Great catch!

Haha. Thanks for the catch.

I'm glad Reddick is doing well. I always thought he would, and he just needed time. That said, keep in mind the deal was not Reddick for Sweeney. As the deal's composition stands, Reddick was clearly more valued than Sweeney, so it's not that surprising Reddick holds the edge.

I care if management treats anyone with kid gloves -- it's not just Beckett. I didn't like them bending over backwards for Manny or other players. Talent can only get you so far, right? It's easy to overlook that kind of stuff if you're a perennial MVP candidate or Cy Young winner. But to me, a player is a package, and to me, personality and attitude all are part of that package, irrespective of their impact on performance. it could affect team morale, or any wide number of things.

FWIW, I don't think attitude necessarily has anything to do with conditioning.

Larry, in general I agree with most of what you have written. I have said several times to different people and on different mediums (Twitter, in person, on this site, etc.) that I don't think Beckett's attitude has naything to do with performance. He is very competitive, but he has also been treated with kid gloves by management and is prickly. He is allowed to set his own workout schedule and there is very compelling evidence he let himself go over the course of last season when he gained weight sa the year went on and looked awful in September. In addition, right now, the Sox struggle from a PR issue. Sure, they're under .500 too, but I think that everyone expects them to be well over .500 by year's end. No, the issue right now is calming the fan base, getting the clubhouse in order and moving forward and on. The biggest problem Boston has is perception right now, not performance ,and that perception is incredibly important to morale, the brand and fan engagement. Beckett's actions have only worsened that perception. Now, whether that should be part of his "job duties" as it were can be debated, but I for one believe he should have beem smarter about this.

I disagree, obviously.

Ben, I made clear that I didn't think the issue was his golfing. It was his comments.

Chase, Beckett is a good pitcher regardless of his comments. Winning won't cure Beckett of being Beckett, though.

Great link! Thank you for showing me

I admire the way Tito did things and would probably prefer that route as player. However, there is something to be said for feeling protected and cocooned by your manager. It's possible the Valentine/media connection maymay increase accountability by the players. And responsibility. Those are good things to have, things that seemed to go by the wayside the last few years. And I say this as a major Tito supporter.

Not even close. I won't say it was a bad offseason, but it was not particularly good either. Cherington has a reputation for being more patient than Epstein. A little too patient for my liking so far.

Then that's even worse, because he dumped Scoot for nothing and had no reason to.