Slowly the reactions about Terry Francona leaving have been coming in from members of the Red Sox.  Today both WEEI and TMZ have stories on the Red Sox closer.
Rob Bradford spoke with Papelbon and got his views on the team’s September collapse, Terry Francona’s exit and the talk of the clubhouse breaking down as the 2011 season went on.
Papelbon told Bradford that he was “surprised” by the team free falling in September, “shocked” by Francona’s leaving and oblivious to starting pitchers drinking in the clubhouse:
“…it was a shock to me. I had no clue.”
Not that his response is a surprise. Â Presumably, Papelbon will be playing alongside the players who purportedly were doing the drinking in the 2012 season and there’s no reason to make waves when there will be a new manager who will have to deal with any behind the scenes issues. Â Papelbon has no reason to throw any of his teammates under the bus since he no longer has a manager to offer his loyalty.
Papelbon did share with Bradford news of a team meeting called by David Ortiz after the Red Sox were swept by Tampa Bay in September.  He also singles out Dustin Pedroia as being one of the players (including Ortiz and himself) in discussing players knowing there was a need for leadership (and acknowledging that realization might have come too late).
As if the Boston sports media doesn’t put enough pressure on the local professional athletes, TMZ has been moving in on the sports world to bring folks the latest in sports gossip. Â Unfortunately, this means professional sports gets the same treatment as Hollywood, which is to say every move a player makes gets turned into grist for the gossip mill. Â Today it’s a story about how Jonathan Papelbon had the nerve to enjoy himself this past weekend in New Orleans. Â Apparently, the editors at TMZ think the Red Sox, mourning the losses of their manager and the postseason, should sit Shiva until next February.
This is why baseball fans often say that the season never ends. Â There will always be baseball news as long as we want to find it.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)