BOSTON — Dustin Pedroia went from defeated to defiant.
In the aftermath of an embarrassing three-game sweep by the Toronto Blue Jays and with the media and most of Boston’s loyal fan base already writing their eulogy, the Red Sox held a team meeting before Monday night’s game at Fenway Park.
Once it was over, Pedroia spoke for his teammates when he said the Sox won’t give up regardless of the negativity surrounding them.
“It’s going to start today,” Pedroia said. “We’re not going to listen to you guys’ (expletive). We’re just going to play baseball. That’s it. We’re going to try to be positive, and we’re going to play winning baseball. We’re not going to care what anybody else says. We’re going to care about our 25 guys and play together, and that’s about it.”
Pedroia, for one, backed up his words by going 2-for-3 with a walk. However, the Red Sox went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, left seven men on base and lost their seventh consecutive game, 4-1, in the opener of a four-game series against the Atlanta Braves.
And so, for all of Pedroia’s bluster, the Red Sox (27-38) are 11 games under .500 and have a league-worst run differential.
“I’ve been around here long enough to know that when it’s going good, everyone loves you. When it’s going bad, everyone hates you,” said Pedroia, the Red Sox’ de facto captain and a two-time World Series champion who also has endured two last-place seasons in the past three years. “We’re all in it together. I don’t buy into that it’s one person’s fault. We’re all in this together.
“It’s not the manager. It’s not the GM. It’s not me. It’s not David (Ortiz). It’s everybody together who’s going to do that. We’re going to do it together. We’re the only ones who think we can.”
On that count, Pedroia is correct. School is not yet out in Massachusetts, and already, people are counting the days to the opening of training camp for the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots.
Expectations are always high for the Red Sox, but after owner John Henry dropped $183 million on free agent sluggers Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, the club was pegged as a postseason contender. The fact that things have gone so badly has put manager John Farrell and GM Ben Cherington on the hot seat, although Henry has issued strong votes of confidence for both.
Asked if he is surprised the Red Sox are playing so poorly, Farrell was direct.
“Yes,” he said. “In a word, yes. No one’s given up here. No one’s given up on the season inside our clubhouse.”
Likewise, Pedroia wasn’t giving away any conclusions the Red Sox may have drawn during their meeting about how they can turn around their season. Instead, he stuck to his us-against-the-world theme.
“We’re going to figure that out ourselves,” Pedroia said. “It’s not like, if I knew the answer to that, I’d tell you, because you’re not one of the 25 guys. You know what I mean?”