John Lackey to miss 2012. Please try to keep a straight face.
Ben Cherington (clever nickname pending), our new GM (who WANTS the job. suck it, Theo), made an important announcement today. Now. Before I give you details, I’m going to need you to take a deep breath. A deeper breath. That’s it. What I’m going to tell you MAY evoke an audible reaction. But, for the sake of team spirit, unity, political correctness and decorum, you MUST keep it to yourself, k?
Ready?
Okay.
John LACKEY. Is getting Tommy John surgery. And… wait for it… another deep breath…
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WILL MISS THE ENTIRE 2012 SEASON.
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“I believe he’s going to be a much better pitcher than what he showed in 2011, and we look forward to having him as part of the staff, likely in 2013.”~Cherington
Screw it. It’s the internet. No one can see you. Let it out. LET IT OUT NOW.
Better?
Okay. Let it out again.
Now that we’ve all had a good, cathartic cry-laugh- this isn’t good news. We paid John Lackey a katrillion dollars. A KATRILLION dollars. And by we, I mean Theo Epstein, who doesn’t have to deal with the fallout, because he’s skipping through the poppy fields with the cubbies. (Isn’t it easier to think of EVERYTHING like it’s happening in Wizard of Oz?) Fallout from a guy we hired. With a crappy elbow. Whose MRIs suggest…. he HAD a crappy elbow. WHEN WE HIRED HIM, THEO. I took the liberty of bolding that in red for you.
“He’s really excited about the future. He’s anxious about the surgery and the rehab…” ~Cherington
Excited about the year off from media ridicule and responsibility? You betcha. Bet they’ll let you eat allllll the chicken you want…
Can you PLAY video games when you’ve just had Tommy John surgery?
Oh. Right. Decorum. Tact.
Now. Problem solving. So. We’ve lost a kabillion dollars on Napoleon Dynamite with a ‘tude.
What to do, what to do…
Now, bear with me, K? (BEAR with me? Get it? You will)
I have a solution.
John Lackey out…
Why the hell not? At this point, seriously… why the hell not?
Would this mean we’d have to stop comparing C.C. Sabathia to the Jungle Book bear? Because a lot has already changed over the past month. And I don’t think I’m ready to do that. Not yet.
~L
PS- Remember. We are saddened by the news and will be thinking of John Lackey during this difficult time. We wish him a speedy recovery. <- our OFFICIAL statement. Got it? You’re going to need to practice that if you’re going to say that by the water cooler tomorrow with a straight face.
PSS- Who LOVES Ben Cherington? This girl. ONE DAY and you have already solved Lackey. ONE DAY.
You get a roll of stickers. A ROLL.
This is my favorite line from your blog, EVER. Classic
PS- Remember. We are saddened by the news and will be thinking of John Lackey during this difficult time. We wish him a speedy recovery. <- our OFFICIAL statement.
John Lackey is about to have Tommy John surgery but that’s just a cover for his real procedure gastricbypass
I think I may love Ben Cherington, too. He’s officially my favorite person of the month.
And my official statement is when I heard the news, I nearly wept tears of joy. Let the re-building begin! (You know, after we poke holes in Lackey’s arm to make us feel better about how much he sucks!)
Can this be a new holiday??? John Lackey Tommy John Surgery Announcement Day?
They should let his soon-to-be ex-wife do the surgery on FLackey.
Shawn just hit that one out of the park…”they should let his soon-to-be ex-wife do the surgery…” I must say I feel for Tommy John that his name even has to be associated with John Lackey. Then again, I feel for the Boston Red Sox that their name even has to be associated with John Lackey. From the ashen rubble of chicken parts and beer bottles rises “The Phoenix”…Ben Cherington.
While I have no doubt that Lackey’s elbow needs the surgery I think a larger part of his problem is that his fragile ego needs badly for him to be “the guy” for a team, something he’s never going to have in Boston and wasn’t going have in Anaheim any longer had he remained, not with Weaver coming into his own. Some pitchers can adapt to being the number 3 or 4 starter on a team with a set, strong rotation and thrive. But with Lackey’s attitude, that was never going to happen. Suffice to say, while I’m grateful for the good years in Anaheim, and there were a few, I was not at all sorry to see him go.
– Kristen