First overtly and now subtly, the Red Sox appear to want Dennis Eckersley to “get the f–k out of here.”
A few days after the Boston Globe reported that David Price twice confronted the Hall of Famer and Red Sox announcer on a plane in late June, the team’s leader, manager John Farrell, dipped and dodged around questions about whether he had apologized to Eckersley, until he confirmed that he did not and would not say sorry for his star player berating him. It became clear that the figurehead of the Red Sox was siding with his player over a studio and fill-in game analyst deemed too critical.
After Farrell had talked around the subject, he was pressed on WEEI on Tuesday about whether he had apologized: “Yeah, that’s a no,” Farrell said.
Farrell instead said the two had “interactions” following Price’s blowup.
“I’ve had interactions with Eck, yes. I have, yeah,” Farrell said. “Whether it’s been at the hotel, or whether it’s been at the ballpark, there’s been interactions there, yes.
“… At the time when we did meet, which was down in Texas, as I mentioned, and then again in the ballpark there. I’m aware that people reached out to him the morning after the incident when we were headed in to Toronto. So, knowing that that was in place, you know, I followed with my conversations with Eck as I’ve always done. They’ve been cordial, there’s been professional respect on both side, and I think my relationship with him is positive in a professional way.”
But he would not apologize after Price accosted the former baseball great for being too critical. According to the Globe, Price snapped after Eckersley, on NESN, said “Yuck” when Price teammate Eduardo Rodriguez’s stats flashed across the screen.
Farrell said he spoke to Price, in his second year of a seven-year, $217 million deal, but he did not reveal the content or tenor of the conversation.
“My focus was to meet with David directly, David Price, and reiterate what our expectations are with dealing with the media,” Farrell said. “I feel like I’ve got a positive and professional relationship with Eck, but at the time it was my job to meet with David Price … I know others have talked directly with Eck.”
Farrell confirmed that it is not the first time a player has taken an issue with Eckersley directly to the broadcaster. Eckersley, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004, has tried to avoid interactions with the players, the Globe reported. He was only on the team’s flight to Toronto to work as a game analyst because No. 1 analyst Jerry Remy is being treated for cancer and backup Steve Lyons is away from the team for personal reasons.
About all that Farrell would commit to is that Eckersley often knocks the Red Sox.
“Eck is critical,” Farrell said. “As are many commentators. But that’s the world we live in. We’re gonna always not appease everyone. There’s gonna be criticism that comes our way. He happens to be a little more direct and maybe unfiltered. And I know there are situations that have come up in the past where players have maybe gone to him directly.”
