Angry Man, Average Pitcher

_{John Lackey is just an angry man who pitches below his pay grade. (FOX Screenshot)}

"Well, that would drive me crazy if I was in the infield playing behind him...I don't want my pitcher showing me up like that while he's on the hill." -Nomar Garciaparra on John Lackey

There is a breaking point for everything, and at some point the angry antics John Lackey displays on the mound are going to cause a teammate or Manager to finally react publicly. This may come off harsh, but his Wife being sick is no longer an excuse that should automatically be tagged at the end of every article or interview when speaking on his pitching. He's going through a thing called life, and if you breathe air, and I'm assuming most of you reading this are, then there's a very good chance Cancer will affect your Family at some point in time. I lost my Mother almost four years ago to that awful disease, and have had to deal with it in two separate instances within my family this year alone. I really feel for Lackey and what he and his family are going through - but you can't use unfortunate circumstances as a crutch forever. If anything, it should be used as inspiration, and not as an excuse, which is something Lackey is wonderful at providing.

I'm trying to be careful with my words here, because I don't know the extent of the situation - the point I want to make is that going through bad shit is a part of life for everyone. Terry Francona has a 26 year old son who's a brave member of the United States Marine Corps, and he's currently fighting in the most dangerous country on Earth in Afghanistan. You don't think that hangs heavy on the conscious of a Parent? But you know what? Tito's not special and he knows it. There are thousands of parents just like him who have to plow through much harder jobs and circumstances just to make ends meet. The same goes for Lackey.

The way he reacts to errors committed while he pitches, and the way he jawed at Tito as he was taken out of the game yesterday is unacceptable, and has nothing to do with Cancer, it has to do with being a bad teammate. I've played sports my whole life, and that's one rule you learn early on. Don't show up your Teammates. I'd be fine with it if these incidents were isolated, but they're not. Literally every time he pitches I have to deal with watching his bad attitude prance around the mound - and for a dude that's making $16 million dollars this year alone, that doesn't fly with me. I'm just a fan, and I don't have the luxury of getting to know Lackey outside the confines of what I see on the mound, and from that vantage point, he's been nothing but an asshole, and one that I don't like rooting for.

Comments

[Jane Doe]

lackey takes crap from everyone in boston on a daily basis, of course he was upset after getting lifted. he wanted to finish the inning and prove his worth to the team. and as far as i know lackey's teammates have his back 100%. how about laying off the guy because clearly he cares about what he does. people wish jd drew showed that kind of emotion

[Derek Hixon]

People don't want the type of emotion Lackey shows. His emotion's are negative and do nothing good for the Club. J.D. Drew gets crap because his numbers have been disappointing for what he's getting paid, not because of his attitude.

Players like Adrian Gonzalez and Jazon Bay show little emotion like Drew and are embraced by the Boston fans. It's all about performance - and the combination of Lackey not living up to the money he's making, and acting like a jerk-off on the mound, make him a hatable character.

He needs to put up and shut up, and direct his energies to positively encouraging his Teammates, instead of throwing his arms up like some spoiled Little Leaguer when things don't go his way. He needs to act like a man.

[Erik]

What can you say besides the guy looks alot like Napolean Dynamite minus the red afro... and that he's a total clown. He's always been like that. It's not a Boston thing. Every time he'd pitch against the Yanks he'd have some sort of arms up in the air shenanigans...