Just when you thought the Red Sox were set to be in first place until October, something to had to mess it up. As we know, Boston is notorious for their championship caliber teams. However, when Boston is in the media, its hard to get out of it.
For those who aren’t aware, the media has been blowing up this past week regarding David Price and Dennis Eckesley. Now that this situation is completely stirred up, the Red Sox’ front office has found themselves to be in a uncomfortable position.
What Happened?
About a month ago, just like any other ordinary day, The Red Sox boarded a team plane. However, things spun out of control. Earlier that day, Hall-Of-Famer and NESN reporter Dennis Eckersley made a rude remark regarding Eduardo Rodriguez, a pitcher on the Red Sox staff.
Rodriguez’ pitching statistics were brought up on live television, which led to Eckersley saying “yuck” regarding the poor statistics after his rehab start in Pawtucket.
This is where it all began. Price found out, and waited to corner Dennis Eckersley on the team flight. As Eckersley boarded the plane, Price stood up and shouted.
“Here he is-the greatest pitcher who ever lived. The game is too easy for him,” Price said according to Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports.
After Price shouted this, applauds occurred, making this flight longer than expected.
A Month Later…
The unfortunate part about this altercation is the fact that this story was just released to the media over a week ago. What does that mean?
That means that the Red Sox did not act in this situation, inevitably until it found its place in the media. It has made guys like Dave Dombrowski and John Henry look bad, for not taking any action and punishing Price. They are completely embarrassed of this situation.
So what happens now?
After this story was released, Price was scheduled to start this past Friday, against the Kansas City Royals. Hours before the game’s first pitch, Boston ruled Price on a 10-Day DL due to elbow inflammation.
It’s obvious that Price has been dealing with his elbow since the start of the season, but we all know this was not the reason he was elected to not take the ball on Friday night. He was coming off his best start on the year, against the Yankees, a little over 10 games ago.
We are still yet to know if this was his choice, or the Red Sox choice.
The Media
Like always, the media will be broadcasting each story, simply because that’s their job. You can use the media to your advantage, or they can use it to your disadvantage.
In this case, the media has used it to Boston’s disadvantage.
Not only has the media made Dombrowski and Henry look bad, but it has find its way to the team captain, Dustin Pedroia.
Pedroia was involved in the names of the ones who applauded due to Price’s actions. Although we do not have the honest answer, the media continues to act as in fact this is correct.
The story was reportedly released on July 23 and Pedroia finally made his statement to the media on July 28. The five-day period has made it look worse than what it is for Pedroia. His job is to lead this team, and the media has made him look like he cannot handle this task.
Like Pedroia, Price took his time to take a stand with the media.
Red Sox legend, David Ortiz, who retired after last season and has reportedly had troubles with David Price in the past, has spoken on the issue.
“If he (Price) has to apologize to Eckersley, let’s do it and let’s move on,” Ortiz said according to the Boston Herald.
Price went to the media a week after this story was released. After many claimed Price should apologize, Price proclaimed wanted Eckersley to show his face according to ESPN. Instead of saying a simple sorry, Price had to stir up more click bait for the media.
Price is now claiming that Dennis Eckersley does not show his face enough in the clubhouse.
State of Regret
Since this happened, the Red Sox have lost 14 out of the last 22 games. They have been replaced by the rival New York Yankees in first place.
It’s obvious that Boston is not playing its best baseball right now.
They are distracted. This powerful team is falling apart right now. The players are involved in the media more than they should be, while the front office is being depicted as terrible managers.
However, none of this would have blown up if the front office announced this situation immediately, following with punishment for David Price. Instead, they chose to let it go, and for that, the media have ate them up completely.
Of course, the Red Sox’ Dombrowski and Henry wish they have handled this differently.
For David Price, Boston is writing him a check for $31 million a year, due to his record-setting contract. Price handled this position very poorly. Due to respect to the team, he should have talked to Eckersley alone, instead of letting the whole Red Sox team hear.
However, he did what he did, and was given a chance to make this better. Regardless of that, he waits over a week to talk to the media, skips his start against a strong Royal’s lineup and tells them that Eckersley needs to show his face more.
That’s where Boston stands in the news for today. They have lost their first place spot to the Yanks, and need to find themselves again. If not, this team could turn into a complete let-down.
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