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Red Sox end home portion of schedule with what else, a loss

September 27, 2012 By

The Red Sox played their last game of the 2012 season at Fenway Park and fitting with how the season has gone it was another loss. The fell to the Rays 4-2, thus being swept in the brief two-game series. The Red Sox finished the year  34-47 at home, their worst record at Fenway since 1965. It was also the first time since 1997 the team finished the year with a sub .500 record at home, and it was also the last time a team finished below .500 overall as well. Could this have been the last game Bobby Valentine manages at Fenway Park?

The team followed up Tuesday night’s honoring of the 2004 World Series team with a pre-game ceremony naming the All-Fenway Park team. The team included 40 Red Sox players voted on by the fans as well as the organization. It was a very good mix of players from many decades, past and present, many of whom were on hand Wednesday night for the ceremony. Unlike Tuesday night’s ceremony honoring the 2004 team, this was a very nice way to wrap up the 100th anniversary of the Red Sox and not a PR stunt to try and attract fans to a meaningless game. If there is one thing to be said about the 2012 Red Sox is they do know how to put on a great pre-game ceremony, which have gone on throughout the year.

Enough with the Fenway 100 Celebrations- Tony Massarotti has had enough of all the celebrations this year.

The contrived party is over at Fenway Park- Dan Shaughnessy also didn’t like the pre-game festivities, especially last night. He says the franchise has lost its way.

Bobby Valentine not conceding this is the end- Michael Vega says Valentines pre-game press conference Wednesday sounded like his last one ever at Fenway Park.

A Fenway finale, but same Bobby Valentine- Scott Lauber looks at what could have been Valentine’s last game as manager at Fenway Park.

Red Sox look through gloom- Gordon Edes looks back at the final home game of the year and also how there is hope for the future.

David Ortiz: ‘It’s going to get better’- Joe McDonald says Ortiz wants to come back next season and also end his career as a member of the Red Sox.

After three days of replacement referee talks, the league and the refs finally reached a deal late Wednesday night and the refs will reportedly be ready to go for tonight’s Ravens/Browns game. All I can say is, it’s about time.

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Filed Under: Morning Links
  • Linda Austin

    Tony Masseroti aka Mrs. Felger is part of Theo Media along with John Tomase and Sean McAdam. Theo Media hates this ownership and will rip them at any turn over any issue.
    Dan Shaughnessy has become more and more bitter towards Sox ownership since he’s been frozen out of access to the big 3.
    Just as Boston media wants us all to take Sox ownership with a major grain of salt I think we should take the same attitude with them. Lots of personal agendas at work.

    • http://twitter.com/DryHeave1 DryHeave

      Shank was on the tube railing about these ceremonies and how the Red Sox are holding them to, “distract the fans from what’s happening on the field” …..gee Shank, I’m pretty sure the fans realize the Sox have SUCKED this year.

      The other thing I had to laugh about was when Shank said he hoped Valentine stays because of his press conferences adding, “You don’t get stuff like that out of Foxboro”….right Shank, cause that’s what it all about. Sound bites to make your job easy.

      • whitey b

        Little Danny Shaughnessy says Sox must hire John Farrell.

        Because the answer to an underperforming 4th place team is ALWAYS the manager of an underperforming 5th place team.

    • TonyC55

      I have to agree. The fact that most of the Boston media just let Theo get away with blaming the “need to feed the Monster” for his horrid stewardship of the on-field product from 2009-2011 is proof positive that if Godfather Gammons is on your side, the rest of the baseball writers will be as well (or at least most of them). That said, to me it’s all about Lucchino. If he’s back next season, then I think this site will see a lot of the same types of articles and comments about the Red Sox next summer. Lucchino’s effectiveness definitely has an expiration date and, just like an old bunch of broccoli, if you allow LL to stay in the fridge for too long, his presence eventually stinks up the entire place.

      • whitey b

        What do you mean “if?” He’s coming back. He’s under contract. He’ll be on Lansdowne just as sure as I’ll be in the Big House.

        • TonyC66

          Has it been determined that Lucchino signed a new contract? I may have missed that story. I thought his deal was up after the 2012 season and he hadn’t signed a new deal yet, but I may have missed it. I think he’s a big part of the problem, given his apparent belief that he’s more qualified to run Baseball Ops. than a guy like Cherington, who actually was a talent scout. I hope I’m wrong.

        • whitey b

          John Henry confirmed it days ago.

  • http://www.jimmacleod.com JimMacLeod

    Mazz and Shaughnessy hate the events? That must explain why I’ve enjoyed them. Plus it’s because I’m a fan of baseball and a fan of the Red Sox.

  • APimpNamedDaveR

    The only thing more tiresome and annoying than the media bitching and moaning about the 2004 team appearance and the Fenway 100 stuff is the media bitching and moaning about the sellout streak.

    Now that it’s all over, hopefully they can get cracking on the articles that will tell us how Bobby Valentine was secretly cooking up and dealing meth in the clubhouse, and how Jon Lester sexually abused a rotisserie chicken before every start, and all the rest of the garbage that I’m sure will be written in the wake of this season.

    • latetodinner

      Dave:
      I hear our sarcasm and cynicism about the media. I really do. But my question is now that the season is over…what should they be writing about. By any measure, the soap opera over on Yawkee way this past season worse than anything we have seen or heard since joe Kerrigan or maybe Butch Hobson. If the media does start writing stories about Bobby V secretly cooking crank in the clubhouse (on the portable grill that he used to invent the wrap) I am going to skewer them for waiting until after the season because I think there is/was so much more to the behind the scenes dysfunction and it should have come out during the season. I am not going to be angry they are writing these stories because I think Sox ownership abused its fans this year. Furthermore, if they hoist John Farrell on us, then they are completely out of touch. Of course we will read stories telling us that Farrell is the baseball equivalent to Bill Belichick…the loyal assistant who failed in his first head coaching job because he needed too much control, but he will succeed in Boston because he learned lessons and he never wanted to leave here.

      Dave, in the end I want the salacious details to come out because I want management put on notice…change the culture or we aren’t coming back. Their TV and Radio ratings took a dive. The home attendance numbers were down. The only way things change is for them to publicly own up to their failings and change things. I just hope the media is willing to keep pursuing this or if they will do what they always do…rally around the Sox flag and let it all go.

      • whitey b

        They could write about the rest of baseball. Baseball Prospectus and Over the Monster are having no trouble finding lots to write about without having to get into the politics and other b.s. non-stories. Thank god we can get those sites here in the cell.

      • Joe

        What should they write about? How about a substantive analysis of what the Sox need to do and should do supported by facts and figures and on the record interviews with key members of the organization. If they can’t do that then they are no more than well paid bloggers.

        • latetodinner

          Their job is to sell papers/page views. There will be no readership if they run three months of in-depth statistical analysis of back up utility outfielders and potential middle relievers. You are living in a fantasy world if you think anyone other than hard core SABR guys right now care about the statistical about what happened. As for getting organizational guys on the record…I think by that you mean Ben C. Because they can’t trot Bill James out there after his Jerry Sandusky comments. Bobby V is most likely gone. Each time Larry L goes anywhere or says anything his comments sound so out of touch they are insulting…how’s that sell out streak working for them. heck they send Sam Kennedy out to WGAN in NH and he does more harm than good. So what you want is a good long interview with Ben C where he explains how he will fix things in the offseason. That would be awesome…seriously. It would be a great distraction for 2 days..3 tops.
          I will give you a solution but it will not happen. Sox management needs to come out an apologize to the fans for this season. They need to say we let the business get in the way of the baseball operations and for that we are sorry. Our fans deserve better than this and we will give it to them starting now. There will be a wall between baseball ops and business development. Ben is in charge of baseball ops. Larry is in charge of business development. We are working diligently to build a rosters of players that work hard, want to be here, want to win and that the fans will be able to embrace. We lost our way but we will do everything we can to get it back. Fans were right to criticize because we were slow to recognize the problems and that was our fault.
          They say something like that, fire Bobby V., bring in a competent young manager who brings hope and respect (Tony Pena..cough, cough) and a lot of the analysis and discussion you want to see will be back on the front pages.

        • whitey b

          You should check out Over the Monster some time. They write about a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with data, and they do so in a way that’s both entertaining and (generally) respectful.

          P.S. And Tony Pena is neither competent nor young.

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