The Red Sox 2012 Concession Speech:
> The first error in judgment actually goes back to last October. In hindsight, it seems that parting ways with the most successful manager in the history of the Boston Red Sox wasn’t the best idea. Is it true that he lost the locker room? Yes. Were there some possible issues away from the team? Yes. But Terry Francona was a proven winner. Maybe trading a player or two earlier would have brought the team back to him.
> …
> We made a mistake in bringing in someone who threw darts to create his lineups … allegedly. A man who would rather pick up his adult son at the airport rather than get ready for a game. A man who hadn’t managed in Major League Baseball in a decade. Boy, did it show. But he certainly still deserves to be the manager, because …. well, you’re going to have to talk to the owner for an explanation on that one. I got nothing.
> …
> The team was built in such a way that put a healthy amount of pressure on the top three. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Clay Buchholz essentially needed flawless seasons. Daniel Bard and Felix Doubront were the true wild cards. Expectations were low for the two, considering they had never started the season in the rotation. Well, Beckett is now off the team, Lester is having his worst year, Buccholz has been inconsistent, Dubront ran out of gas, and Bard was simply ineffective. I think that sums it up quite well. Let’s move on.
This was painful to read.