Red Sox Skip Pesky Funeral

[jung]

The workaround here that might have worked if in fact we have an issue with how many players showed up would have been for one of the players themselves to have spoken up and made the case for a strong player presence....maybe one of the older players could have or should have taken the opportunity to make sure that they understood how important it was that they as players show their respects.

 

You do have to wonder how family members took only four team members making it. As a family member I would not have felt slighted for myself but given how much Pesky gave to that organization, I probably would not have felt so great about that for Johny himself...for his memory.

 

That was one of the implications from my first post in this thread. Maybe the organization trying to press the issue had a negative impact on the player turnout and a player or players filling that role would have mitigated any issues players might have had about the organization and a player taking a leadership role in this case just feels right to me. I would hope it would have had an impact.

 

Yea the timing stank...they just got in from a road trip....should have been able to get more than four guys out there.

[Designated Hater]

That's it.

 

These guys (minus 4) are LOSERS. Thank you Ortiz, Salty, Padilla, and Buch for showing respect, but your "brothers" have ZERO.

 

If you have already purchased tickets to games, boo them. Ferociously. If you are thinking about going to games, don't go. Don't support this band of idiots.

 

Jesus Christ, how much time out of your afternoon would it take to go pay some respect to a man that gave EVERYTHING to your team? Dicks.

[Thunder]

I'm SHOCKED that Pedey wasn't there.

[SCM33]

http://boston.barstoolsports.com/around-barstool/basically-the-entire-red-sox-team-skipped-johnny-pesky%E2%80%99s-funural-but-did-manage-to-party-at-beckett-bowl-that-same-night/

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Wow

[Gringo]

Remind me of how morals relate to being an athlete. You're just feeding off of this BS and using it to take out your frustrations. Just like beer and chicken last year, this s***'s unreal.

 

That's a load of horse s***. You don't know me from a ham sandwich, so keep your bogus psychoanalysis to yourself.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Somehow I get the feeling if the Sox were well on their way to a division title right now, you and everyone else in this thread who thinks they should have shown at the funeral would have made your opinions known a lot less aggressively.

[cbbosox]

Derek Jeter skipped Bob shepards funeral and got a pass from the media.

I'm starting to believe Lucchino is partially right.

[BigPapiEnFuego]

Vincente Padilla of all people went to this....

 

The rest of them didn't.

 

That is odd to me

[jacksonianmarch]

Bob Sheppard was a public address announcer. Johnny Pesky was a retired number player/coach who was ever present with the players.

[Youk Of The Nation]

At the risk of turning this into a racial thing, many Latin or Hispanic or whatever you want to call 'em cultures are much more family-oriented than American culture. From personal experience, I can say it is much more likely for huge groups of extended family, from second and third cousins to in-laws to only distantly related people, to show up for memorial services for the deceased. Padilla, assuming he feels that he is a part of the Sox "family" or organization if you will, may have felt personally obligated to pay his respects in person to someone who was such an important part of the team that he is currently being paid by and whose uniform he is wearing.

 

As I said, this is supposition on my part, based on an admittedly basic understanding of other cultures, but it could explain how someone so new to the team could feel his presence was required. In the same line of reasoning, it could explain why Matsuzaka did not attend, as in Japanese culture to intrude upon the grief of the family at a memorial service when you were not close to the deceased would be considered rude.

[resdubwhite]

This is just wrong.

 

4 players.

 

Thats it.

 

Club should have mandated attendence.

 

I mean. Ownership have bigged up Red sox nation to a massive degree.

Fans need to act as one. Act as a nation. Players can do whatever they want.

 

Its like animal farm here. And I know who the pigs are.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Mandating funeral attendance for employees is not only ridiculous, it may be illegal.

[Gringo]

The whole point is that there shouldn't have to be a mandate...

[Gringo]

At the risk of turning this into a racial thing, many Latin or Hispanic or whatever you want to call 'em cultures are much more family-oriented than American culture. From personal experience, I can say it is much more likely for huge groups of extended family, from second and third cousins to in-laws to only distantly related people, to show up for memorial services for the deceased. Padilla, assuming he feels that he is a part of the Sox "family" or organization if you will, may have felt personally obligated to pay his respects in person to someone who was such an important part of the team that he is currently being paid by and whose uniform he is wearing.

 

As I said, this is supposition on my part, based on an admittedly basic understanding of other cultures, but it could explain how someone so new to the team could feel his presence was required. In the same line of reasoning, it could explain why Matsuzaka did not attend, as in Japanese culture to intrude upon the grief of the family at a memorial service when you were not close to the deceased would be considered rude.

 

2 Latino players showed up. That kind of blows your theory out of the water.

[Youk Of The Nation]

No, there shouldn't, because it should be up to each individual whether they want to attend or not, based on their own personal beliefs. If they choose not to go, that is their choice and it is ridiculous to demand that they attend regardless of their feelings.

[resdubwhite]

Mandating funeral attendance for employees is not only ridiculous, it may be illegal.

 

Along the lines of.

 

"guys.

 

Its an off day.

 

Lets get a big attendance tomorrow at the funeral. Its only a couple of hours.

Buses have been laid on. Pay your respects to the family and represent the team in a positive way".

 

4 people.

4 players.

less than 20% of the roster.

 

Thats attrocious.

 

 

As an example. Look how the Patriots behaved when Krafts wife died last year.

 

They were a credit to that organisation.

[Youk Of The Nation]

2 Latino players showed up. That kind of blows your theory out of the water.

 

 

No...it doesn't. It could be because the ones who didn't do not have the views I postulated. It could be that their own family culture was different. It could be a great many things. I am not saying my theory is absolutely correct, but the fact that not all of the Latino players attended does not make the assumption less valid. In any case, my response was geared more towards Padilla in particular than the players in general. It was a suggestion in response to BPEF's comment about how odd it was that Padilla, of all people, showed up when others did not. I know personally plenty of people of other cultures who do not always follow the traditions of their families, especially those who have lived in America for long periods of time.

 

All I'm saying is, in Padillas case, it is a possibility, nothing more.

[Youk Of The Nation]

I do not understand you guys at all. If my boss dies, or a guy who worked at my job for 50 years dies, and I decide not to go to the funeral, it is my business. I am under no obligation to attend the services, whether I am a public figure or not, and I am certainly under no obligation to defend myself to those who disagree.

 

The fact is that things like this have come up before. I remember a debate several years ago on this board about a player missing a game or two for the birth of his child. Some people felt it was good he was there, others said he should have stayed and played ball. But it was never as acrimonious a discussion as this, and I think it would be obvious to anyone skimming the posts made on TS in the last several months that this is due in large part to the Sox's on-field struggles. Everyone here might feel the same no matter what, but if the Sox weren't terrible right now I truly believe that the opinions would be expressed without the rage.

[resdubwhite]

out of a professional courtesy. If any colleague of mine, or a person involved with the company I worked with were to die I would attend. As I'm sure a lot of people here would.

 

Put it this way. The players represent the team. Represent the fans. In my mind they were duty bound to have a large number of them attend. Its not that they didn't all attend. I can understand that.

 

But 4.

 

Only 4.

[BigPapiEnFuego]

At the risk of turning this into a racial thing, many Latin or Hispanic or whatever you want to call 'em cultures are much more family-oriented than American culture. From personal experience, I can say it is much more likely for huge groups of extended family, from second and third cousins to in-laws to only distantly related people, to show up for memorial services for the deceased. Padilla, assuming he feels that he is a part of the Sox "family" or organization if you will, may have felt personally obligated to pay his respects in person to someone who was such an important part of the team that he is currently being paid by and whose uniform he is wearing.

 

As I said, this is supposition on my part, based on an admittedly basic understanding of other cultures, but it could explain how someone so new to the team could feel his presence was required. In the same line of reasoning, it could explain why Matsuzaka did not attend, as in Japanese culture to intrude upon the grief of the family at a memorial service when you were not close to the deceased would be considered rude.

 

 

You are pretty much exactly right. I thought that even before I posted, I just wanted to fuel the fire a bit more :harhar:

 

In latin culture people tend to be really close. Even when it is someone who may just be an acquaintance or someone known in passing they tend to take death very serious and will go to funerals and make contact with their family to express their condolences. I've dealt with that s*** enough... and honestly I hate the whole funerals and wakes thing. I find it pointless now. But that's their thing.

 

As much as I hate all that stuff I still would of liked to have seen them all show up there and if I were a player I would of. Show some solidarity or something.

[YAZMAN]

In latin culture people tend to be really close. Even when it is someone who may just be an acquaintance or someone known in passing they tend to take death very serious and will go to funerals and make contact with their family to express their condolences.

 

They're also likely to be Catholic, so all of the above essentially applies twice.

[ibot2much]

but if the Sox weren't terrible right now I truly believe that the opinions would be expressed without the rage.

 

You've said this a couple of times as if it is an amazingly original and unheard of thought.....but yea.....there is anger at the Sox players for sucking since Sept 2011 and anything they do that is outside what is commonly accepted behavior will be cause for further anger.

 

If they were winning, they would be given a pass. NO question there. That then opens up the question would the same group of guys be different in some way if they were winning?

 

And would a winning group of guys go willingly to the service?

[Gringo]

The players on the Red Sox get paid millions of dollars a year to not only play hard and do their best to win games, but to represent the ball club, the fans and the city in a positive light.

 

Theirs is a public profession, and they get held to a high standard, as they should, and as their paychecks would seem to require.

 

But there has been a growing disconnect between the players and the public for a few years now, and it's reached a boiling point. They are worse than clueless, they are outwardly contemptuous of the fans and their own obligation as ambassadors of a century old tradition.

 

Even the "25 cabs, 25 players" teams from the 80's weren't as despised as these guys are.

[kapsis21]

if they had time to attend a beckett bowling event, thats not a good enough reason for not going. plain and simple.

but a funeral could mentally affect you in a way that might be hard to overcome.

 

This was as dysfunctional as the whole season has been. No communication, you line up busses but dont talk to your own guys. WTF is that..

 

And the FO again lets media to twist this story around.

 

I am not supporting them of not going to the funeral but they keep making the same mistakes over and over, and let media keep ripping us i would say raping us over and over.

 

Fire the PR guy who organized this... wait we suggested fire the whole FO but who is listening.

[jacksonianmarch]

I do not understand you guys at all. If my boss dies, or a guy who worked at my job for 50 years dies, and I decide not to go to the funeral, it is my business. I am under no obligation to attend the services, whether I am a public figure or not, and I am certainly under no obligation to defend myself to those who disagree.

 

The fact is that things like this have come up before. I remember a debate several years ago on this board about a player missing a game or two for the birth of his child. Some people felt it was good he was there, others said he should have stayed and played ball. But it was never as acrimonious a discussion as this, and I think it would be obvious to anyone skimming the posts made on TS in the last several months that this is due in large part to the Sox's on-field struggles. Everyone here might feel the same no matter what, but if the Sox weren't terrible right now I truly believe that the opinions would be expressed without the rage.

 

It's different when you are slogging away for a company behind the scenes at a job that is far from the spotlight. The Red Sox are beloved (or reviled) spotlighted heroes to some who are highly paid.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

The whole point is that there shouldn't have to be a mandate...

 

Pretty much

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

The whole point is that there shouldn't have to be a mandate...

Tough s***. It's a personal decision on the part of the players. I don't give a f*** what the players do when they're not in uniform. Neither should you, as long as they're not infringing on anyone else's rights. Yes, it's unfortunate that they didn't attend. Oh well, they had no obligation to be there.

 

This is the latest example of people here taking it as a personal offense when the Red Sox don't do well, and in return decide to be bitches who pry into their personal time and attack their characters for irrelevant off-field stuff. I really am ashamed that I share a favorite baseball team with some of you clowns.

[resdubwhite]

Tough s***. It's a personal decision on the part of the players. I don't give a f*** what the players do when they're not in uniform. Neither should you, as long as they're not infringing on anyone else's rights. Yes, it's unfortunate that they didn't attend. Oh well, they had no obligation to be there.

 

This is the latest example of people here taking it as a personal offense when the Red Sox don't do well, and in return decide to be bitches who pry into their personal time and attack their characters for irrelevant off-field stuff. I really am ashamed that I share a favorite baseball team with some of you clowns.

 

You have little to be worried about.

 

attack the post, not the poster. Getting into personal insults speaks volumes about you.

[jung]

No question that people are drawing a line from the team's on-field performance through the lack of attendance at the funeral. At the very least they are linking the on-field performance to the lack of communications and a lack of leadership both from management and from the players that are considered team leaders relating to attendance at the funeral.

 

I still think to go or not go is a personal decision. I would not have allowed a team request that players attend to sway me one way or the other if I was a player. Making the buses available was fine. Making sure the players knew the schedule of events was fine. Requesting that players attend may as I indicated earlier have even been a deterrent for some players.

 

This organization has probably earned a reputation even with the players to use virtually everything and to view virtually everything from a marketing perspective. I would likely feel uncomfortable about the possibility that upper management would have used attendance at the funeral in a way that was disingenuous.

 

However, I am surprised that more players did not feel personally compelled to go, particularly some of the vets. How many guys are we really talkin' about here? Without naming names I can think of 5-6 more guys that I would have expected to go. There are a lotta' guys that just are not here anymore for one thing.

 

I don't know if one of the vets did a head count and finding only four were going sort of queried some of the others privately. No need for a team meeting here or anything like it. I do think that one of these guys that are purported to be team leaders should have queried some of the other guys. But at the end of the day, if the number is four.....well.....thats' the number.

 

To be honest to some extent complaints about the poor attendance sounds more and more like buying into this idea that the Sox are one big happy family and how can we be buying into that at this point. Lets face it, at some level that is very likely why Management wanted better attendance out of the players.

 

We can argue about what they are but I cannot believe anybody thinks they are one big happy Sox family at this point.