FORT MYERS, Fla. — To fans, John Lackey is the most unpopular player on the Red Sox. There is no second place; that’s how much of a landslide it is.
Lackey is an expensive free agent who didn’t meet expectations, a quick path to getting booed at Fenway Park. His ill-tempered answers and dismissive gestures to the media only made it worse.
Comments
Hey...I say cut the guy some slack. We all should get second chances...good luck!
what is the limit on second chances? attitude is part of the problem w/him - he either caught or brought the attitude problem - the I'm-a-pitcher-and-better-than-everyone arrogance that helped bring the team down.
ditto!
I hope you win the Cy Young award this year!!
I've read this same article every year starting with Lackey's second in a sox uniform. Obviously I hope he does well but my eyes tell me he's on the back nine of his career and has trouble getting guys out.
FFFFFFFFTTTTTTT - PLEASE! One of the highest paid players - a pitcher who can't pitch - sort of like our Japanese "phenome" - waste of money. And that is money that could be better spent on better players who actually play and play to win -AND who give a !@#$ about the team and the players and the clubhouse morale.
Somebody forgot to read the article...
I'm not a Lackey fan but I have no problem giving the guy a second chance. First, in a game where most players with any injury sit, Lackey played through pain. His teammates appreciated that as you can tell from their comments. It takes a lot of guts to get booed off the mound when you could easily not play due to injury. Secondly, unlike some athletes who play to the cameras but are dinks to their teammates, Lackey appaears to be a good teammate. If you want the Sox to win that's more important than how he's portrayed in the media.
If he makes a comeback from Tommy John surgery, which most pitchers due, we get rebound years from Lester and Buchholz, Dubront continues where he left off last year, and they find a decent fifth starter, the Sox could wind up being a lot better than people think. Maybe it's better to have low expectations, unlike what we had for the "Greatest Team Ever" that was made up of a bunch of malcontents.
Lackey may be a good teammate, but it doesn't make him a good influence. Seems like all of the trouble with the pitching staff and team came after he showed up. Lester seems to have learned eye-rolling and ump stare-downs directly from Lackey. I'll believe he has changed when I see it.
Great article. Hope that this is the real John Lackey. Would love to see him have a winning season.
Lackey has the power to change. Good luck.