BOSTON — Dustin Pedroia is well aware of the criticism surrounding the Red Sox. He doesn’t care for it.
Pedroia held court in front of his locker before Monday’s game against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park. The second baseman was frustrated and defiant while answering questions, but he also expressed confidence in Boston’s ability to rebound from a very disappointing start to the 2015 season.
“That’s one thing that’s going to start changing. We’re not going to listen you guys’ (B.S.),” Pedroia said. “We’re just going to go play baseball. That’s it. We’re going to try to be positive and we’re going to play winning baseball. We’re not going to care what anyone else says. We’re going to care about our 25 guys and play together and that’s about it.”
The Red Sox entered Monday in the midst of a six-game losing streak that dropped their record to 27-37. Boston sat eight games back in the American League East, five games behind the fourth-place Baltimore Orioles, who swept the Sox last week at Camden Yards.
Many outside the organization already have written off the Red Sox’s season. The team not only faces a deficit that looks insurmountable given how poorly the Red Sox have played. It also looks like a team with zero life, prompting some critics to wonder whether widespread changes need to be made.
Pedroia’s not buying into the pessimism.
“We’re trying to play winning baseball and we’re going to focus on that. The past is the past,” Pedroia said. “We dug ourselves a hole and we’re going to dig ourselves out of it. And it starts with everybody together.
“It’s not the manager. It’s not the GM. It’s not me. It’s not David (Ortiz). It’s everybody together (that) is going to do that. We’re going to do it together. We’re the only ones that think we can, and the only way to do it is if we all believe it and do it ourselves.”
Pedroia and Red Sox manager John Farrell both stressed the importance Monday of staying together amid these trying times for the organization. While it’s occasionally looked this season like everyone isn’t on the same page, both suggested a turnaround starts with everyone pulling in the same direction and having each other’s backs regardless of what is said, written or expressed outside the clubhouse walls.
“I’ve been around here long enough to know that when it’s going good, everyone loves you. When it’s going bad, everyone hates you. So it is what it is,” Pedroia said. “But for some of the guys that come around here and start to think (about) what people say about you, that’s not the reality. The reality is you show up to work every day, work hard and be yourself. What other people say doesn’t dictate how I feel about them, and that’s the only thing that matters.
“These 25 guys are going to come together and we’re going to play winning baseball.”
The Red Sox haven’t played “winning baseball” since their 2013 World Series victory, so the fan base’s patience certainly is wearing thin. So, too, is the Red Sox’s patience with the criticism.
For Boston, it’s about harnessing that “us against the world” mentality in a positive way.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
