Red Sox Will Try To Forget Miserable 2012 Season
BOSTON (CBS) – The 2012 season has finally come to an end for the Boston Red Sox, as they are once again going home in early October.
"It wasn't what we expected, obviously," catcher Jarrod Saltalmacchia said following Boston's season-ending 14-2 loss to the Yankees in New York Wednesday night. "I think we grew to know a lot about each other, through all the hard times. Sometimes that's what you have to do to get better. I think we've seen each other at our worst and seen each other at our best."
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"It was tough," said outfielder Cody Ross. "Obviously it didn't turn out the way we all anticipated it at the beginning of spring training. We had high expectations for ourselves; everybody did for us. No one feels worse than we do as a team. We obviously underachieved and didn't play as good as we were supposed to. At the same time, a lot of guys worked really hard and kept battled, kept fighting. I guess that's all you can ask for when you had a tough season like we did."
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"You know what, through it all we still stuck together," added Saltalmacchia. "The last two months wasn't easy, being out of contention, just basically going out there and playing hard every night. We lived and died with each other and that's exactly what happened."
The Red Sox finished 69-93, their worst record since the 1965 Red Sox lost 100 games. They will be back at Fenway to clean out their lockers Thursday morning, and will learn the fate of manager Bobby Valentine in the coming days.
A report says Valentine will be fired by week's end.
"He had a tough go. He had a lot of weight brought down on him," said Ross. "He was just like us, in the fight the whole time. He kept battling and he was great. He was great to me, personally. He is a great man. Like I said he had a tough time like we all did."
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Ross, a free agent, said he would love to come back to Boston, and talks have already begun between the team and outfielder.
"We're trying to get on the same page. I love Boston, I love player here. I love the park, I love the fans," he said. "It's a perfect place for me."
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Ross is just one of the questions facing the Red Sox as they enter another long offseason. They have a big hole at first base, a question mark at short stop, and a lack of depth throughout their pitching staff -- in addition to whatever happens with their manager.
But if nothing else, the Red Sox can put 2012 behind them and begin focusing on 2013.
"It was a long year, we battled, and it wasn't good for anybody," said Saltalamacchia. "It was just one of those years we're going to try to forget about, come back next year and play hard."
