Jon Lester says beers were consumed in the clubhouse during games, but
(Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester defended himself and his teammates after a recent report about pitchers eating fried chicken, playing video games and drinking in the clubhouse during games.

“I’m trying to set the record straight,” Lester told ESPN Boston in one of a number of interviews. “It’s tough to sit back and let people bash your name, and that’s what they’re doing.

“You know what? We didn’t play good baseball. People are making us out to be a bunch of drunk, fried-chicken eating SOBs, playing video games. You can ask my wife, for the last 10 years I don’t think I’ve played a single video game and Josh [Beckett] and Lack [John Lackey] are the same way. But one person writes an article, and things have gotten blown way out of proportion, almost to another planet. We’re getting crushed.”

Responding to allegations reported by the Boston Globe last week, Lester told the Globe on Monday that drinking was confined to starters who weren’t pitching. “It was a ninth-inning rally beer,” he said. “We probably ordered chicken from Popeye’s like once a month. That happened. But that’s not the reason we lost.

“Most of the times it was one beer, a beer. It was like having a Coke in terms of how it affected you mentally or physically. I know how it looks to people and it probably looks bad. But we weren’t up there just drinking and eating and nobody played video games. We watched the game.”

The Red Sox went through an epic September swoon, one that helped speed the departure of manager Terry Francona and presumed departure of general manager Theo Epstein. The Epstein-to-Chicago move hinges on the Sox and Cubs agreeing to compensation; Boston reportedly sought Cubs starter Matt Garza, but Chicago refused.

With the upheaval continuing, Lester told the Globe that, while he hadn’t asked to speak for Beckett, Lackey or the other starters, he felt compelled to speak up.

“Consider us a unit when it comes to these accusations,” he said. “We either fall together or rise above it all together whether they like it or not. Things got magnified because we lost and sources started telling people what happened, which has me upset because if you’re going to say something, be a man to put your name to it. But we’re not bad people and we’re not a bad group of guys.

“Are there things I regret? Sure there are. But nothing happened that had me unprepared to pitch. I don’t blame people for wanting answers because we had a hell of a team and we lost. You can’t have a team that gets paid like we get paid and loses and not expect people to want answers.”

Lester pointed out that members of the 2004 Red Sox drank Jack Daniel’s whiskey before Game 4 of the American League Championship Series and before each game of the World Series, in which they swept the St. Louis Cardinals.

“Those guys were celebrated as ‘The Idiots,’ ” Lester said, “and they were drinking shots. What’s the difference? They won and we lost, so we’re devils, we’re bad people.

“I’m not making excuses for what we did. I’m owning up to what I did. But I can honestly tell you that I was prepared every five days — and so were the other guys — to go out and perform. We were physically prepared to perform. But I stunk, plain and simple. I’m not going to shy away from that. I stunk.”

Can it get any more embarrassing for the once-mighty Boston Red Sox this offseason?

Beer-drinking and fried-chicken-eating in the clubhouse during games? Video-game playing, too? Players publicly dogging the now-fired manager by saying he was too loose with the troops, a pushover for the high-priced slackers on the roster?

Oh, my.

 Even the sad-sack Orioles never sank that low. No matter how badly they played, at least they had more respect for the game.

Red Sox starter Jon Lester defended the Red Sox’s sordid frat-boy hi-jinks the other day by saying he and others were doing all that beer-guzzling and Popeye’s-ordering even when the team was going good.

He told the Boston Globe and other media outlets that none of that behavior really contributed to the downfall of the 2011 Sox. Boston just played bad baseball in September, he said, adding “We stunk.”

Plus, he said, those were actually “ninth-inning rally beers” that he and John Lackey and Josh Beckett were guzzling in the clubhouse as the rest of the Sox were out on the field trying to win games.

Oh, so it was sort of like: this Bud’s for you, fellas? Go get ‘em?

 Say, that really is team spirit!

 Actually, the more Lester talked in these interviews, the more spoiled and selfish — and clueless — he and the 2011 Red Sox looked.

 ”I should have been on the bench more than I was,” Lester said to the Globe, admitting that the beer-drinking during games “was the wrong thing to do.”

But that was the closest thing to contrition that Red Sox fans heard out of Lester’s mouth. And this isn’t the last we’re going to hear about the goings-on in the Boston clubhouse, either.

Over the next few weeks, look for more juicy details to emerge as other Red Sox players come forward with their versions of the events that took place during the worst late-season collapse in baseball history.

For the Red Sox, now without both a field manager and general manager, it’s a PR nightmare that doesn’t figure to end anytime soon.

Only the Popeye’s chain comes out a winner in this one.

TORONTO—The Boston Red Sox took out their recent frustrations on Toronto by bashing the Blue Jays 14-0 for a morale-boosting victory on Tuesday.

The Red Sox dominated at the plate and on the mound where pitcher Jon Lester helped halt their slide in the American League East and recover from an 11-inning 1-0 shutout loss to the Blue Jays the previous night.

“(This) was a night we needed,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona told reporters. “We scored early and we kept at them. Lester threw a bunch of strikes. We spread it out.”

Boston ace Josh Beckett had to exit Monday’s loss with an ankle sprain that will force him to miss his next start, but Lester picked up the slack with an 11-strikeout performance in his seven innings of work.

The left-hander allowed just three hits and walked one batter to earn his 15th win of the season.

The Red Sox jumped on the Blue Jays (70-72) as they tallied at least two runs in each of the first five innings to punish the home team and make it an easy night for Lester.

“It definitely helps makes you feel more comfortable out there (when you have a lead),” Lester said.

“The more runs we score, I wouldn’t say the easier it is to pitch, but the pressure of having to make perfect pitches is off your shoulders.”

Marco Scutaro recorded four hits and four RBIs while David Ortiz also added four of Boston’s 20 hits.

AL batting leader Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs as Boston abused Toronto starter Luis Perez, who allowed eight runs in less than three innings.

The Red Sox (85-56), who had lost four of their previous five contests, maintained their pursuit of the division-leading New York Yankees while strengthening their hold on the AL wildcard berth. — Reuters

(09-07 14:15)
The Boston Red Sox took out their recent frustrations on Toronto by bashing the Blue Jays 14-0 for a morale-boosting victory in the major leagues.

The Red Sox dominated at the plate and on the mound where pitcher Jon Lester, pictured, helped halt their slide in the American League East and recover from an 11-inning 1-0 shutout loss to the Blue Jays the previous night.

“(This) was a night we needed,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “We scored early and we kept at them. Lester threw a bunch of strikes. We spread it out.”

Boston ace Josh Beckett had to exit Tuesday’s loss with an ankle sprain that will force him to miss his next start, but Lester picked up the slack with an 11-strikeout performance in his seven innings of work.

The left-hander allowed just three hits and walked one batter to earn his 15th win of the season.

The Red Sox jumped on the Blue Jays (70-72) as they tallied at least two runs in each of the first five innings to punish the home team and make it an easy night for Lester.

“It definitely helps makes you feel more comfortable out there (when you have a lead),” Lester said.

Marco Scutaro recorded four hits and four RBIs while David Ortiz also added four of Boston’s 20 hits.

AL batting leader Adrian Gonzalez went three-for-five with three runs and two RBIs as Boston abused Toronto starter Luis Perez, who allowed eight runs in less than three innings.

The Red Sox (85-56), who had lost four of their previous five contests, maintained their pursuit of the division-leading New York Yankees while strengthening their hold on the AL wildcard berth.

REUTERS

   

The Boston Red Sox took
out their recent frustrations on Toronto by bashing the
Blue Jays 14-0 for an uplifting victory on Tuesday.

The Red Sox dominated at the plate and on the mound where
pitcher Jon Lester helped halt their slide in the American
League East and recover from an 11-inning 1-0 shutout loss to
the Blue Jays the previous night.

Boston ace Josh Beckett had to exit Monday’s loss with an
ankle injury, but Lester (15-6) picked up the slack with an
11-strike-out performance in his seven innings.

The Red Sox jumped on the Blue Jays (70-72) as they tallied
at least two runs in each of the first five innings to punish
the home team.

Marco Scutaro recorded four hits and four RBIs while David
Ortiz also added four of Boston’s 20 hits on the night.

The Red Sox (85-56), who had lost four of their previous
five coming in to the night, are now within two games of the
division-leading New York Yankees.

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