being true?
I applaud Jon Lester for stepping up and admitting it. He took responsibility saying, "I sucked." And he admitted to the beer and chicken. What we need now is for more players to take his lead and admit to stuff. But until they do this media witch hunt will only continue putting strain on a formidable team. Just step up and admit to it boys. And to the people in the media, accept what they have to say and stop making up things to try to make a name for yourself! Drinking in the dugout...are you kidding me?! Don't you think if one player was that any one of the dozens of camera pointing in the dugout would have caught something?! This is becoming a joke. Media members are supposed to report the news. Not make it. Somewhere along the way they forgot that. And until they remember it again, how in the world can we believe them when stories like this come out? I don't trust it! And I certainly hope you don't either.
so how do you think the red sox should fix this past disaster of a season?
ReplyDelete