This point doesn’t have to be labored over. Alfredo Aceves has to go.
Aug 18, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Alfredo Aceves (91) gestures during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Boston won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Aceves is one of those guys who when going good is called eccentric and when he’s going like he’s been going since, oh, mid-season 2012 he’s a malcontent who destroys team unity. He has been tolerated in Boston for two reasons: 1. For a time he was a guy a manager could depend on to slip into the starting rotation, spot start or perform middle relief, setup and closing duties. That’s a lot of utility, especially during a season like his 2011 campaign when he went 10-2 with a 2.61 ERA; 2. Boston’s pitching has been hurting for two years.
Fast forward to 2012 when Aceves reversed his numbers, going 2-10 with a 5.25 ERA, all the while brooding and getting into spats both public and private with then Sox manager Bobby Valentine (OK, I’ll cut him some slack for fighting with Valentine).
"Aceves has become the embodiment of what John Farrell detests; unprofessional. After the As blew out Aceves 13-0 a couple of days ago and he then accused the team of not backing him up with run support that was the straw that broke the camel’s back."
Farrell said that Aceves got sent down strictly based on performance, which if that was the only yardstick by which he was measured, then he certainly deserved to go down. Aceves is 1-1 with an 8.66 ERA. The root issue is his completely unprofessional behavior and that’s got to be a bone stuck in Farrell’s throat at this point.
If Boston is smart they’ll do what they can to rehabilitate Aceves in the minors, bring him up to show and deal him. He’s a cancer. Farrell will be cool about it but I believe Alfredo Aceves’ days in a Red Sox uniform are numbered. What do you think?