BLOG: BUILDING THE WALL ... IN THE CLUBHOUSE

There is a lot of dysfunction in the Red Sox clubhouse right now. They are in first place in AL East with a 1.5 game lead over the Yankees but they aren't acting like one both on and off the field.

On the field they have one of the best rotations in baseball but their offense is anemic. American League. Sure they have a team batting average above the MLB average and are third in average amongst all A.L teams (.261) but for a first place team they lack power. They are second to last - ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - in slugging percentage (.403) and are barely treading above the Mendoza Line after the All-Star Game break (.210). 

They don't have a true power bat that opposing pitchers are truly afraid of him. Hanley Ramirez is had a good month of July, batting .289 - his highest all season - but he's still having a subpar year. He tries to crush everything he sees even if he should just take the ball the other way. Xander Bogaerts is hitting looks lost at the plate hitting .176 and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse Mitch Moreland proves you can go lower. Which would be good if this was a limbo contest.

Opposing pitchers: eliminate the fastball from your repertoire when you play Boston. They can crush a fastball as Ramirez proved in the top of the fourth inning last night against the Mariners. But they get fooled on breaking pitches. Moreland, Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, Jr. are suckers for low breaking balls in the dirt.

Not only do they not have a middle of the order bat, they also don't have someone that truly wants to "be that guy." There is no one in the Red Sox line up that wants to be the guy that says "hey guys get on my back" like David Ortiz did for 14 years.

Ortiz's on-field production is not just missed on the field but there is a leadership void in the clubhouse. In case you've been in a coma the past 72 hours, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy detailed the ordeal between David Price and Dennis Eckersley in Sunday's paper. "Pitcher Dave" has apparently taken it upon himself to be that leader for a clubhouse full of young, up-and-coming stars and he has quite the following - "Price Puppies." But he has taken the complete wrong approach.

If there is one thing that you don't do, you don't go after one of the more dominating closers to ever play the game of baseball during his 24-year career. His 197-171 record, 390 saves and 2,401 strikeouts is why he is enshrined in Cooperstown.

But it wasn't all moonlight and canoes for the longtime closer. Eckersley faced moments of adversity - ahem *cough* Kirk Gibson's walk-off, game-winner in game one of the 1988 World Series. But Eck's always bounced back with a vengeance. It's not about what happens to you but how you react to it.


Eck has now proven to be an exceptional analyst, doing not just regional Sox games but also national games including post-season match-ups for TBS. But it still did't stop "Pitcher Dave" for confronting and embarrassing the Hall of Famer on the team charter to Toronto earlier this month and from all accounts the "Price Puppies" applauded.

So there you have it. The clubhouse apparently belongs to David Price. Terrible. But while "Pitcher Dave" may have many "followers" in the clubhouse there are a few players who aren't happy and Mookie Betts, the next face of the franchise is one of them.

Betts sent out a cryptic tweet late Tuesday afternoon of an old photo of him and Ortiz expressing how much he misses Ortiz.

David: "I'm going way back today!"

Me: 😂😂 (He never disappointed me) I miss you big bro #Pun pic.twitter.com/1qlu8mDo3k

— Mookie Betts (@mookiebetts) July 25, 2017

Betts isn't one of the "Price Puppies." He loved Ortiz, following him around like a little brother does to his older brother. He constantly seeked out Ortiz's advice on hitting and baseball. There's no way he would spiral down and become one of "Pitcher Dave's" lackeys.

"Pitcher Dave" wants to build a wall between the players and everyone else. The concept is great. But lasting the pre-game music in clubhouse to make it unbearable for media members to do their job. Not great. You wouldn't interview a potential job candidate in the middle of dance club.

Right now they Red Sox need a leader in the clubhouse but it's not "Pitcher Dave." You don't want the younger guys like Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, Deven Marrero and Jackie Bradley, Jr. thinking this is the way you do things at this level. It's just not.

Fans want to point to Mookie to "be that guy." Be that guy that steps up and takes the younger guys under his wing. Maybe Mookie thinks he can't be the leader of the team because he is also still one of the young guys but it's not about how old you. It's not about your title or how much money you make. You don't need a title or a big salary to be a leader.

The leader you may have looked to as you were growing may have moved on but now it is up to you to carry the torch. It is not hard. All you need to do to be a leader is one thing: take care of the person to the left of you and take care of the person to the right of you.