Tim Wakefield retires

[SoxSport]

So Tek gets a job in the organization if he retires. No similar offer for Wake?

 

Tek should be bullpen coach. He's a valuable teaching aid for young catchers and pitchers.

Maybe manager material, like so many other catchers.

 

There is no such need I can think of for Wake.

[NativeBostonian]

Tek should be bullpen coach. He's a valuable teaching aid for young catchers and pitchers.

Maybe manager material, like so many other catchers.

 

There is no such need I can think of for Wake.

 

How are you going to teach pitchers what to do when you've never pitched before. He has abgreat grasp of the game but knowing what the pitcher should throw and knowing how to do it are two different thing.

[mvp 78]

Tek as Captain took no issue with last year's jackassery. He should be kept away from this team. Have fun coaching A ball.

[Spitball]

How are you going to teach pitchers what to do when you've never pitched before. He has abgreat grasp of the game but knowing what the pitcher should throw and knowing how to do it are two different thing.

 

Former catcher Dave Duncan is one of the greatest pitching coaches of all-time.

[VA Sox Fan]

Tek as Captain took no issue with last year's jackassery. He should be kept away from this team. Have fun coaching A ball.

 

If he does retire, he'll probably want a break from baseball. What exactly was he supposed to do or say about last year's jackassery?

[Spitball]

There is no such need I can think of for Wake.

 

I'd have him working with marginal prospects to develop another knuckleball/Wakefield story.

[NativeBostonian]

Tek as Captain took no issue with last year's jackassery. He should be kept away from this team. Have fun coaching A ball.

 

I agree. Although Tek is my favorite player, I'm upset with the fact that he didn't do anything (as far as I know) as a caption when the team needed him most.

[mvp 78]

If he does retire' date=' he'll probably want a break from baseball. What exactly was he supposed to do or say about last year's jackassery?[/quote']

 

He was the captain. He needed to call his pitchers out for not being in shape. As captain, he needs to make sure that eveeyone is falling in line with team guidelines for workouts. Beckett has stated that he stopped training in June. After he went on a good pitching run, he felt it was better for him not to workout. No one puthis foot to the fire.

 

My larger point is that the C on his shirt was more for show than anything else. He clearly doesn't have leadership skills to coach at the big league level at the moment.

[Bellhorn04]

Former catcher Dave Duncan is one of the greatest pitching coaches of all-time.

 

Excellent point.

[Muggah]

Tek as Captain took no issue with last year's jackassery. He should be kept away from this team. Have fun coaching A ball.

 

That whole 'captain' thing was nothing but a fabrication to begin with. It was created specifically to deflect criticism after they ineptly misjudged the market for him and grossly over-paid for his services at the end of 04. It was mythical, a joke, and so was he when it came to 'leading' anyone or anything.

[a700hitter]

That whole 'captain' thing was nothing but a fabrication to begin with. It was created specifically to deflect criticism after they ineptly misjudged the market for him and grossly over-paid for his services at the end of 04. It was mythical' date=' a joke, and so was he when it came to 'leading' anyone or anything.[/quote']It was a reward for sticking his glove in ARod's face which was the turning point of the 2004 season.

[FredLynn]

If he does retire' date=' he'll probably want a break from baseball. What exactly was he supposed to do or say about last year's jackassery?[/quote']

 

An apology is in order. Lester did it in today's interview. Beckett, the stubborn recalcitrant arrogant Texas a-hole did not. Varitek was supposed to be a leader last year. He saw what was going on and did nothing. In today's interview Beckett said that he has "ill feelings towards some people", without getting specific. Apparently he is more mad at the people who caught him with his hand in the cookie jar than he is mad at himself for behaving like an ass.

As captain Varitek should have done what he could to stop all the nonsense in the clubhouse, and after the season he should have been the FIRST to apologize to the fans.

I don't want Varitek or others with his attitude anywhere near this team. Its cancerous.

[mvp 78]

Don't hold your breath for an apology. It's not coming.

[FredLynn]

Don't hold your breath for an apology. It's not coming.

 

I realize that some players aren't going to apologize. Lester did it today. He took "full reponsibility" for his role in the behavior that took place last year. Those who cannot do the same should be marginalized or traded, including Beckett. Until everyone is on the same attitude page this team will have a very hard time being successful.

[NativeBostonian]

It was a reward for sticking his glove in ARod's face which was the turning point of the 2004 season.

I miss s*** like that. Too much love going on in this rivalry. Some old guy needs to get thrown on the ground or someone needs to smell the leather of Teks glove.

[Muggah]

He was the captain. He needed to call his pitchers out for not being in shape. As captain, he needs to make sure that eveeyone is falling in line with team guidelines for workouts. Beckett has stated that he stopped training in June. After he went on a good pitching run, he felt it was better for him not to workout. No one puthis foot to the fire.

 

My larger point is that the C on his shirt was more for show than anything else. He clearly doesn't have leadership skills to coach at the big league level at the moment.

 

As it turned out the C stood for Clown, not Captain.

[SCM33]

An apology is in order. Lester did it in today's interview. Beckett, the stubborn recalcitrant arrogant Texas a-hole did not. Varitek was supposed to be a leader last year. He saw what was going on and did nothing. In today's interview Beckett said that he has "ill feelings towards some people", without getting specific. Apparently he is more mad at the people who caught him with his hand in the cookie jar than he is mad at himself for behaving like an ass.

As captain Varitek should have done what he could to stop all the nonsense in the clubhouse, and after the season he should have been the FIRST to apologize to the fans.

I don't want Varitek or others with his attitude anywhere near this team. Its cancerous.

 

Don't hold your breath for an apology. It's not coming.

 

Varitek was a .200 hitting backup catcher. The whole idea of a "C" on the jersey is joke. You cant blame a backup catcher at the end of the road for what happened last year. The team obviously had no respect for him and laughed at the "C" on his jersey. He was the captain on paper/cloth only.

 

Becketts behavior and resistance to blame himself, rather make excuses....is a testament to his character and respect for the game and his teammates. Hes an arrogant ******* and nobody is going to tell him what to do. If he still has "ill feelings" towards current teammates......and these are the words coming out of his mouth on DAY ONE, this is going to be a long, long year. Goodluck dealing with that ******* Bobby V....your gunna need it.

[seabeachfred]

As it turned out the C stood for Clown' date=' not Captain.[/quote']

 

Or as Brennan referred to him....the CRaptain!!! We g ot to get Brennan back on here. He is a good baseball man. I wonder where he is?

[seabeachfred]

Varitek was a .200 hitting backup catcher. The whole idea of a "C" on the jersey is joke. You cant blame a backup catcher at the end of the road for what happened last year. The team obviously had no respect for him and laughed at the "C" on his jersey. He was the captain on paper/cloth only.

 

Becketts behavior and resistance to blame himself, rather make excuses....is a testament to his character and respect for the game and his teammates. Hes an arrogant ******* and nobody is going to tell him what to do. If he still has "ill feelings" towards current teammates......and these are the words coming out of his mouth on DAY ONE, this is going to be a long, long year. Goodluck dealing with that ******* Bobby V....your gunna need it.

 

You know I think SCM made a very salient point here. Varitek WAS the backup catcher last year and I wonder just what respect he did command in that position. I only know that Beckett wanted him as his personal catcher but aside from that I wonder if Josh and some others even paid attention to him when the game was over. It wouldn't surprise me if some players did, in fact, laugh behind his back. I'm no fan of Varitek as you all know; I think he should have retired three years ago, but there could be something to this.

 

It is hard for me to turn on Beckett, though, even if the evidence of this guy being an ******* is beginning to pile up mile high. I remember so well what he did for us in 2007; remember, he was the best pitcher in baseball that year and he was the horse we depended on to win the big games for us. Maybe all this went to his head because he isn't helping his team in the maturity department at the moment. BV may really have to sit on this guy unless his attitude changes.

[Muggah]

You know I think SCM made a very salient point here. Varitek WAS the backup catcher last year and I wonder just what respect he did command in that position. I only know that Beckett wanted him as his personal catcher but aside from that I wonder if Josh and some others even paid attention to him when the game was over. It wouldn't surprise me if some players did, in fact, laugh behind his back. I'm no fan of Varitek as you all know; I think he should have retired three years ago, but there could be something to this.

 

It is hard for me to turn on Beckett, though, even if the evidence of this guy being an ******* is beginning to pile up mile high. I remember so well what he did for us in 2007; remember, he was the best pitcher in baseball that year and he was the horse we depended on to win the big games for us. Maybe all this went to his head because he isn't helping his team in the maturity department at the moment. BV may really have to sit on this guy unless his attitude changes.

 

While I agree with everything SCM is saying I think in the 'bigger picture' we have to look at what the real problem stemmed from, and that's that everyone, from Henry to Lucchino to Epstein to Francona to Varitek to the players themselves---lost control of the situation and not a single one knew how to stop it. And that's scary because it's these exact same people at the top who are now trying to fix it.

 

IMO, anyone who thinks this team is just going to fall into line and gel under Valentine, step up and make a playoff run is setting themselves up for a major disappointment. As we can see in Beckett's comments today about him holding "ill will towards certain people" this thing has very deep roots, and is far from being over. I agree with SCM that BV is gonna need all the luck he can muster. This is still a very dysfunctional situation on so many levels it isn't funny.

[3rdManOut]

Tim, thank you for everything you have done for us and our "Old Towne Team". You will be missed.

[FredLynn]

Varitek was a .200 hitting backup catcher. The whole idea of a "C" on the jersey is joke. You cant blame a backup catcher at the end of the road for what happened last year. The team obviously had no respect for him and laughed at the "C" on his jersey. He was the captain on paper/cloth only.

 

Becketts behavior and resistance to blame himself, rather make excuses....is a testament to his character and respect for the game and his teammates. Hes an arrogant ******* and nobody is going to tell him what to do. If he still has "ill feelings" towards current teammates......and these are the words coming out of his mouth on DAY ONE, this is going to be a long, long year. Goodluck dealing with that ******* Bobby V....your gunna need it.

 

I agree with everything you wrote except the part about Varitek. I think that even if he didn't or couldn't stop the nonsense in the clubhouse last year, he should certainly have been first in line to apologize to RSN. I still haven't heard from him.

[Palodios]

Becketts behavior and resistance to blame himself' date=' rather make excuses....is a testament to his character and respect for the game and his teammates. Hes an arrogant ******* and nobody is going to tell him what to do. If he still has "ill feelings" towards current teammates......and these are the words coming out of his mouth on DAY ONE, this is going to be a long, long year. Goodluck dealing with that ******* Bobby V....your gunna need it.[/quote']

 

I do not like Beckett. I was calling for him to be traded this offseason, last offseason, and the offseason before that one. But the one thing you cannot say about him is that he does not blame himself. He's always hard on himself, and always has been.

[SoxSport]

I think a lot of this stuff about Beckett has been overblown. No sense in making him the fall guy.

I still think the main culprit was Tito--for not running the ship. That the Globe has chosen to go after the body instead of the head doesn't change that, in my view.

 

I saw Beckett on the Millar show, and the impression I got was that clubhouse beer and chicken is

not unusual in baseball. Millar said his teams did worse. I think Beckett was miffed somebody leaked the story--probably one of the clubhouse guys. Players don't like the media snooping around the clubhouse, and you can't blame them.

 

I think these guys are all a bunch of spoiled prima donnas, but it's the system that made them that way.

They are overpaid and overexposed in the media. Many of them are pea-brained, and don't know any better. That's why it's up to the management to keep a rein on them. After all, it's a kid's game, and some of these guys still think they're kids. Bless 'em.

[Muggah]

I agree with everything you wrote except the part about Varitek. I think that even if he didn't or couldn't stop the nonsense in the clubhouse last year' date=' he should certainly have been first in line to apologize to RSN. I still haven't heard from him.[/quote']

 

You won't hear from him either, Pumpsie. In the ultimate end he showed his true colors, proving to anyone still unconvinced that the whole 'C' thing was nothing but a fraud. A lot of us had been saying it all along, but his behavior the last three seasons proved unequivocally that he was just another spoiled, entitled, me-first diva.

[jung]

The difference between Millar's 2004 "drinking in the clubhouse" team and the 2011 "beer and chicken" team is very simple. The 2004 team won the WS. The 2011 team authored the worse collapse in baseball history.

[mvp 78]

The difference between Millar's 2004 "drinking in the clubhouse" team and the 2011 "beer and chicken" team is very simple. The 2004 team won the WS. The 2011 team authored the worse collapse in baseball history.

 

The difference is rallying cry in the playoffs vs. disinterested players during a playoff run. It has nothing to do with the rings.

[Eck20and8]

Varitek's C should be imprinted on the clubhouse toilet paper. Pokey Reese had more leadership skills.

[Muggah]

Varitek's C should be imprinted on the clubhouse toilet paper. Pokey Reese had more leadership skills.

 

Manny was a much better leader, too.

[SoxSport]

Manny was a much better leader' date=' too.[/quote']

 

Imagine Manny playing for Billy Beane. Pretty desperate to fill the seats in Oakland.