Ex-Red Sox Catcher Slams Ownership & Front Office For Losing Team's Identity

Boston lacks a core for the first time this century

Scott Neville | Apr 14, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Catcher Slams Ownership & Front Office For Losing Team's Identity /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's front office and ownership have been taking a lot of heat since the winter began.

After a slow start, spearheaded by the Tampa Bay Rays' four-game sweep over Boston, we're going to hear a lot more criticism of all parties involved.

"Not a lot of enthusiasm right now for the Red Sox up in Boston, and that was the one thing you could always count on, is the Red Sox are going to sell out Fenway," Ex-Red Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said on Foul Territory. "So what are they doing up there? What's their next step?"

As Pierzynski noted, Red Sox Nation is a die-hard fanbase. It takes a lot to get them turned away from Fenway Park but the Red Sox ownership and front office have been so self-destructive they made their fans not want to show up.

There is little belief in both the current roster and the direction the team is headed in, led by Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. That was reflected in the lowest attendance numbers since 2000 in the Opening Homestand -- though the weather certainly played a role as well.

The worst part? All of the heat has been well warranted. While Boston's extremely negative media members and overreactive fans are the loudest voices -- and always will be -- they're not the only ones. Even the most level-headed pundits and fans have questions about the leadership in Boston over the last few years, for good reason.

The Red Sox have a payroll that exceeds $200 million but rosters the likes of Bobby Dalbec, Yu Chang, Ryan Brasier and Kaleb Ort -- all four of which were on last season's squad. The front office had an entire offseason to replace these underperforming players and elected to bring them back.

The worst part is that the Red Sox are not far removed from a core of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez -- only one remains and none of the other stars have been replaced.

More MLB: Ex-Red Sox Top Prospect Called Up With New Team In Attempted Career Resurgence

Published Apr 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu