Boston Red Sox’s Jon Lester reveals, then denies drinking in dugout – MLB Update
As time progresses, the reasons for Boston Red Sox’s failure in September are becoming more evident. Terry Francona had earlier hinted that the team was not listening to what he had to say, but there was no evidence to support this proposition.
However, it was revealed by Jon Lester, one of the accused players of being unmanageable in the clubhouse, that drinking beer and eating fast food during games was common among the starting pitchers who were not in the game for the day. However, he denied
that this had any effect on the team’s performance.
He negated the debate that players were involved in playing video games while in the dugout and pleaded that everyone was involved in the game.
He said, “It was the wrong thing to do. But most of the times it was one beer, a beer. It was like having a Coke in terms of how it affected you mentally or physically. I know how it looks to people and it probably looks bad. But we weren’t up there just
drinking and eating and nobody played video games. We watched the game. We cared about what happened.”
Refuting talks about not listening to Francona, Lester stated that there were no rules to follow and the manager would talk to the players who were indulged in wrongdoings. Terming Francona as the perfect manager for the Red Sox, Lester believed that he
got burnt and it was best for him to leave.
Lester had earned respect for fighting cancer and helping the Red Sox win the 2007 World Series. However, these confessions have not helped his position among his peers and he has come under fire from all circles.
Josh Beckett and John Lackey have been accused of partnering with Lester in the drinking episode, but both have denied these accusations. Beckett was utterly disappointed on the charges and asserted that although he made mistakes throughout the season, drinking
was never in question.
Francona denied these talks as well and articulated that he has never seen anyone drink in the dugout, not during his 32 years of professional baseball at least.
It will be interesting to see how matters unfold in the aftermath of this incident.
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