While I’m not the biggest fan of Peter Abraham the writer -- he’s a very good reporter, but I often disagree with his analysis -- the man certainly has guts. He’s going to have to head right back into the Red Sox clubhouse this afternoon after writing a pretty scathing piece on Boston.com today.
Some choice cuts:Terry Francona was good at covering up and often times looked ridiculous defending the indefensible. But clearly he had a good handle on how fragile the egos were in that clubhouse.
The Red Sox have become accustomed to losing. With a few exceptions, most of the players shrug their shoulders and go about their business. That business, with few exceptions, is not winning baseball games.
Somehow — and this is the crux of the matter — the Red Sox went from being a franchise of grind-it-out, hard-nosed players to being entitled, selfish and unlikable.And then he brings in the closer to shut the door:
If Valentine gets fired, all it will be is more appeasement.
Then again, you might be doing him a favor. Then he can sit around for a season, collect on his contract and not worry about winning. In that sense, he would be just like the players he was given to manage.Go read the whole piece now, and try to imagine how many dagger stares and cold shoulders he’ll be getting later this afternoon.