Red Sox in detox

In trying to cleanse the many poisons from their system, the Boston Red Sox have already purged manager Terry Francona, are set for GM Theo Epstein to follow him out the door, and are now suffering through the extraordinary exposure of their unseemly clubhouse foibles for all to see.

The Boston Globe’s thorough and damning report this week on baseball’s worst September collapse revealed a rot that runs deep on Yawkey Way; between Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey using the locker-room as a frat house during games, a manager struggling with personal and professional issues, and a dysfunction that ran all the way up the chain of command.

Detoxification certainly hurts, but there is clearly an agenda at play here.

By pulling back the shroud of secrecy that typically keeps a team’s deepest problems secret and well-hidden from the wider public, there are some connected to the Red Sox who obviously wanted all the dirty details to be known (anonymously, of course).

One motivation for that is self-preservation, as all involved are seeking to emerge from this mud-bath smelling like a rose.

Another motivation is that in publicly shaming some of those involved, the Red Sox can establish that what went on in the past will not be tolerated in the future, that there is an uncomfortable price to be paid for player indifference, and that the in-house rules have changed.

It’s an untidy piece of business, but there are some in the game who feel that things aren’t as bad they seem for the Red Sox, who despite all the turmoil and injuries—the latter as responsible for the collapse as anything else they experienced—still won 90 games and remain a deeply talented team.

So where does the $161 million team that couldn’t win go from here?

Epstein’s looming exit won’t be a huge difference-maker, according to some familiar with their situation, especially if assistant GM Ben Cherington takes over as expected.

Unless the Red Sox’s clever ownership suddenly loses its desire to win, a smart and deep front office isn’t going to fall apart any time soon. That school of thought also believes that a few deft touches around the team’s leadership structure resolves many of the team’s internal issues.

Francona may have simply trusted the 2011 group to police themselves too much, and when it wasn’t happening, he couldn’t do it himself. By either hiring a manager to keep players more in line, or bringing in some new players to fulfil those duties, the dynamic in the clubhouse can quickly change.

No matter which route they go, the Red Sox aren’t about to suddenly turn into the Baltimore Orioles, where the dysfunction is more systemic and far more layered, with a meddlesome owner that is said to tie the hands of his baseball operations department and prevents them from operating unfettered.

The Orioles are also currently in transition, with Andy MacPhail opting not to return as president of baseball operations for 2012 and the team in search of a general manager.

They have been linked to several quality candidates – including Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, a potentially huge loss, and former GM J.P. Ricciardi – but who they ultimately hire will matter little if the person isn’t given the freedom needed to make decisions.

The New York Yankees have problems too, with a starting rotation in definite need of an upgrade lest they be left to rely on their ageing offence to once again do the heavy lifting.

After their post-season loss to the Detroit Tigers, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner issued a statement saying: "I personally share in our fans’ disappointment that this season has ended without a championship. That is, and always will be, our singular goal every season. I assure you that this disappointment will strengthen our resolve to field a team in 2012 that can bring a 28th championship to the Bronx. That work starts now."

Easier said than done.

The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have money but they do have pitching, and that should allow them to remain competitive while the Blue Jays have a talented core but questions about their pitching, which leaves them as an unknown for now.

Given all that, the Red Sox don’t look like a team about to be buried by their American League East rivals any time soon.

The key for them, it seems, will be in digging out of the hole they dug for themselves this season, and not burying themselves again next year.

Shi Davidi is the MLB Insider for sportsnet.ca. Come back to read his insight and opinion regularly.