The Houston Astros have been one of baseball's worst teams so far this season with a 14 - 21 record, -23 run differential and a rotation of starting pitchers on the injured list. Yet, they've twice dismantled the Boston Red Sox's lineup, exposing every flaw in their playing and otherwise.
On top of heinous offense and injured starting pitching, clubhouse drama has taken hold in Boston. Red Sox fans and media have been dissecting two interactions between a young player and a veteran and getting the sense that the vibes in the clubhouse are far from perfect.
After the series loss to Houston, Willson Contreras uttered a controversial quote about Boston's offense: "But it's really hard when you go up to bat and if you look at the scoreboard, your numbers are not there in May. I've done it before, but with a young group of guys I guess we have to be patient."
Marcelo Mayer, one of the younger players on the team, objected to that sentiment. He made no effort to sugarcoat his dissent.
“To me, that’s just kind of an excuse: blame the young guys,” said Mayer (via Sean McAdam of MassLive). “But at the end of the day, we’re all playing baseball, we’re all pros. We all know what we need to do."
While Contreras is right that Boston's inexperience could be working against it, there's no need to single out any group of players while the entire team is struggling. Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu have been three of the Red Sox's biggest offensive contributors so far this season and they're all on the younger side.
Red Sox deal with clubhouse tiffs amid horrendous offense in another series loss to Astros
Mayer's response to Contreras' quote was blunt, especially when the team is supposed to be perceived as a united front, but he said something very correct — the burden to be better falls on everyone. If anything has been true over the last two seasons, the Red Sox need to get better at handling their clubhouse disagreements internally.
A similar interaction occurred the day before between Rafaela and Trevor Story. In the fourth inning of Boston's Saturday game, Rafaela (expertly) fielded a Jose Altuve double that bounced off the bottom of the center field wall. He had enough time to throw the ball in to Trevor Story before Altuve reached second base, but Story was at least a few feet off the bag when he received Rafaela's throw.
Rafaela's throw was strong and well-placed, with a bounce a couple of feet from the bag. He raised his arms in frustration at Story's perceived lack of effort on the play.
Rafaela left the clubhouse so quickly after the game that reporters couldn't get ahold of him for an interview, but Story spoke about the incident from his perspective.
Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela, Willson Contreras and Marcelo Mayer disagreements make Red Sox's series loss look even worse
“I mean, there’s a human aspect to it and there’s an emotion side to this game and to kind of everything that’s gone on,” Story said (via Christopher Smith of MassLive). “That’s part of being a professional. You learn ways to handle those things, and I think it’s as simple as that. You’re not going to catch me talking bad about any of my teammates.”
Rafaela let his emotions get the better of him after making a great play he thought should've been an out. But part of being a team is not throwing each other under the bus when things go wrong. While Rafaela and Contreras both have points in their recent actions and comments, disagreements are best handled in the clubhouse in a more productive manner.
At the same time, Story is a veteran and is supposed to be a leader, as well as a top defensive player on this team. The throw from Rafaela would've made for a close play, but if Story's supposedly-excellent defense and leadership can't create a big moment to give the Red Sox the shot in the arm they so desperately need, then what can? Story has been injury prone in his Red Sox career, which could prevent him from pulling off such a hero moment, but Rafaela would've made the diving tag on that play to save a run and spark his floundering team.
No matter who is truly at fault in each of these situations, the Red Sox need to get better at managing their emotions to focus on improving on the field, where it truly matters. Few people can play their best when they think their teams' successes or failures are riding on them.
The Astros' decimated pitching staff exposed the Red Sox as one of the worst offensive teams in MLB, which many fans already knew. They also exposed them as a team that doesn't know one another well. Both issues need to be fixed before anyone takes Boston seriously — and it may already be too late for that.
Add us as a preferred source on Google