Homegrown by Alex Speier

Author:Alex Speier
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062943576
Publisher: HarperCollins

Chapter 8

Price Is Right

FEW PEOPLE AROUND THE RED SOX had a framework with which to comprehend the chaos of mid-August 2015. Certainly, none of the young players who were still creating their big league identities had any idea what to make of the fact that, in the span of a few days, they had seen both the only manager and general manager for whom they’d played leaving those roles.

Bench coach turned interim manager Torey Lovullo felt their uncertainty. Indeed, he shared it. When Farrell addressed the team to tell them that he was stepping aside for the duration of the season to undergo chemotherapy, Lovullo stood by his side but could offer no words. In the days that followed, he could barely mention his friend’s cancer diagnosis without tears welling in his eyes. He refused to take up residence in the Red Sox manager’s office out of deference to Farrell, whom he’d known dating to their time as teammates with the Angels in 1993. Lovullo was tiptoeing through the situation delicately.

But when the team made the mid-game announcement of Dombrowski’s hiring and Cherington’s departure from the organization, Lovullo recognized that the players needed reassurance from someone else in uniform. After team president Sam Kennedy broke the news of the baseball operations change to players after their 9–1 win over Cleveland on August 18, Lovullo addressed them as well. The team was in a confused and emotional state. Lovullo sought to direct those sentiments toward something productive. On the team level, the players remained representatives of the Red Sox, and were expected to play to win every day—to play relentless, winning baseball. On an individual level, the players were expected to conduct themselves professionally, to be good teammates, and to play with an understanding that they were constantly being evaluated to determine if they’d be part of the organization’s future.

“We weren’t going to play American Legion–style baseball,” said Lovullo.

The team was amid a drastic roster reshaping. In late July, the Red Sox had traded Shane Victorino to the Angels; on August 7, Mike Napoli had been shipped off to the Rangers. With those two trades, every key veteran who’d been acquired for the 2013 season and who’d become a critical part of a unique clubhouse culture—Napoli, Victorino, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Jake Peavy, Ryan Dempster, and Stephen Drew—was gone. So were Jon Lester and John Lackey.

Until the final dissolution of that group, a major piece of the team’s identity had been inextricably bound to the 2013 veteran core. Now a new identity could finally take shape. David Ortiz remained the clubhouse elder (Mookie Betts often referred to his teammate not by his famous “Big Papi” moniker but instead with the even more affectionate appellation of “Large Father”), and Pedroia, too, remained as a leader. But beyond them, Lovullo’s words made clear, there was an opportunity for an emerging generation of players to redefine who the Red Sox were.

When Mookie Betts had been demoted for the final time in August 2014, relieved

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