The Red Sox equipment truck heads south today and carries with it all
of the nasty baggage that polluted our region in the final six weeks of
the baseball season.
There was a time when the Sox were the only team that mattered around
here. Never out of season, never out of style, the Red Sox were a 24/7
entity. The Sox owned the market. They could be arrogant. And they were.
No more. The Patriots have given us a taste of champagne. They have
shown Boston that the last game doesn't have to be a whopping
disappointment. They have shown us that sometimes team supercedes
individual achievement. It doesn't always have to be about headache and
heartache.
The Sox are on probation. Boston never will forget the awful end of the
2001 baseball season. The lowlight came when the wealthy ballplayers
couldn't get it together to donate to the 9/11 fund - too busy arguing
with the manager and watching stars bail out. Meanwhile, there's still a
stench from the bag job of a sale that was orchestrated by the
appropriately disgraced John Harrington.
They don't report until Friday, but the odds are stacked against the
2002 Sox and their manager, Joe Kerrigan, a.k.a. the Nutty Professor.
There's considerable chaos in the wake of the sale of the team. The
transaction is scheduled to be completed Friday, but in the meantime
there's no one in charge. Dan Duquette is still walking around giving
orders, acting as if he's going to be general manager. But Duquette should
check his plane reservations to Fort Myers, Fla. Was he issued a one-way
ticket? Will Billy Beane be running the show before the end of March?
This is going to be one wacky spring training. Larry Lucchino will be
walking around, examining the wreckage of the SS Harrington. Low talker
John Henry will be fitted for a uniform and ride the bus with the team.
Dozens of veteran Sox employees will suck up to the new management team,
hoping to be kept on board. Duquette will take on the look of a lame-duck
Bill Clinton, stealing silverware and towels on his way out the door.
Kerrigan will reinvent the game of baseball and attempt to impart his
array of knowledge and technique ...
And the players will try to win back the favor of the loyal fandom - a
Nation that just saw the way a team is supposed to perform and behave.
Let's start with Pedro Martinez. Could he possibly skip Dad's birthday
party this year and get to camp on time? Pedro needs to make things right
with his teammates, the new management, and the fans. He needs to
apologize for bailing out when the ship was sinking last fall. He needs to
take a page from the Drew Bledsoe book of class and integrity. No more
Pedro Rules.
Then there's Manny ''I'm not comfortable'' Ramirez. He quit at the end
of last season, then had his nitwit agent deliver the message that the
Fenway clubhouse is too small for Manny's comfort. Too bad. The clubhouse
was OK for Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. Get over it, Manny. Blame your
agent for telling you to sign with Boston. It was the insufferable Jeff
Moorad who told you to turn your back on Cleveland so he could impress a
new generation of would-be clients by showing off your contract. You play
for the Red Sox now. Run out your ground balls and you will not be booed.
It's a small price to pay for $160 million.
There are some positives. Carl Everett is gone, Johnny Damon is here,
and Jason Varitek should be back to 100 percent. There's legitimate
concern about Nomar Garciaparra's wrist, but spring games could quell
those fears. Duquette had a strong offseason and the Sox come into 2002 in
better shape than they were at the end of 2001.
But the uncertainty at the top is unsettling. And the team's image
needs a major overhaul. They were a popular group before Jimy Williams was
sent packing. If they are going to continue to disrespect Kerrigan,
management needs to find somebody else. Immediately.
In the wake of the Patriots' magic ride, New England sports fans have
new expectations. They now know that a local sports team needn't be
populated by malcontents and morons. They know they have a right to expect
honest effort from management and uniformed personnel. The old Red Sox
ways aren't going to fly anymore. A new standard has been set.
Memo to the Red Sox: Look at the Patriots. Listen and learn from the
champions. Stop being so arrogant, and be thankful for your strong fan
base. Make your fans proud, instead of ashamed. You haven't won anything
in 84 years.
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist This story ran on page D7 of the Boston Globe on
2/11/2002. Copyright
2002 Globe Newspaper Company.