Jonathan Papelbon left Boston for Philadelphia, but he remains the same lively personality. (AP)

With the Red Sox set to open a three-game interleague series in Philadelphia Friday night, Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon has been placed in the spotlight after some comments he made to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford earlier in the week.

Beyond repeatedly referring to himself in the third person — both as “Pap” and his alter ego on the mound, “Cinco Ocho” — the former Sox closer raised eyebrows with his criticism of the Red Sox training staff.

“I know myself better than anybody. I know myself better than any trainer in Boston, [who] tried to tell me that they knew me better. … The previous trainer tried to tell me that he knew everything about me. It’s just not the case. I know myself. I knew how to get through a 162-game season. A trainer doesn’t know how to do that.”

Papelbon attributed his decision to leave Boston in part due issues with the training staff, but said former manager Terry Francona’s departure weighed heaviest.

“A huge light bulb went off in my head,” Papelbon said of his feeling when Francona’s fate was determined. “I wouldn’t say that was it, but it was about 99.9 percent [sure of not returning]. Yeah, I was shocked.”

Asked whether embattled starter Josh Beckett was a leader among the Sox pitchers, Papelbon didn’t mince words. “Yeah.” Papelbon said. “[Expletive] yeah.”

Finally, as to whether or not he feels he made the right decision to leave, Papelbon answered, “if you tell me I can look into a crystal ball, and that I can tell you these people are going to be here and these people are going to be there and I can see what I’ve got here,” he said, “I leave.”

ESPN MLB analyst Buster Olney joined Mut & Merloni to discuss Ozzie Guillen, the dynamics inside the Red Sox clubhouse and the relationship that exists between the Red Sox and Terry Francona, among other things.

Having worked with Francona throughout spring training and the early juncture of the 2012 regular season, Olney said that he has developed a relationship with Francona, and that the former Red Sox manager is still hurt by the way that his successful tenure in Boston came to an abrupt end at the end of last season. For that reason alone, Olney said he is not surprised that Francona does not intend to go back to Fenway Park to be part of any celebrations surrounding the park’s 100th anniversary.

“There’s no question — the feelings of hurt are fresh,” Olney said. “There’s probably some question in his mind about who exactly was the source of the information, who should I believe in this situation. To be honest with you, I don’t know many managers who, after they’ve been fired, can immediately go back to their old place.”

Building on the way that the 2011 season came to a crashing end for the Red Sox, Olney said that there is still some tension in the team’s clubhouse surrounding who or what could have possibly been the source for a story that detailed the team’s late-season collapse, most notably with players drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse during games.

“It’s not like 25 guys are sitting there playing a game of Clue on this,” Olney said. “It’s a small group of players. But it absolutely has been an issue in spring training — accusations going across the clubhouse, and it will be interesting to see if they can turn the page on it.

“From what I understand, it wasn’t like ‘OK, let’s turn the page, full steam ahead,’ it was, ‘Oh yeah? Well the heck with you, the heck with you.’ The thing is still festering.”

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ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian joined The Big Show Monday to discuss a series of issues and topics currently surrounding the Red Sox, including the team’s pitching staff, the potential for a bounce-back season for Carl Crawford and whether the team will be able to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

However, nothing surrounding the Red Sox was a bigger story than a report stating that manager Bobby Valentine and general manager Ben Cherington, both in their first year with the club, are at odds with each other.

It was a claim that Valentine dismissed today, noting the report as nothing more than “lazy journalism,” but Kurkjian said that there is certainly the potential for prolonged tension between the two.

“We have to understand that there’s going to be some issues here where there’s a manager in his 60s who has done the things that he has done, not just in this country but in Japan, and you pair him with a first-time general manager who’s trying to feel his way,” Kurkjian said. “There’s going to be some issues along the way, whether it’s who’s our shortstop and is this guy going to pitch the eighth inning or is he our fourth starter? Those are big questions that have to be answered.

“Sometimes, the manager wins those battles. Sometimes, the GM wins. In the end, Bobby is going to insist on doing what is right and in his heart, he thinks he’s going to be right 99 percent of the time and I can tell you, hopelessly biased, he’s right an awful lot.”

Along with the new personnel, another major question that will face the Red Sox this season will be whether Crawford can rebound from a disappointing 2011 season in which the high-priced free agent acquisition batted a career-worst .255. Kurkjian said that there may be some major internal problems plaguing Crawford, but that Valentine should be able to find a way to fix what went wrong last season.

“I checked very closely last year with the Rays when Crawford was struggling thinking nobody knows him better than the Rays, and I was assured that he will be fine as long as he has two things going for him – comfort and trust,” Kurkjian said. “He has to be comfortable in where he is and he has to trust the people who are making the decisions around him.

“I don’t know if he didn’t trust or wasn’t comfortable or whatever, but that was a really down season for him and I worry that they’re going to find that level of trust and comfort that’s going to make him play like he did with the Rays.”

Kurkjian said that, for now, he has the Red Sox making the playoffs as a wild card and that a big reason for that decision will be the positive effect that Valentine will have on the team.

“I think a smarter, wiser, older Bobby Valentine from, say, the Ranger days in ’85 is going to take a look and say, ‘Look, I’m going to do my part, but in the end, we’re going to win with those guys,” Valentine said. “If Carl Crawford is more comfortable hitting second and he’s going to be a better player hitting second, then I’m going to hit him second.’ That’s how smart Bobby is – ‘What button do I have to push to get this guy to play?’ He always finds the right buttons.”

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — The arrival was treated with enthusiasm and curiosity by Terry Francona‘s former players. Dustin Pedroia chastised his former cribbage partner for talking to the media “now that you’re one of them.” David Ortiz stopped in for a hug. Darnell McDonald likewise wanted to see Francona, the man who gave him his most meaningful big league opportunity.

This is Francona’s new job. He is an analyst for ESPN, and so he is making the rounds among big league ballparks for broadcasts. But his arrival in the city where he spent the previous eight springs as Red Sox manager was…different.

“If I sat here and said, ‘Yeah, this is just another day at the office,’ that wouldn’t be true,” said Francona. “I’m excited to do the game, but I’ll be a little glad when the day is over. It’s a little awkward for me.”

That is in part because his Red Sox experience remains something of an emotional tangle, something that became clear when Francona was asked if he would consider returning to Fenway Park if asked for the celebration of the ballpark’s 100th anniversary. Read the rest of this entry »

Dustin Pedroia has his sights on 'the moon' in 2012. (AP)

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Dustin Pedroia is ready.

The second baseman in his sixth year with the Red Sox is ready for a new outlook, new manager and new feel in 2012.

And he’s come up with a new catch-phase.

On his way out Wednesday, Pedroia, who spent seven hours shooting a Sullivan Tire commercial Tuesday, said he was on a mission.

“Heading out to hit cage bombs, going to the moon,” Pedroia said.

What was his offseason training like?

“I was trying to straight body build, man,” he said without cracking a smile. “That’s basically it, and hit cage bombs.”

Before that, he spent several minutes talking about why he feels good coming into this season.

“We’re going to play good baseball,” Pedroia said of the fundamental approach of new skipper Bobby Valentine. “I’m excited, I’m excited to go play. Last year, the end was tough but we have to regroup together, come out and play good baseball and do it all year long.”

As for Valentine, Pedroia knows he must get accustomed to a new message coming from the manager’s office. He’s ready to start getting a feel for the specifics.

“I’ve been here a day and a half and met him a couple of times but we’ll find out more once camp goes,” Pedroia said. “From what I hear, he’s thinking about baseball non-stop and thinking about fundamentals and trying to get this team where this team needs to be.

“Play the game the right way. That’s basically it. I don’t have answers for what went on last year. Last year is over. It was tough. There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think about it. You have to try and turn the page and come out and play well and play for your teammates. That’s what I’m going to try and do.”

Pedroia knows Valentine will have a different approach than Terry Francona, the manager he would play cribbage and cards with before games.

“It’s different,” Pedroia said. “That’s the only thing I’ve kind of known. Things change. It’s tough to see [Francona] go, especially the way that it ended for us last year. He’ll always be a close friend of mine. Whatever he chooses to do going forward, I’m pulling for him.” Read the rest of this entry »

FORT MYERS — Two days after a report in the Boston Herald suggested that he had not returned several phone calls from former Red Sox manager Terry Francona this offseason, Sox owner John Henry wrote in an email that he had not been trying to avoid contact since the former manager parted ways with the Sox. Henry said that he did talk to Francona on Monday, in the process dispelling misunderstandings that the two might have had, and that the two plan to get together in Fort Myers this spring.

“I called Tito about this today. We spoke also about a number of things, but regarding what you inquired about, he said he had called on my cell phone but didn’t leave any messages. We simply missed each other apparently a few times,” Henry wrote. “Had he left me a message, I would have certainly called him back. We talked extensively and agreed that we had waited far too long in speaking and both of us had probably come to some wrong conclusions as to why we hadn’t. We are looking forward to sitting down in Ft. Myers this spring for lunch or a game. He will always be a part of the Red Sox family.”

Henry also praised his former employee, who managed the Sox for eight seasons, reaching the playoffs five times and winning two titles.

“Tito was the best manager the Boston Red Sox ever had,” he wrote. “We won two World Series together. He’ll be terrific on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. And no one can doubt that he will be managing again very soon.”

Carl Crawford spoke his mind on Monday morning inside the Red Sox clubhouse. (Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com)

FORT MYERS — Carl Crawford showed off the scars from his offseason surgery on his left wrist to reporters, two small circles – one on the outside and another on the top.

Crawford made a bold prediction of sorts Monday, telling everyone standing at his locker inside the Red Sox clubhouse that he thinks he can be ready for Opening Day April 5 in Detroit.

“In my mind, I think the odds are good because I definitely don’t want to miss any games. That’s my goal right now, to make it for opening day,” Crawford said.

“I don’t exactly know when it will be all the way healthy, but, right now, it definitely feels better than it was and I’m going to continue to build the strength up.”

The scars from what Red Sox owner John Henry said in October about him might be a lot harder to heal.

Sporting his typical good-natured smile and relaxed temperament, Crawford acknowledged Monday in his first spring training media session that he was stunned and upset with the offseason comments from Henry that he didn’t want Crawford in Boston when he was a free agent following the 2010 season. The outfielder was subsequently signed to a seven-year, $142 million contract by then-general manager Theo Epstein before the 2011 season.

“I can’t do nothing about what he said,” Crawford said. “I can just go out and play. It was unfortunate that he feels that way but there’s nothing for me to say to him but go out and play.”

Crawford was asked if he were surprised that the owner would come out and publicly acknowedge those feelings.

“I wasn’t happy about it,” Crawford said. “I was a little surprised to hear the comments but like I said, it’s unfortunate he feels that way. I just wish those words hadn’t come out.”

Crawford hit .155 in his first month in a Red Sox uniform, was dropped to seventh in the batting order by Terry Francona and never seemed to recover. He did manage to hit .255 in 506 at-bats, with 11 homers and 56 RBIs, with an OPS of .694.

“It will definitely be a key factor and one of the reasons why I’m here and motivated. It’s definitely going to motivate me to play well this year. I don’t even want to think about last year too much because it was so bad I don’t think there’s nothing you can do this year to make up for it. So, you just have to forget about it and go out and play hard and hope to do well this year.”

Crawford was asked about the clubhouse chemistry after last September. He quickly turned it into one of the funnier moments of his 15-minute session with reporters. Read the rest of this entry »