He also made it a season-long habit of appearing to show up his teammates on the field, constantly rolling his eyes and throwing his arms in the air while the ball was still in play.
But while both manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein agree the Red Sox need to see better pitching by Lackey in 2012, they disagree, to an extent, on the need to address the pitcher’s on-field histrionics.
“I don’t think you can put in a guy’s contract that’s he’s going to make a certain amount of money but he can’t roll his eyes,” said Francona during a press conference yesterday at Fenway Park [map]. “I don’t think guys in the clubhouse have a problem with Lack, nor do I.
“I think we certainly wish it would have gone better on the mound,” said the manager, “but I haven’t had a problem with Lack at all.”
But while Epstein pointed out the Sox knew of Lackey’s in-game emotions when they signed him as a free agent before the 2010 season, he differed from Francona in that he does believe the pitcher needs to clean up his on-the-field act.
“He’s tried to change, but it’s something he can’t change,” Epstein said. “It’s an emotional reaction. We’ll continue to work with him on it.
“But that doesn’t make him a bad teammate. Behind the scenes, he’s actually well-respected.”
What to do about Lackey’s pitching?
“As far as rehabilitating John Lackey, I think it’s a big priority, for obvious reasons,” Epstein said. “And we have to attack it from a physical perspective, to see if there are things we can do different with him physically to put himself in a better position to have success on the mound.
“We have to attack it from a fundamental standpoint,” the GM added. “There are obviously some things we can do different with him fundamentally to get his stuff and his command to where it was. And from a mental standpoint . . . we’re going to leave no stone unturned.”
But while both manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein agree the Red Sox need to see better pitching by Lackey in 2012, they disagree, to an extent, on the need to address the pitcher’s on-field histrionics.
“I don’t think you can put in a guy’s contract that’s he’s going to make a certain amount of money but he can’t roll his eyes,” said Francona during a press conference yesterday at Fenway Park [map]. “I don’t think guys in the clubhouse have a problem with Lack, nor do I.
“I think we certainly wish it would have gone better on the mound,” said the manager, “but I haven’t had a problem with Lack at all.”
But while Epstein pointed out the Sox knew of Lackey’s in-game emotions when they signed him as a free agent before the 2010 season, he differed from Francona in that he does believe the pitcher needs to clean up his on-the-field act.
“He’s tried to change, but it’s something he can’t change,” Epstein said. “It’s an emotional reaction. We’ll continue to work with him on it.
“But that doesn’t make him a bad teammate. Behind the scenes, he’s actually well-respected.”
What to do about Lackey’s pitching?
“As far as rehabilitating John Lackey, I think it’s a big priority, for obvious reasons,” Epstein said. “And we have to attack it from a physical perspective, to see if there are things we can do different with him physically to put himself in a better position to have success on the mound.
“We have to attack it from a fundamental standpoint,” the GM added. “There are obviously some things we can do different with him fundamentally to get his stuff and his command to where it was. And from a mental standpoint . . . we’re going to leave no stone unturned.”
