 |
|
Sox Play Part Of Fool In Latest Manny Drama Justin Booth on the BoSox Two weekends ago in Houston, Manny being Manny took an ugly, unexpected turn. The mercurial Sox left fielder shoved Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the floor after McCormick informed Ramírez he might not be able to fulfill his request for sixteen tickets to the middle game of the interleague series against the Astros. No doubt about it, this was new material for the zany slugger. The Sox followed team protocol in responding to the altercation and dealt with the matter "in-house." Ramírez apologized to McCormick during a closed-door meeting and afterwards all parties announced that the situation had been resolved and no further action would be taken. When news of the altercation broke, nobody really seemed to think it was a big deal. Some fans and media people simply chalked it up to Manny's flighty nature while others proclaimed that so long as the team remained unified and focused on battling for another championship it was a non-issue. Okay, end of story, right? On the contrary, it was merely the beginning. As the Sox deliberated about what the appropriate consequences were for Ramírez' actions, there's no doubt they surveyed the schedule and concluded this was an inconvenient time to take a moral stand. After departing Houston, the Sox would head to Tampa and New York for arguably their two most important series of the year to date. No matter how they sliced it, the Sox just couldn't afford to lose their cleanup hitter or render themselves vulnerable in the outfield and on the bench as they prepared to do battle against two tough divisional foes. (Remember, not only is David Ortiz out of the lineup with an injury but Coco Crisp would miss all three games in Tampa as he completed serving his five game suspension.) Hallelujah! The Sox brass, in particular Theo Epstein, unequivocally put winning first. They decided that a minor thing like one employee assaulting another shouldn't be allowed to stand in the way of the ball club winning games. As fans, we should be grateful that the management of our beloved baseball team is so enlightened. Not so fast. By enabling Manny's wacky (violent) behavior, the Sox sent a clear message to anyone who was paying attention that they're hypocrites. Since the day they first arrived in town six plus years ago, John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino have worked tirelessly to transform the Red Sox into the ideal professional organization. The backbone of their operating philosophy is respect, respect for their players, their fans, their ballpark, their history and traditions and their community. Similarly, Epstein and the many good people who have worked with him in baseball operations over the past six years have completely changed the culture of baseball in Boston and the perception around the league of what it's like to play here. But all that came to a screeching halt as soon as the decision not to discipline Manny for his actions was made. For as much sense as it made on the field, the Sox' inaction in this case couldn't possibly have done more to undermine all of the wonderful improvements and changes that have occurred under the flag of this ownership group. By looking the other way and ignoring every conventional standard about physically aggressive behavior towards co-workers in workplace, the Sox demonstrated that the core values of the organization were conditional and discretionary. Think of it this way, if you don't cheat on your girlfriend during the first two years you're dating but then commit an indiscretion with the hot chick whose desk is across from yours at work, does it matter that you were faithful for a majority of the time you were going out? Nope. What matters, and what your girlfriend will surely judge you on, is that you screwed up when it counted. It's that black and white. Don't get me wrong, I still think Theo Epstein is far and away the best GM in the game and I can’t imagine there's not another group of individuals I would trust more implicitly to be owners of the Boston Red Sox than Henry, Werner and Lucchino. However, I can't overlook the fact that in passing the buck when it came time to deal with Manny's latest shenanigans, the Sox seemed to forget what leadership is all about.
Justin Booth is a diehard Red Sox fan living in Brookline, MA and uses his above average writing skills to opine about his favorite team. He can be reached by e-mail at gringoencolo@hotmail.com.
|