Boston Red Sox pitcher John Lackey will have reconstructive surgery on his right pitching elbow and miss the 2012 baseball season.

Ben Cherington delivered the news on Tuesday, at the press conference where he was introduced as the new general manager of the Red Sox.

Lackey endured a tough year for the Red Sox, finishing the season 12-12 with a 6.41 earned run average as he completed the second year of a five-year, $82.5 million deal.

Cherington said the “Tommy John” ligament reconstruction procedure would likely be performed by orthopedist Lewis Yocum, but he did not know when.

Lackey had an MRI in May or June after experiencing soreness in the elbow, and had another one after the season ended, he said.

“John Lackey pitched through circumstances this year that I don’t think any of us in this room can fully understand and he got beat up for it a little bit along the way,” Cherington said of Lackey, who late in the season filed for divorce from his wife, who has breast cancer.

“This guy was dealing with some stuff both on the field and off the field that were really difficult,” Cherington said. “I thought he showed tremendous toughness pitching through that.”

Lackey will be the third Red Sox pitcher to undergo the operation this year. Right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka of Japan had it on June 10, one day after lefty reliever Rich Hill had the operation.

Matsuzaka could be ready to pitch by the middle of next season, the last of his $52 million contract.

The Red Sox also paid $51.1 million to his team in Japan, the Seibu Lions, just for the right to sign him.

Cherington said Matsuzaka is at Boston’s spring training facility in Florida.

“He’s throwing,” Cherington said. “He’s in really good shape, looking forward to next year. He’ll have a chance to pitch for us again next year, but not on opening day, but certainly at some point.”

Published: Oct. 19, 2011 at 2:16 PM

BOSTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) — Three Boston Red Sox pitchers have denied a report that they drank beer in the dugout during games.

The Boston Globe said Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey denied the WHDH-TV, Boston, report Tuesday that the pitchers drank Bud Light in the dugout as early as the sixth inning in some games and the drinking became more frequent as the season progressed.

WHDH cited two unidentified team employees, and the Globe said it later confirmed the report.

But the Red Sox issued a news release Tuesday night in which the team and all three pitchers denied the allegation.

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

WHDH said Beckett had instigated the drinking, the Globe reported.

“I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough,” Beckett said in the release. “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.”

“There are things that went on this season that shouldn’t have happened, but this latest rumor is not true, and I felt that it was important to try to stop this from going any further,” Lackey said.

Team President Larry Lucchino said the pitchers “assured us that the allegation that surfaced today about drinking in the dugout during games in 2011 is false, and we accept their statements as honest and factual.”

The Globe said Lester has admitted drinking beer with Josh Beckett and John Lackey in the clubhouse during games but not the dugout.

The he-said, she-said debate about the Boston Red Sox continued late Tuesday night, when the Red Sox released statements from three controversy-riddled pitchers, former manager Terry Francona and CEO Larry Luchino, all denying a report that the Red Sox drank beer in the dugout during games.

Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey have all been under fierce criticism from the media since the Red Sox season ended in collapse and turmoil. They did not deny drinking beer in the clubhouse, but contradicted a WHDH-TV report saying the beer consumption extended to the dugout.

“I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough,” said Beckett. “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.”    

Beckett and Lackey were both making their first public comments since reports that the Red Sox pitchers routinely drank beer at the ballpark. 

“There are things that went on this season that shouldn’t have happened, but this latest rumor is not true, and I felt that it was important to try to stop this from going any further,” Lackey said.  

Lester earlier admitted to having an occasional beer in the clubhouse, but downplayed the initial reports and said the latest one is simply false. 

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

Francona said he has never seen anyone drinking in the clubhouse in 32 years of professional baseball. 

For more Red Sox coverage, visit our team page, our our blog Over the Monster.

Embattled Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey denied a TV report Tuesday that said they drank beer in the dugout during games.

The allegation is the latest in a rough stretch for Boston, which missed the playoffs following a record collapse, going 7-20 in September and finishing at 90-72.

Manager Terry Francona was let go last month, general manager Theo Epstein appears to be on his way out and Lester, Beckett and Lackey have caught much of the blame for the team’s season-ending skid.

“Tonight our organization has heard directly from Jon, Josh, John, and former manager Terry Francona,” team president Larry Lucchino said Tuesday in a release.

“Each has assured us that the allegation that surfaced today about drinking in the dugout during games in 2011 is false, and we accept their statements as honest and factual.

“It is time to look forward and move forward, rather than allow a reckless, unsubstantiated accusation from ‘anonymous sources’ to mislead the public.”

WHDH-TV, citing two unidentified Red Sox employees, reported Tuesday that Beckett, Lester and Lackey would fill their cups with beer in the Fenway Park clubhouse, then return to the dugout and drink while watching the game.

One of the employees told WHDH-TV the three starters appeared “bored on nights they weren’t pitching and this is how they entertained themselves.”

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

Said Beckett: “I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough. 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.”

The Boston Globe reported last Wednesday that Beckett, Lackey and Lester would eat fried chicken, drink beer and play video games in the clubhouse during games, instead of being in the dugout with their teammates. That story was based on “team sources.”

“There are things that went on this season that shouldn’t have happened, but this latest rumour is not true,” Lackey said in Tuesday’s release, “and I felt that it was important to try to stop this from going any further.”

Said Francona: “In 32 years of professional baseball, I have never seen someone drinking beer in the dugout.”

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Updated Oct 19, 2011 2:42 AM ET

BOSTON (AP)

Embattled Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey denied a TV report Tuesday that said they drank beer in the dugout during games.

The allegation is the latest in a rough stretch for Boston, which missed the playoffs following a record collapse, going 7-20 in September and finishing at 90-72.

Manager Terry Francona was let go last month, general manager Theo Epstein appears to be on his way out and Lester, Beckett and Lackey have caught much of the blame for the team’s season-ending skid.

”Tonight our organization has heard directly from Jon, Josh, John, and former manager Terry Francona,” team president Larry Lucchino said Tuesday in a release.

”Each has assured us that the allegation that surfaced today about drinking in the dugout during games in 2011 is false, and we accept their statements as honest and factual.

”It is time to look forward and move forward, rather than allow a reckless, unsubstantiated accusation from ‘anonymous sources’ to mislead the public.”

WHDH-TV, citing two unidentified Red Sox employees, reported Tuesday that Beckett, Lester and Lackey would fill their cups with beer in the Fenway Park clubhouse, then return to the dugout and drink while watching the game.

One of the employees told WHDH-TV the three starters appeared ”bored on nights they weren’t pitching and this is how they entertained themselves.”

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

Said Beckett: ”I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough. 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.”

The Boston Globe reported last Wednesday that Beckett, Lackey and Lester would eat fried chicken, drink beer and play video games in the clubhouse during games, instead of being in the dugout with their teammates. That story was based on ”team sources.”

”There are things that went on this season that shouldn’t have happened, but this latest rumor is not true,” Lackey said in Tuesday’s release, ”and I felt that it was important to try to stop this from going any further.”

Said Francona: ”In 32 years of professional baseball, I have never seen someone drinking beer in the dugout.”

By Dave Shook

– Associate Editor

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Oct 12, 2011 – Thursday, the Boston Globe released a much publicized story on the state of the 2011 Boston Red Sox, that implied that former manager Terry Francona had lost all control of the team while struggling with his marriage and multiple knee injuries that may or may not have caused him to develop an addiction to pain killers.

Team sources said Francona, who has acknowledged losing influence with some former team leaders, appeared distracted during the season by issues related to his troubled marriage and to his health.

The piece goes on to describe the level of discontent in the clubhouse ranging from Adrian Gonzalez’ bizarre quote about having to play too many Sunday night games to the speculation of increased body fat of the pitching staff thanks to a steady diet of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, fried chicken and beer.  Coupled with Tim Wakefield’s selfish pursuit of win #200 (read: going out and pitching every five days), this caused the entire team to forget how to play baseball.

The story, of course, is little more than a hatchet job from the propaganda arm of the Red Sox.  All of these facts were well known by the Globe weeks ago but either went unreported in order to protect a team that was still the midst of a playoff chase or were fed to the writers by an ownership group trying to deflect blame.

Now that the season is over and big changes are on the way, the paper has begun to spin the teams spectacular collapse toward the players and away from the increasingly disinterested owners who signed off on the outrageous contracts that brought this group together.

Make no mistake about it, had the Red Sox made the playoffs and avoided their major collapse, this story would have never seen the light of day.

Why would the Globe be so anxious to bend to the will of Sox ownership?

The Boston Globe, in case people have forgotten is owned by the New York Times which owns a minority stake in the Red Sox (although that stake was decreased back in July when the Times sold off about half of its 20% interest).  Therefore, the Globe has a vested interest in keeping the owners of the Red Sox happy and not interfering with the team’s focus during the season by, you know,  doing their jobs.

Our own Bruce Allen was the first to question whether the Globe was sitting on the story of the teams dysfunction throughout the final weeks of the season, but not only does that appear to be the case, it also seems that the Sox ownership is dictating stories to its media subordinate.

The story is backed up by the ever popular “anonymous sources” and only a few player quotes, all of which have no relevance to the narrative that the team was disjointed and disliked playing together.

The kicker, at least for me, was the line about management being split on the pursuit of Carl Crawford, and laying the blame at the feet of the soon to be departed Theo Epstein.

Ownership was divided over Epstein’s push to acquire Crawford as a free agent, sources said. At least one top executive believed Crawford’s skills as a speedy lefthanded-hitting outfielder seemed to duplicate Ellsbury’s.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if there was any divide whatsoever on a player that is going to earn $142 million and be a cornerstone of the franchise, the deal doesn’t get done.  Given that nobody but the people in the room would have known about a potential divide, this pretty much guarantees that the bulk of the story came from Sox ownership and was designed to take the heat off themselves and put it on people who aren’t with the franchise anymore and don’t have to answer questions about it.

The Globe has long been accused of a lack of transparency when it comes to playing favorites, whether it be in the realm of politics or when it comes to the topic of the Red Sox.  But, in this particular instance, the Globe has sunk has to a new low in selling what remained of its journalistic integrity to bow to the whims of men like John Henry and Larry Lucchino.

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