Why did the Red Sox clubhouse self-destruct? Were there players drinking during games? David Ortiz wouldn't say one way or the other, but he did indicate that his teammates weren't always giving 100 percent.
"They probably haven't," Ortiz told CSN's Jessica Moran. "Trust me, the way things are going down right now here, they will learn. They will learn. And I guarantee they will try their best to improve things for next year.
"We're all pro ballers here -- at one point you have to know when the lack of effort is affecting you. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be better for next year."
The fact that players did not give their all is perhaps one of the reasons Ortiz's longtime manager Terry Francona is no longer with the team.
"When it comes down to that, I had a great relationship with Tito," Ortiz said. "I always gave him the green light, whenever I screwed up with something, for him to let me know . . . We were good at it.
"He probably had problems with some players," Ortiz added. "I can't really give you too many details about that. All I know is that you gotta just come here and get prepared to play the game."
It's a message that the Red Sox might have heeded during the regular season, had someone in the clubhouse been qualified to pass it along. But who? If Francona was tuned out, then perhaps a veteran player like Ortiz could speak the to club to get them back on track?
Boston Red Sox
Not his job, Ortiz said.
"I'm one of the guys, I try my best to get things rolling one way or the other," Ortiz said. "I get along with pretty much everybody. At the same time I'm nobody to determine who does the right thing and who doesn't . . . It's not like I'm anybody's babysitter or anything like that."