Steve Lyons On Felger & Mazz: Red Sox Fans Always Harsh On Former Stars
Former Red Sox player and current Dodgers analyst Steve Lyons joined Felger and Mazz to talk about how the Dodgers' newest additions, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett.
Lyons, who began and ended his major league career as a Red Sox player, said he enjoyed his time in Boston but that the fans can sometimes be too hard on stars on their way out of town. So for fans to feel ill will toward Beckett in particular is nothing new.
"It's kind of the way Manny [Ramirez] went out of town when we got him, too, and he went on to have the greatest second half of any player in the history of the game and was a huge difference-maker for us," Lyons said. "You guys expect a lot of your superstar players. The same thing was said of Roger Clemens when he left and then went on to win four Cy Youngs up in Toronto. So yeah, you guys aren't real happy with your star players when you kick them out of town."
With optimism abounding, Tony Massarotti asked Lyons if he thinks this deal has the potential to be a major bust in a year and a half.
"It does have that type of potential," Lyons said. "Look at the deal that the Red Sox made with both of those two guys. Maybe they were getting out of it before they figured out that it was going to be a colossal bust for them. We're hoping they play well for us ... we took on a ton of money. But let's face it, it's the Boston organization that gave him all that money in the first place."
Felger asked Lyons what he thought of Beckett telling people they can [expletive] themselves if they can't understand that family is more important than baseball.
"I don't think he needed to drop the F bomb at the end, but you and I are basically agreeing on what he said. Basically, I don't think it makes any difference how it was said. You agree family should be more important than baseball, basically, and you guys are still hammering him for saying that. And that's wrong."
Lyons said that drinking on team charters and, likely, the home clubhouse is uncommon with the Dodgers, but that Beckett's behavior might change with the new surroundings.
"I think we're all in agreement that that's pretty inexcusable. He's done some things that got him run out of town there, and the Dodgers are hoping to change some of that stuff," Lyons said. "Let's face it: The Red Sox are going in one direction and the Dodgers are headed in another, so hopefully a different team that's heading toward the playoffs in a completely different atmosphere might kick-start him into being the player that he's supposed to be and not the one that you guys have seen."
With Lyons so pleased with the deal, Felger had to ask why Lyons also still considers the Manny Ramirez deal a win.
"It took a team that was going nowhere and single-handedly got us one game from the World Series. It was a great trade, plus, you guys paid him," Lyons said, before adding, "It turned badly quick."
