My biggest concern as a baseball fan is seeing Red Sox fans morphing into what they’ve loathed for so many years…..Yankee-like fans. High payroll guarantees nothing, and that’s a good thing. It seems in recent years Sox fans have felt a berth in the playoffs is a God-given right, and a foregone conclusion. As someone who hates the Yanks and always sort of liked the Sox (big Freddie Lynn fan back in the day) that pains me.

But, hey, I’m just a bitter Orioles fan…..

In the entire time the current owners have been in Boston, with Theo as GM and TIto as manager, the Red Sox have won the AL East outright once. They have been the Wild Card five times and won two World Series. After winning the ’07 World Series, have done as follows: ’08 Wild Card, lost in Game 7 of ALCS; ’09 Wild Card, got swept in ALDS; ’10 missed playoffs; ’11 missed playoffs after the worst September collapse in baseball history.

The trend line is not good at all — it’s pretty straight downhill. They haven’t won a postseason game in three years. During that time their free agent acquisitions have been major failures. And for two straight years they have several major injuries (more than typical) that have contributed to missing the playoffs.

For me, getting to the next level means a lot better results that the last three seasons.

In terms of “overpaid jerks” I am reacting to various reports of recent days about the clubhouse in general and various antics and lack of conditioning that Tito and Theo believed were not conducive to winning. John Lackey is an obvious candidate. Josh Beckett, Lackey’s buddy, had a good year but broke down in September and looks heavier than he has ever been. Crawford was a huge disappointment not only at the plate but on defense and on the bases. I don’t know if those guys or others can be described this way, so maybe the term is a bit unfair. But this was not just a breakdown of injuries, or bad pitching. It was horrendous baseball, the most errors in September of any team, bad baserunning, good hitters failing repeatedly in key situations. . . too many failures to be attributed to simply injuries or bad starting pitching, as many people are doing.

My point is this “team chemistry” thing is important, especially in cities like NY, Bos. & Chi. where the players make a ton of cash & think that their cocky doesn’t stink.

Also, who are the “overpaid jerks who don’t put team above self”? These guys were on cruise control in July and August, beating everybody in sight. The wheels fell off, but I never heard this was a clubhouse full of me-first guys.

If anyone should be held accountable it should be the wonder boy in the GM chair.

People will scream at those ideas but hear me out. I love Youk and they need more guys like him, but he’s on the wrong side of the aging curve and he gets hurt too much. We assume he’ll succeed Papi as DH, but what if you could good talent in return? Worth exploring.

Ellsbury was the best all-around player in the league this year. His agent is Scott Boras and he will be a free agent next fall. I would do everything within reason to get him signed long term but if they can’t, move him this winter for as much young talent as you can get. By young I mean young major leaguers or top prospects who are ready for the bigs (Matt Moore/Brett Lawrie types).

Edgar Renteria
JD Drew
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Julio Lugo
Mike Cameron
John Lackey
Bobby Jenks
Carl Crawford

That is not a so-so, mediocre record. It is horrendous. I have high hopes that Crawford will turn around but the rest are pretty much lost causes, bad investments.

Now thankfully, Theo’s record in drafting and developing home-grown talent is much better. Lester, Pedroia, Youkilis, Ellsbury, Buchholz, Papelbon, Bard, Hanley Ramirez (who got Beckett and Lowell here), and the kids dealt to San diego for Adrian Gonzalez.

I argued yesterday that Tito was not to blame, primarily due to injuries. How much of this clubhouse stuff we’re hearing today is actually true we don’t know yet. It’s also unclear if Tito initiated the departure or not.

But it is a law of nature and baseball that first the manager takes the fall. Next some of the players will get weeded out. I don’t think John Henry is going to look at this mess and think that replacing Tito will cure all ills. There’s more to come.

The Red Sox have $ 121M committed to 2012, with arbitration for Ellsbury, Buchholz, Salty, and Lowrie upcoming. So they’ll be at close to $ 145M after arbitration. That doesn’t give them a lot of play, especially with Papelbon and Ortiz as FA’s. They’ve got to fill their RF spot, provide depth in the OF and at catcher, and most of all, shore up the rotation and the bullpen. All for under $ 20M.

That can’t be done, so somebody expensive will have to go.

That said, this organization is at a critical intersection. They should be questioning a lot of things they believe they do well — including the General Manager we’ve always thought we were so lucky to have (could a GM have a worse record with high-priced free agents than Theo?). Sometimes you have to change management not because management is weak or inadequate, but because you need a fresh approach to get the organization to the next level. They probably aren’t going to change Tito at this stage of his life. He is who he is. They are stuck with too many overpaid jerks on that roster who don’t put team ahead of self. It’s not as simple as firing those players. This 2011 team probably needed a tough bastard who didn’t care if players hated him some days, a Belichick type. The logic may seem backward, but they have forced themselves into needing to change the manager because they are stuck with most of the players they have.

I am not saying I believe they are right in letting Tito go. In my heart I hate it. In my head I understand it. I get the argument that injuries killed them this year but if you watched them every day, you know it went deeper than that. Remember when the Red Sox of ’70s were mocked as “25 guys, 25 cabs”? It sounds like this group is similar.

Tito’s place in Red Sox history can never be diminished. He will never have to pay for another meal or beer in this town as long as he lives. I can’t wait to get up out of my seat one day and stand up for this guy when he is given his proper moment as the manager who ended 86 years of frustration. He will get a hero’s reception that day and he will deserve every minute of it. Thanks for everything, Tito. Hold you heard high. You deserve better.

Sorry, but sometimes bad luck and injuries take down a team. No team in baseball is prepared to have 9 guys toe the rubber. Not Theo’s fault.

Just like New York, Boston is full of entitled a-holes in the media who run everyone into the ground, and say they can’t take the heat when they leave.