BOSTON — Red Sox manager John Farrell met with his entire team before Monday’s game against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park. To be a fly on that wall.
Farrell declined to go into specifics regarding the meeting during a long-than-usual pregame press conference, but it’s safe to assume the get-together wasn’t jovial. There’s a clear “us against the world” mentality developing in the Red Sox’s clubhouse with so many detractors already writing off the team.
“This is a game that you learn to deflect negativity. The game itself is based on negativity,” Farrell said. “What matters most is that we rely on one another.
“We’re in a situation where we’ve dug ourselves a hole. Let’s be quite honest. What we (need to do is) rally and support one another and go out and play the game assertively, anticipate situations as they unfold on the field, have one another’s back. Those are the things that we preach continuously and that’s all that we can concern ourselves with.”
The Red Sox entered Monday sitting 10 games under .500 (27-37) and eight games back in the American League East. It’s a far cry from where Boston wants to be and expected to be before the season, when optimism reigned supreme despite 2014’s 71-91 debacle.
In many ways, the Red Sox are lucky their situation isn’t worse, if you can believe that. They’ve benefited several times from sloppy play by their opponents, they play in a division that’s been mediocre for the most part and they’re perhaps still capable of contending if they start rolling over the next few weeks. But the situation as a whole isn’t pretty, which is why the outside criticism is fair.
The Red Sox seemingly understand that. They’re just not buying into the whole “it’s over” mindset.
“That’s the culture that we try to cultivate here,” Farrell said of his players having each other’s backs. “You have to be supportive of one another, and that support is demonstrated in a number of different ways.
“Whether it’s in-between the lines, whether it’s outside the lines, whether it’s in our clubhouse, that will always be a stalwart or a pillar to what we expect of one another.”
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said Monday the team intends to tune out the media’s “(B.S.)” and any outside scrutiny in its quest to salvage the season. He suggested Boston’s struggles can’t be pinned on any one person and that the clubhouse is full of believers, even if that same optimism isn’t exactly spreading like wildfire throughout the Red Sox’s fan base right now.
“Very confident,” Pedroia said when asked how confident he is in the Red Sox’s ability to improve before it’s too late. “It starts with our guys. Eliminate the distractions and go play together, because the only people that think we can do this are the 25 guys in here.
“I think we’re going to kind of stop listening to the other nonsense and worry about playing winning baseball and today’s game and play as hard as we can and try to win. If we win, we win. The next day, we’ll worry about tomorrow’s game.”
Are the Red Sox grasping at straws? One certainly could argue that’s the case, as their self-created “let’s prove the doubters wrong” mantra seems to lack the authenticity necessary for it to be a truly galvanizing approach. But then again, such outside cynicism alone lends credence to the idea it really is the Red Sox versus everyone else as far as maintaining confidence in the team’s ability to rebound.
At this point, the Red Sox might as well grasp at straws. Nothing else has worked.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
