During his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Massarotti’’ show last Wednesday, Gammons asserted that Globe reporter Bob Hohler should reveal the anonymous sources from his bombshell story last October on the factors contributing to the Red Sox’ historic collapse. Those factors, according to Hohler’s sources, included manager Terry Francona’s personal issues and a fractured clubhouse in which a clique of pitchers were drinking beer and eating chicken during games.
It was an absurd suggestion.
That’s Chad Finn of the Globe taking Gammons to task.
Finn notes that Gammons has since come off the notion that Hohler should reveal his source, but he still believes that the story was unnecessary and irrelevant. Which, sure, many people might feel that way. But as Finn notes, those people tend to be Red Sox fans who don’t necessarily want to hear of discord on their team, legitimate or cooked up or otherwise.
I follow a ton of reporters and columnists. Most of them keep the proper journalistic distance from the teams they cover. Some of them, I hate to say it, seem to become fan boys or apologists over time. I don’t think Gammons is that way, but in this instance he does seem to be hitting the wrong notes, and I think Finn was right to note it.
