Everyone Who Leaves The Red Sox Talks Shit On The Way Out

The 2011 Red Sox are an earth continually salted, a shitpot continually stirred. And every refugee—especially if disgruntled—has a story to tell. Today's storyteller is former strength and conditioning coach Dave Page, who was fired this week.

Page was a natural target, as any September collapse brings accusations of conditioning problems, to say nothing of chicken and/or beer. Giving an interview on WEEI this afternoon, Page said he's been scapegoated, and he reported the problems to management but no one ever did anything about it.

He stops short of naming names, but gives the Boston media another few news cycles worth of clues. Like singling out four players for being out of shape: a position player, a starter and two relievers. And when Page approached coaches to try and talk to the players, he says he didn't receive any "backup."

I did have a good conversation with one player at the end of the year in Baltimore that really kind of opened my eyes. I said, "Hey, what's going on here? It seemed like you pulled the plug a little bit. Why?" He kind of looked down at the ground, looked back and me and said, "I don't know why. I can't answer that question." Which was kind of a shock.

Then there's Josh Beckett, who worked hard but expressed concern about his own weight gain. Beckett "felt he was getting a little sideways."

Once again, this isn't the first time a baseball player has been accused of being in less than peak physical condition. And it certainly isn't the first time an ex-employee has bad things to say about his former employer. It's just rare that he gets a half-hour on the radio to grind his ax.

TRANSCRIPT OF FIRED SOX CONDITIONING COACH DAVE PAGE ON M&M: ‘THERE WAS A LOT OF GRUMBLING' AMONG TEAM [WEEI.com]