So aren't the Boston RedSox the biggest hypocrites in MLB?

Question

This is just over the last few weeks. For years Sox fans put up with "Manny being Manny" as long as he was helping you win. And then the second he's out of town, everybody unloads on him and calls him a terrible human being. A terrible human being is a terrible human being whether he plays for your team or not. Very hypocritical to criticize him only after he is gone.

But this is the big one today. The RedSox pick up Paul Byrd from the Indians. Wasn't it just last October that Paul Byrd was preparing to start Game 7 of the ALCS win the World Series on the line? And then just hours before the game, it gets leaked from the Mitchell report that Byrd had ties to HGH. (Which he took with a doctors prescription to treat a tumor on his pituitary gland) Of course, the story becomes a big distraction and Byrd has a bad start. Red Sox win and go to the series. The Red Sox - the same team by which John Mitchell is employed.

And now a year later, they trade for they guy.

Hypocrites. The worst kind of people.

I won't even get into the whole whining about the Yankees payroll over the years when the Sox have been second in payroll. Thereby making them just as responsible for the destruction of competitive balance in the game.

Seriously, the Sox are shady.

Your thoughts?

Answer 1

i just hate em because they beat out the rockies last year, the one time this state actually thought the rocks had something.

Answer 2

well you sound very opinionated, but i won't judge. maybe it's just that the stories you're hearing are about the fairweather boston fans...but how often do you hear about the true fans? it's always the fairweather fans getting the press, that's why they're always deemed hypocritical and traitors.

but not the TRUE fans!!!! now that's a different story!

Answer 3

Hear, hear!

******* BoSox. Can't stand 'em.

Of course, that has absolutely nothing to do w/ my own loyalties...

Answer 4

I don't see whats hypocritical about the Byrd issue. John Mitchell does not represent Red Sox fans.

Answer 5

It's tough to defend Manny's action in the days before the trade. He's always been a little odd, but his behavior was over the line -- not running out ground balls, avoiding certain pitchers, a fight with a travel assistant who was in his 60's, etc. Red Sox fans would have put up with him if necessary, but it was hard to defend him.

As for Byrd, the Mitchell Report (George, by the way; John pitched for the Nixon Administration) was released in the offseason. Don't see how you can blame the Red Sox for that story. And since he's an eligible pitcher in the big leagues, he is entitled to make a living. If you say the Red Sox leaked the story, you'd better have some proof of that.

That's not to deny that the timing was fortunate for the Red Sox under the circumstances.

I don't think the facts back up your assertions.

Answer 6

I agree Boston is definitely shady.  It almost seems like Epstein has crossed over to the dark side and made some type of deal with the devil.  He is a young George Steinbrenner and is reaping all of the benefits of how the MLB rules and regulations are set up.  Ever since they have won its seems a bit of that clean and shiny image is starting to show a dull reflection of corruption.  Cmon Manny wasn't that bad.  And all of sudden he gone to LA in one of the most BS trades in recent memory?  Reeks of BS and I agree 100% about Byrd!!  Byrd the same cheater who was HGH man and could of went to the World Series.  I am so feed up with all of the shenanigans of how the Boston Red Sox are now the Yankees of the past.  They say they are a family oriented organization?  Whose family?  Boston come clean all of that glitter ain't gold.

Answer 7

Amen!

Answer 8

I like Manny, I still do, but that doesn't mean that I approve of everything he does.  I didn't like when he pulled himself out of a couple of games just before he was traded.  Nevertheless, I wish him well.  In an ideal world the Dodgers will Face the Red Sox in the World Series and anybody with an issue can settle it on the field.  Restricting Manny to an ARod type Series would be justice indeed.

Answer 9

You make it sound as if the organization and fans turned on Manny overnight.This is not the case No one has said he isn't a great player when he actually puts in a little effort and actually plays.

I thank him for the times he played here and was a "team" (operative word) player.

But enough is enough .When his teammates get tired of his antics and lack of effort then it is time for a change.He had a hefty contract here to play a GAME! He was given lots of leeway when he didn't show up for preseason camp on time.When he asked to be rested the request was usually granted unless there was no one else to play due to injury.

Every year he said he wanted to be traded and part way through the season,after Ortiz had a talk with him,he changed his mind.He also used to say he wanted to finish his career in Boston.

When he got to LA, in just about 24 hours,he claimed he loved it there (maybe he does) and wanted to finish his career there.

In about another 48 hours he states he wants to end his career in NY to stick it to the RedSox. Wow what loyalty! Why should anyone expect fans to continue loving someone who basically stopped playing for their favorite team just because he wanted to? Faking injuries is also among his litany of antics.

If he goes to NY he has to cut his locks.Now that I have to see and NY won't put up with his c**p.

If we just wanted entertainment and not a HR hitter we could have kept Millar.He was a team player, entertaining and didn't bring down the team he always boosted their feelings and always had a smile.

When your teammates don't back you you know there is a problem,Even  Ortiz couldn't defend his actions anymore.

Thanks for the good years but glad we can look elsewhere for a team player.

One like Wakefield who took himself out of the WS because he thought someone else could help the team as he was not 100%.He even was willing to go to the bullpen when needed.Now that's the type of player they all should be!

Answer 10

I actually put up with Manny and even liked him until he made his comments about preferring to be in Iraq than play for Boston.. At that moment I lost all respect for him. I could care less what happens to him now. As the wife of a soldier that was deployed to Iraq last year I find his comments to be shallow and pathetic. I can imagine most soldiers would trade their deployment with him to go play for the Red Sox and make millions rather than risk their life daily fighting for our country. He became a loser to me after that comment...and I dare Manny to put his baseball career on hold and go serve our country in Iraq and then dare him to complain about being a member of the Red Sox.  

Answer 11

listen, i'm a Yankee fan and i say, lay off the Red Sox. Of course their fans will be pissed. they just lost Manny Ramirez, probably the best hitter on their team and an experienced fielder. J-Bay has replaced him but he'll never fill Manny's shoes. They only make fun of the Yankees payroll when their losing just like we Yankee fans only complain about them when we're losing. ok? we're all hyprocrites. seriously.  

Answer 12

About sports fans being hypocrites, i dont think you can be a sport fan without being somewhat of a hypocrite, its just not possible

Answer 13

NO .......

Answer 14

I personally have always disliked Manny. He plays with no class. If a player on your team stopped playing because he didn't want to, wouldn't you be upset? If they have a chance to get good players, let them. If Byrd will help them win, more power to them. Every fan complains about their teams' rival. It seems like you dislike a big payroll by what your fourth paragraph states. Get used to it. There will always be a team with an enormous payroll, but it doesn't guarantee anything. Overall, I disagree with you.

Answer 15

As much as i agree with all of those things.......the yankees arent so much better! Honestly though all those things you talked about bugged me too! I hate how they made up this redsox nation thing to make fans think they are part of the team! I guarantee you if Byrd was a redsox going into the ALCS that story would NOT have been leaked.

Answer 16

Yeah, there probably is a touch of hypocrisy in Red Sox nation.  They loved Manny when he helped lead them to 2 World Series championships and ended the 86 year curse.  The minute he leaves all of the sudden he is a quitter and a despicable human being.

Answer 17

first off you way late second off. Alot of people got sick of it before the begging of the seasson.

We were used to Manny being Manny  But he gone too far that why people had enough of him.

red sox fans are a huge thing and you cant say all red sox fans are hyprocrits. THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE ARE BANGWANGERS.

Answer 18

Just for some background, I'm not a Red Sox follower.

Manny being Manny seemed to be crazy idiotic, small things that he did because he got some sort of executive privilege being the top dog.

However, to intentionally play poorly (as most Sox fans would be contending) just to force the team into a position where they would agree not to exercise his option or to trade him on the understanding that the team will not exercise the option shows absolutely no respect for the game, the team that's paid you a crazy amount for 7.5 years and the fans that ultimately flipped the bill.  You could guarantee that if Manny was having a really c**p season, .264, 10 hrs, 42 RBIs, he'd be as good as gold so they WOULD pick up the option.

However, it's also odd that you are centering out the Red Sox in this and don't realize that's what all fans do.

I'm in the Toronto area and Robbie Alomar was a skinny god around here.  Bolts for another team, gets booed.  Who cares what he did in 5 great seasons with us, he betrayed us (boo hoo).  Even worse when he had the spitting incident.

If he was a Jay when that happened, 70% of people would have said "yeah, but did you hear what the umpire called him??"

I also don't believe that Mitchell is 'employed' by the Red Sox, but simply sat on their board of directors.  There is a difference.

On the Byrd thing, did the Red Sox actually leak it, I honestly don't recall.

One could also argue that the Red Sox payroll being 2nd (but you can fit 2 or sometimes 3 teams in the difference between them) was more of a RE-action than an action.  

As the only team from the AL east that could actually marginally keep up, the Red Sox did it so it wouldn't be a cake walk every year.

Good thing for the Red Sox, the AL East and the rest of baseball that the Yankees have a sucky GM or they may have actually won a WS this century.

Edit to asker:

if you are giving a human trait (hypocrisy) to an organization, that in itself is faulty.  The Team can never say "manny being manny".  It would have to be one or more representatives.  Mostly, I have heard that from the media and from Fans.  I have never seen Francona come out and say "well, he missed that play, mooned the monster, but that's just Manny being Manny"

"He was named in an article" - ok, so then I ask, if he was named in an article, is that the Red Sox doing, or the author of the article?

And, IF Byrd used HGH under a prescription, then it's a moot point because the whole point of illegality centered around steroids/designer drugs that were used to enhance performance, not legitimately heal under a doctor's care.

Answer 19

You mentioned Red Sox fans in your very first paragraph.  They were the first people you attacked - see your second and third sentences.