FORT MYERS, Fla. — Each of the offseason acquisitions the Red Sox made were done so to improve the club in one area or another. Most of those improvements, if they ever come to fruition, won't be realized until the season begins.
One area that may already have seen an impact is with the clubhouse chemistry.
The additions of Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and others have already made a casual transition into their new digs, with each drawing rave reviews for having the complete package, not just an ability to hit .300.
Not that the 2010 edition of the Red Sox needed a boost in personality, but this year's group has a potential to stand out off the field, as well as on. Management knows that the two are not mutually exclusive.
"I think we do our best to understand what makes players tick," general manager Theo Epstein said Thursday afternoon. "Winning, being a good teammate, working hard, preparation. It's great if we see those things in a successful acquisition. Certainly with [Crawford and Gonzalez], we saw all those things, so that makes it an easy fit. It's not like we're taking players who have different values and different priorities and trying to force them into a culture where they're not a great fit. These guys are a natural fit for our clubhouse and our culture."
The returning players are seeing the same situation play out, even just hours after several position players reported for the first time. Some have already made the adjustments necessary to make the clubhouse as welcoming a place as can be.
Mike Cameron, who said earlier Thursday that he did his part to help Crawford find his way to Boston, is one such individual. Crawford's presence actually reduces Cameron's role on the field, but having him so willing to step aside has already set an example.
That sort of character is what the club is constantly looking for. In praising Cameron, Epstein brought up Jay Payton, who raised a stink in 2005 when his playing time was not what he had expected. After a confrontation with manager Terry Francona, Payton was eventually let go. Cameron, however, remains an integral part of the mix.
That's by design.
"You have to get guys at the right point in their career where they're ready to embrace that," Epstein added. "They can't be sitting on the bench expecting to play every day and having that affect their attitude. We've got team-first guys here who know their role and are ready to embrace it."
Francona was there to see the excitement level in the clubhouse go up when Crawford, Cameron and David Ortiz walked in Thursday morning. He, too, sees a great collection of professionals.
"It's exciting when these guys walk in the clubhouse," Francona said. "What we do on the field is ultimately what we need to do, but there's no doubt that the loyalty and the personality, things like that, they go a long way toward helping us with the frustrations of a long year. In baseball there's a ton of frustration, and how we deal with that goes a long way in how our season comes out."
