Red Sox in turmoil after collapse: A fan’s take

For Boston Red Sox fans like me, the team's epic collapse in September--from the best record in the American League to losing the wild card--seemed like an unexpected low point. But, unbelievably, in the days that followed, things got even worse.

Less than 48 hours after the Red Sox limped to the finish line with a walk-off loss to the Baltimore Orioles that cost Boston a wild card playoff spot, the team parted ways with manager Terry Francona. The man who seemed such a steady hand at the wheel of the ballclub through two World Series victories was the first victim of the stunning September collapse when the team declined to pick up his contract option.

Then, in a development even more troubling to some of us in Red Sox Nation, Francona offered details of a dysfunctional clubhouse that he said contributed to the team's September collapse.

"I didn't feel like the players need to go to dinner together, but they need to be fiercely loyal on the field," Francona told the media in his departing news conference. "I didn't always get that feeling and it bothered me. I trusted them explicitly and things weren't getting done the way I wanted it in the end, and I was frustrated because of that."

On the heels of Francona's departure, and this first glimpse of clubhouse factions at odds with one another, Red Sox players' sense of entitlement, and rumors of unprofessional behavior that could not be curtailed, another blow to the team seemed possible.

Through press conferences and statements regarding the disappointing end to the season, Francona's charges about a lack of support from upper management, and plans for next season, the team pointedly refused to kill talk that general manager Theo Epstein might move on as well.

Epstein's name has been mentioned since new ownership at the Chicago Cubs fired their general manager during the season. But the rumor mill kicked into high gear following the resolution of Francona's status.

With the odds now reported as 50/50 that Epstein will leave the Red Sox as well, and fans increasingly irate after three consecutive seasons without a single playoff game victory, it seems that-in the blink of an eye-the Red Sox organization is collapsing as fast this month as its postseason prospects did last month.

For Red Sox fans in New England, already predisposed from generations of practice to expect the worst from their team, this could be a long, dark, cold winter.

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Rick Blaine, an award-winning broadcaster and columnist, is a lifelong Red Sox fan.