>From the Herald... Discipline was clearly a problem, which is one of the perils of managing a high-priced team when some stars share a sense of entitlement. The Red Sox seemed content to ride their considerable talent out of the gates and ended up getting smacked in the face with a 2-10 start.
A month later they were just 17-20 when Epstein traveled to New York and met privately with Francona and his coaches, a meeting Francona later described as “respectful,” to reinforce the need for the team to play passionate, fundamentally sound ball. The Sox rolled for the next four months, but their win totals often masked some fundamental flaws, flaws which became fatal in September when the clubhouse veered toward lawlessness and a number of players put their own interests ahead of those of Francona and the team. Francona admitted yesterday taking the incredible step of calling a team meeting on Sept. 7, one day after the Sox had pounded the Jays 14-0. “This team I think became challenging at the end,” Francona said. “There were some things I was worried about. We were spending too much energy on things that weren’t putting our best foot forward toward winning. “We spent a few minutes in the clubhouse that day talking about that. There were some things that did concern me. Normally as the season progresses, there are events that make you care about each other, and this club, it didn’t always happen as much as I wanted it to. And I was frustrated by that.” According to multiple sources with knowledge of the meeting, Francona was in part annoyed over complaints about the buses to the ballpark and wanted players to focus their energy more positively. On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 9:30 AM, Tom Salemi <[email protected]> wrote: > I do hope Theo stays. Not because of any man-love thing, I just like his > approach (poor free agent record notwithstanding.) > > > On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 9:22 AM, Tom Salemi <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Yeah, that's the talk around here on the morning shows. >> >> If I had to choose, I'd take him over the entire club house. But that >> isn't how it works. >> >> The wheels are definitely coming off the wagon. My antipathy for this team >> grows. >> >> >> On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 9:16 AM, Dan DiBiase <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Fox Sports reporting that he won' be back. >>> >>> Dan D >>> Central NJ USA >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Red Sox Citizens" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en. >>> >> >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Red Sox Citizens" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en.
