Dodgers Pitching Coach Complains About 'Brutal' Fenway Park Bullpens Being Too Close To Fans
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The bullpens at Fenway Park are much too close to the fans, according to Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt.
With Los Angeles taking on the Red Sox in the World Series, Honeycutt is back at Fenway for the first time since 2010. He must have forgotten the layout of the historic ballyard, because he voiced his displeasure with Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci Tuesday night following Los Angeles' 8-4 loss in Game 1.
Playing in his first game at Fenway Park, Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was hit hard by the Red Sox, surrendering five runs off seven hits in four innings. It wasn't a very warm welcome for Kershaw, who apparently had to deal with some amped-up Sox fans as he warmed up ahead of the game.
"Brutal. Pretty brutal," Honeycutt said of the Fenway Park bullpens, that allow fans to get up close and personal with pitchers are they warm up. "What I don't understand is why baseball allows it. You've got the rubber right there and people literally standing over you."
Goodness gracious! People watching a baseball player at a baseball game! The horror. That's quite the complaint from someone who has been in baseball for four decades.
But he's been with the Dodgers since 2006, so maybe Honeycutt just isn't used to having that many fans in the stands before a game. Chances are Boston fans will be much more courteous ahead of Wednesday night's Game 2 once they hear Honeycutt's critique of Fenway.