Red Sox Deny Having Beer In Dugout

[Big Bid'Ness]

From:realgm

The Red Sox released statements from three players, former manager Terry Francona and CEO Larry Lucchino late Tuesday night, refuting a report that cited team employees as saying pitchers Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester drank beer in the dugout during games.

"I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough," Beckett said in the statement. "I admit that I made mistakes along the way this season, but this has gone too far. To say that we drank in the dugout during the game is not true."

Lester admitted earlier in the week that the players drank beer in the clubhouse, but his statement was similar.

"The accusation that we were drinking in the dugout during games is completely false," Lester said. "Anonymous sources are continuing to provide exaggerated and, in this case, inaccurate information to the media."

The employees cited as sources in the report by WHDH-TV said that Beckett, Lackey and Lester would leave the dugout around the sixth inning, walk back to the clubhouse and fill cups with Bud Light.

They would then return to the dugout and watch the game while drinking beer. One Red Sox employee told the station that the pitchers were "bored on nights they weren't pitching and this is how they entertained themselves."

Francona, whose eight-year tenure as manager of the Red Sox ended when the team did not exercise a two-year option on his contract on Oct. 7, said he never witnessed the players drinking.

"In 32 years of professional baseball, I have never seen someone drinking beer in the dugout," Francona said in the statement.

 

[footballplaya52]

who cares? they werent pitching

 

[The Guid]

It affected them when the did pitch though. That's the problem.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

It affected them when the did pitch though. That's the problem.

It's bud light, not Guinness.

Unless they were shotgunning 12-packs the night before a start, I don't think its going to bother them 24 hours later.

 

[elcheato]

If they were drinking in the dug out, wouldn't the cameras pick it up?

And if it was just in the clubhouse, I'd be surprised if teams didn't drink in the clubhouse.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

The ONLY argument that should be used is it affected team chemistry.

I mean picture it. you're out there busting your ass, trying to win the game. End of the 6th inning you g into the dugout and see 3 of your pitchers drinkin brewskies because they're "bored". Apparently your game isn't enough, they need a little alcohol in their system to get through it. And you can't have any, which is gonna piss you off too.

Thats really the only argument.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

If they were drinking in the dug out, wouldn't the cameras pick it up?

And if it was just in the clubhouse, I'd be surprised if teams didn't drink in the clubhouse.

they went in the clubhouse, poured the beer in cups.

They weren't carrying cases of beer into the dugout with them. Simply putting it in a white plastic cup is enough to hide it.

 

[elcheato]

Still don't see a problem in that, unless it was the day of their start..

 

[The Guid]

You're missing the point though

Beckett, Lester, and Lackey all gained considerable weight during the course of the season (Beckett especially)...it sure as hell didn't come from sticking around in the dug out with teammates and following your training regimen. They gave up on their team and this was part of the problem. It was, among other things, abuse of the way Francona ran things.

THAT'S the problem. And that's why people are even making a deal about this.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Alright so they didn't stay in shape, thats one valid argument. But that doesn't necessarily mean it was a cause from them drinking beer, and drinking beer doesn't necessarily mean they gave up.

Now, while I normally don't believe the NY Daily News, if this is at all true, it proves that this is probably something a lot of players have done over the years and has been taken with a grain of salt:

"According to one of the insiders, Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens would routinely drink beer on the dugout bench when they played for the Yankees, passing back and forth what Giambi called his “protein shake,” code for a cup of beer, the source said. And they weren’t the only ones who partook. “Rally beers are big in the clubhouse,” one insider said. “Guys would drink them all the time, on the bench, in the clubhouse, in the training room. It’s common."


If that is at all true, it shows that drinking some beer in the dugout doesn't mean you "give up" on your team.

 

[NV]

Well if I was an everyday player during a game in a pennant race and I was out there trying to win a game and I see players not giving a fuck and off on their own drinking beer it would piss me off.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

who says their off on their own? its not like they drink 2 bud lights during a game and are sitting in the corner making jokes. They could be drinking beer in a cup, leaning on the railing cheering their buddies on.

 

[Pugz]

since when did beer and baseball not go together? fuck this!

 

[Big Bid'Ness]

From:realgm

Buchholz Comes Clean On Clubhouse Drinking

Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz, who hasn't pitched since June, admitted to WEEI in Boston on Thursday that he was part of the clubhouse drinking saga that has plagued the team.

Buchholz was linked to teammates Jon Lester and John Lackey in reports that had the pitchers drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse during games they were not starting.

"Yeah, it did (happen)," Buchholz said.

"It wasn't to the extent that it's being told right now. The whole chicken thing, it wasn't like the guys were sitting in there saying 'We're going to order chicken today.' It was, we'd come upstairs, there would be chicken on the table and it happened maybe three times this season. The whole beer thing, it was more of a rally-beer thing. And yeah, it might not have been right, but I feel like there have been other teams in baseball that have gone through stuff like that. Not to say it wasn't a big deal, because it was a mistake, grown men shouldn't be making those decisions like that during a baseball game, but like I said before, you've got to live with what you've done and learn from it. I'm sure it's not going to happen again because it's a lot bigger right now than everybody ever thought it would be."

Buchholz also took the company line in denying the allegations that pitchers drank beer in the dugout during games.

"No, never. Never," he said.