30% goes to Theo Epstein - As I said earlier, his reasoning that the starting pitching would right itself was reasonable. He bolstered the bullpen and the offense with what seemed like wise moves at the time. Crawford, Jenks, Wheeler, Gonzalez all seem like good moves. But three of those four did not pan out and he also money up on the struggling Crawford. I can't blame him for those players did, but he did pick them so he deserves some of the blame. The injuries to Dice-K and Buchholz were not his fault, and Doubront's failure to stay in shape has to be the players fault and his fault alone. BUT, we're supposed to be a player development machine, and I haven't seen that.
20% to Terry Francona - I don't know. This might be too high. I'm not sure what the manager can really do to ger major league players to play good ball. One can question the Aceves move, but it's a close call. Plus he's been pilloried by some for not using Papelbon in close eighth inning calls. It's now clear why he does not do that. (Pap, you are NO Mariano Rivera.) 50% players - Let's face it. They're playing shit ball right now. The answer lies within. Someone in that locker room needs to either jangle or calm nerves, and no one is stepping up. No Damons. No Millars. We could even use a Manny to take the heat off everyone else. But no one is doing it. WHERE IS PEDROIA? WHERE IS YOUKILIS? WHERE IS PAPI? I know Gonzalez is the new guy but that level of salary comes with some responsibilities to lead. Can he do it? Crawford clearly can't. Ellsbury is a wonderful player but he seems to have zero clout. Scutaro, Varitek, Salty all bit players. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Red Sox Citizens" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/redsoxcitizens?hl=en.
