Mutiny? - 美國職棒

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Adrian Gonzalez off the hook as NY Mets' Kelly Shoppach takes fall for
Boston's text mutiny

Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was not the author of the
now-infamous text message to Boston ownership complaining about manager Bobby
Valentine, although it was sent from his cell phone, major league sources
told the Daily News.

Those sources also said new Mets catcher Kelly Shoppach was deeply involved
in writing the message that touched off the latest Sox drama, but Shoppach
would not confirm that charge.

A small group of players that has been unhappy with Valentine this season —
a group that included Shoppach, according to a source familiar with the
circumstances — was complaining about the manager in late July and engaged
Gonzalez in the conversation. A member of the group suggested that the only
way to bring about action would be to voice their problems to ownership.
Gonzalez was tired of hearing the constant grumbling and agreed with them
that a message from him — the team’s highest-paid player — would get
management’s attention.

Several sources say Gonzalez had nothing to do with the message’s content,
which — according to a report this past week on Yahoo! Sports — indicated
the team was unhappy that Valentine had left ace Jon Lester in a game to give
up 11 runs against Toronto on July 22. “The text message was not his idea or
his opinion . . . or his words,” one said. Those were from the small group
of players that included Shoppach.

Asked about the authoring of the text message following Saturday’s game at
Yankee Stadium, Gonzalez said, “I know why you’re asking, but we’re not
going to talk about that anymore.”

On Saturday at Nationals Park, Shoppach denied any involvement in sending the
text message, insisting, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But on
Tuesday when the Yahoo! report was published, Shoppach was asked about it and
said of the Red Sox organization, “Let me be very careful. I think, and
maybe this is as far as I’ll go with it, too, there is a disconnect in
communication between the players through the upper management.”

On July 26, ownership came to New York and had meetings with players and with
Valentine, though separately, as first reported by Yahoo!. Since then, Boston
owner John Henry as well as Dustin Pedroia and Gonzalez have voiced support
for Valentine. The waiver trade of Shoppach to the Mets was completed Tuesday.

Boston was reportedly trying to deal the catcher during the last week of July
— before the non-waiver trade deadline — but did not like the return it was
offered. Shoppach’s departure paved the way for Boston to promote catching
prospect Ryan Lavarnway, who went 0-for-4 in Boston’s 4-1 win over the
Yankees Saturday at the Stadium.

“Players felt responsible for the record. They weren’t blaming injuries or
anyone but themselves,” Henry said in an email to Boston media outlets this
week. “At the same time they openly spoke about what could improve in
addition to their play. They made substantive points. We addressed those
points. No one in that meeting at any time took the position that Bobby
should be or needed to be replaced.”

It’s possible that one of the points made had to do with Shoppach, who was
feuding with Valentine throughout the season. In May, when starting catcher
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was off to a great start, Valentine made public that
Shoppach had complained about playing time.

“All I know is that Adrian didn’t do what people are saying he did,” one
Red Sox player said. “He’s not like that. He’s a good team guy. He’s the
kind of guy who would even cover for someone who did something wrong. He’d
take a bullet.”

“The situation in that report is resolved and over,” Saltalamacchia said
Thursday in Baltimore. “Our team has moved on.”

Shoppach bristled at the notion he was involved. “I have no influence on
what they’re doing with upper management,” he said Saturday. “I am a
backup catcher doing my job. It is my responsibility to do my job. That’s
it: a guy on a one-year contract who is just happy to have a job around a
bunch of talented guys like they have there.”

He, too, sounds like he’s moved on.

“I don’t know that anybody is saying anything, and to be honest, I don’t
care. I don’t play for them,” Shoppach said. “I play for the Mets. My
responsibility is here. Nothing I did yesterday does anything for today, and
that’s going to be my stance for the rest of my life. ‘What am I going to
do today? Yesterday’s gone. It ain’t gonna do (----) for me today.’ That’
s my philosophy on life.”

Mets sources said they were unaware of Shoppach’s alleged involvement when
they acquired him.



請有心人翻譯吧. 當這種 sage 發生在自己家的時候, 真的是整個想追八卦的心態

都起不來. 看起來一年後應該會有人出書把整個始末給寫出來吧 (笑)


哀...

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"This is a big game. They've got to win because if we win we've got Petie
coming back today and then Schilling will pitch Game 6 and then you can take
that fraud stuff and put it to bed. Don't let the Sox win this game."

-- Kevin Millar at Game 4, 2004 ALCS

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