Utter chaos.Yes, a few things Shank says are overstated, but I think he's basically on target. I also think he's more or less genuinely pissed off, or at least it seems to help his writing in this column.
It’s back to the bad old days over on Yawkey Way. The Red Sox of 2011 are the Red Sox of Buddy LeRoux and Haywood Sullivan - doofus co-owners wrestling on the carpet of their Fenway Park offices back in 1983. They are the Red Sox of Tom Yawkey and his chorus line of drunken employees finishing out of the money from the 1930s through the ’60s.
There are so many things wrong with the Sox at this hour, it’s difficult to know where to start. The manager is gone, the general manager is gone, the owners are in hiding, and the players are a loathsome lot totally unworthy of the money and adulation they receive.
Theo Epstein’s gone. It was a seismic event whenShank assisted mightily whenhe quit in 2005. This time, his departure is lost in the mix as the Sox go from freefall to nuclear fallout. The Fenway lawn is scorched earth.
Then again, I think Dave M. paraphrased that quality like this = Shank - writing the occasionally good column makes it stand out because all his others suck by comparison...
UPDATE at 8:22 PM - False start penalty commited by Shaughnessy? Stay tuned!
Hold on Roger Cowboy.
ReplyDeleteThis is another case of Captain Oblivious stating the Obvious!
Isn't the role of the "the most feared typist in town" to be in the trenches and bringing us insights as to what is going on regarding what we can't see and hear.
Shank failed miserably in getting the story first. Now he wants to take credit by overstating the obvious.
I followed the Sox early in the season, then picked up the trail after mid-season and watched from a distance as the team disintegrated. If you review my posts during the past years you will notice my dislike for Sabermetrics, Theo-retrics, and mostly Shankism.
To me Theo lived a charmed life. Showalter nailed the dilemma with his comment “If I had $200 million to manage yearly I’d be challenging for first place, etc.”
Look at Theo’s player development and signings at shortstop … pretty pathetic.
Unfortunately, Francona will not get the credit he deserves for managing the team.
It will be up to Lucchino to rebuild the group.
Hopefully we get back to basics and stay away from the “gorilla” schemes.
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I have to side with Anonymous here. Francona got hosed first by Theo's incompetence on personnel decisions (the whole "he won with Duquette's players" argument looks a little different now), then by ownership for not having his back and then firing him, now with the smear campaign inferring he is an addict and also with Lester's slap at Francona's alleged lack of discipline for the players. The fact is Francona knew how to manage this team in this market and they won two WS under him.
ReplyDeleteTheo lived a charmed life, indeed - objectively speaking his philosophy on roster construction is a failure and the Red Sox need to abandon the Moneyball philosophy and go back to real baseball construction and management.