The John McNamara Column - The Follow-Up

Shank actually got off his lazy ass and made some calls:

Former Red Sox manager John McNamara died Tuesday in Tennessee. McNamara last managed in Boston 32 years ago, and his worst moments happened 34 years ago. But as with Bill Buckner, Bob Stanley, Rich Gedman, and a few others, the pain of the 1986 World Series is still very fresh in the McNamara household.

I made a few calls early Wednesday after I learned Mac had passed. I spoke with Bruce Hurst, and left messages for Roger Clemens and Dwight Evans. I reached out to a funeral home in Nashville to let the McNamara family know the Globe was attempting to confirm his passing.

And he's just getting warmed up, folks:

Say “Too Many Men on the Ice” and everybody knows you are talking about Bruins-Canadiens Game 7 in 1979. It’s the same with “David Tyree,” “Bucky Dent,” “Sugar Bear Hamilton,” “Grady Little,” and “Game 6.”

“Game 6” sets off Red Sox fans of a certain age. It’s like Niagara Falls to the Three Stooges. Game 6 is when Mookie Wilson’s grounder slithered between the hobbled ankles of Buckner. Game 6 is when Steamer threw the wild pitch that should have been a passed ball. Game 6 is when we saw those Calvin Schiraldi eyes.

Game 6 is when McNamara pulled Clemens for a pinch hitter with the Red Sox leading the Mets, 3-2, in the top of the eighth. Clemens was sailing along with a four-hitter and had retired the last five Mets he faced. He was coming off his 24-4 MVP season. He was primed to deliver the Red Sox their first World Series championship in 68 years. And then he came out of the game and everything fell apart.

After the loss, when the manager of the Red Sox was asked to explain the move, McNamara answered, “My pitcher asked out of the game.”

When Clemens heard that, he had to be restrained. He has always maintained that McNamara made the decision, then lied to cover his mistake.

Am I off base for stating this is pure scumbag journalism? It's little wonder print media is on its last legs. Successful pot stirring's always been a specialty of his, and now he's got Clemens' allegiance (note the link above) in the war of words between the Rocket and McNamara over an event that happened over a third of a century ago, and McNamara can't speak for himself now because he's dead.

For the record, Roger Clemens was indicted for lying to Congress about his use of steroids and HGH; character counts in my book.

I don't believe I'm being hyperbolic in saying this might be Shank's worst column (in terms of raw scumbaggery) since this one, and the more I think about it, it just might be his all-time nadir.

The John McNamara Column

John McNamara, one-time manager of the Boston Red Sox, has passed away. Shank pays respect to the former skipper:

John McNamara, manager of the ill-fated 1986 Red Sox, died Tuesday in Tennessee at the age of 88. His death was confirmed to the Globe by his wife, Ellen McNamara of Brentwood, Tenn., and his nephew, Joe McNamara of Sacramento.

McNamara managed 19 seasons in the major leagues with the Oakland A’s, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians. His career mark was 1,160-1,233-2 (.485).

He was hired by Haywood Sullivan to replace Ralph Houk in Boston, and the 1985 Red Sox went 81-81 in McNamara’s first season in the Fenway Park dugout.

A year later, McNamara was American League Manager of the Year as the Red Sox took over first place for good in late May.

Naturally, that's not what piqued my interest - this is (emphasis mine):

He was second-guessed for pinch-hitting for Roger Clemens with the Sox leading Game 6, 3-2, in the eighth. He also was criticized for leaving a hobbled Bill Buckner on the field when the Sox led in the bottom of the 10th. Buckner’s error on Mookie Wilson’s grounder became the iconic moment of the Sox’ collapse.

The use of the passive voice by Shank is the surest sign of an attempt to deflect from the fact that Shank was a prominent second guesser and a criticizer of McNamara. I have zero doubt about this. I've asked my co-blogger Mike to weigh in on this one, since I lack his knowledge of baseball and access to the Boston Globe archives to point out the numerous examples of Shank doing just that. That said, I was able to come up with a few examples:

Sometimes cause-and-effect is obvious and immediate. In 1988, the moribund Red Sox fired miserable manager John McNamara at the All-Star break. Tollway Joe Morgan took over as "interim" skipper and the revived Sox rattled off 12 straight wins and 19 of 20 en route to the division title. The same thing happened to the Celtics after Bill Fitch ran them aground in 1983. K.C. Jones was hired and the lads won two of the next three NBA championships.

And this one:

Baseball bards and pastime poets may claim that last night’s game was lost when Sox manager John McNamara named Al Nipper to start Game 4, but Nipper did his job. He was roughed up for three runs in the fourth, but he kept his team in the game for six serviceable innings (seven hits, one walk). It was only 3-0 when Nipper left.

So far the criticism of McNamara seems pretty light and tame. We all know Grady Little was treated far more harshly by Shank.

UPDATE AT 6:45 PM - comments have been turned off for this column; can't imagine why!