Sox to boycott Japan trip?

[browntown653]

The sense of international goodwill Major League Baseball was hoping to spread with the Boston Red Sox-Oakland Athletics trip to Japan has been threatened before the plane even leaves the tarmac. At issue is whether the Red Sox coaches will be paid $40,000 each -- the same as each player will be getting -- for the Japan appearance, which includes two exhibition games as well as two games that will count in the standings. According to the Boston Herald, the Red Sox will hold a players-only meeting Wednesday morning about the situation. The players are prepared to respond to Major League Baseball with an ultimatum -- if the coaches aren't paid, the Red Sox players will not get on the plane to go to Japan, the Herald reported. The team -- and manager Terry Francona, in particular -- was incensed when it learned each coach would not be receiving the $40,000, a stipulation that was in the original agreement to go to Japan, the Herald reported. Francona first found out there might be an issue two days ago, when he discovered Athletics coaches already knew they were not being paid. Francona told the Boston Globe that he has been trying to reach Major League Baseball officials for two days, to no avail. He said he did not care about the money for himself, but for some of the coaches, $40,000 is two-fifths of a salary, a tidy bonus for an 18-day trip that also includes a coaching clinic and a visit to a U.S. Army base, the Globe reported. The Red Sox were scheduled to have a send-off, with fans cheering them on as they board their buses for the airport following a 12:05 p.m. game against the Toronto Blue Jays at City of Palms Park.

Good for them. Taking a standing against a bullshit ruling. Why wouldn't MLB pay the coaches? They should just let them get their bonuses and not make this into a troublesome thing when it doesn't need to be.

[ljshorty89]

I agree completely, it's not like they are asking for private jets or 5 million bucks. It's only fair that the coaches get paid too.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

Agreed. Most of the coaches don't get paid NEARLY what the players do, and they still have to endure the time change, and all the hardships of a cross-country trip. Good for the players too, to stand up for their mentors.

[DirtyKash]

Watch Bud Selig manage to screw up this situation. It's only a couple hundred thousand dollars. Pay the coaches. The negative publicity that he'll get, compounded with the bad relations with Japanese baseball would be much worse.

[realmofotalk]

I'm not aware of "hardships" of a free cross-country trip to Japan, so my message to Francona simply is "Get your ass on the ****ing plane."

[love_that_reefer]

I thought this was a classy move from the Red Sox. All for one or nothing at all. MLB tried to save some money and go back on their word and the players called them out on it.

[Doppelgänger]

Ya, good to see the players backing up the coaches. Although it sucks that it has to be on an issue such as this.

[NYgiantsfan5689]

I think this is a great move as stated above. But here's an interesting position a friend of mine took on the situation:
Is this just a decoy as the Red Sox try to get their rotation out of the crapper?
CONSPIRACY THEORY!

[Saber]

The Boston Red Sox will show up and play their games.

[love_that_reefer]

Originally Posted by giantsfan5689 I think this is a great move as stated above. But here's an interesting position a friend of mine took on the situation: Is this just a decoy as the Red Sox try to get their rotation out of the crapper? CONSPIRACY THEORY!

Why would this have anything to do with getting their rotation together? When they do get it together, its still better than the Yankees

[BronxBomberz]

The Red Sox went to bat for manager Terry Francona and the coaching staff on Wednesday, and in the end, they got a result satisfactory enough to avoid boycotting their Grapefruit League finale against the Toronto Blue Jays. A misunderstanding over whether the Red Sox's coaching, training and clubhouse staffs would receive stipends for making a trip to Tokyo got resolved about 40 minutes after the scheduled start of the game. "All the things I talked about prior to today about it being a quiet spring and just baseball, you can throw it right out the window," Francona said. "It was a long morning and a long day yesterday. We found out probably by accident that some of the communication was different than we anticipated. Because there's some parties that are in China, some are Japan, some are here, some are in New York, it was very difficult to communicate." Thanks to the matter being resolved between the Red Sox, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the team will depart for Tokyo as scheduled early Wednesday evening. "Everyone connected with the trip will be fairly compensated," said Rich Levin, senior vice president of public relations for Major League Baseball. "I want to make this real clear," Francona said. "This was not a case of players being greedy. This was a case of players uniting together. I think that's part of the reason we're good. There was no disrespect to baseball. We made sure the Blue Jays knew that. It was a very difficult position everybody felt we were in and it got resolved." The game against the Blue Jays wound up starting at 1:11 p.m. ET, one hour and four minutes later than scheduled. Daisuke Matsuzaka -- Boston's Opening Day starter -- ended up pitching a Minor League game instead of facing Toronto. It was a chaotic morning and early afternoon at City of Palms Park. The players became upset when they learned that Francona, the coaches and other uniformed members were not going to receive stipends -- worth approximately $40,000 -- for the upcoming trip to Tokyo. The players on both the Red Sox and A's are receiving that amount. Until Tuesday, Francona and the coaches were under the assumption that they were getting the same stipends as the players. When Francona informed the players that apparently was not the case, a players-only meeting was held in the clubhouse. Shortly after that, the Red Sox got on the phone with Major League Baseball and the Players Association and said that unless or until the matter was resolved, they would not play Wednesday and also threatened not to board the flight for Tokyo later in the day. "It was a misunderstanding," said Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. "I don't know who to lay blame on, but there has to be a way to resolve it." News and features: • Dispute resolved, Sox will go to Japan • After months of planning, Sox head to Tokyo • Youkilis thrust into spotlight as union rep • Beckett hurls unexpected 'pen session • Youkilis goes deep but Sox drop finale • Delay shifts Dice-K to Minors game Multimedia: • Jason Varitek on dispute 400K • Sox head to Japan gallery • March 19 gallery • March 15 gallery • March 14 gallery • March 13 gallery Spring Training info: • MLB.com coverage | Schedule | Ballpark | Tickets Red Sox player representative Kevin Youkilis and other players were in constant communication with Major League Baseball and the Players Association throughout the course of the morning until the matter was resolved. Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino, general manager Theo Epstein and other club officials assisted the players on the matter, which Francona and Youkilis both said they appreciated. Francona also spoke to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig twice via phone. "He was justifiably concerned about playing the game, which I completely understand," Francona said. "I've known him since I sat the bench in Milwaukee. He was very kind to me, is actually the way I would interpret it. Knowing that he has a lot of responsibilities and a full plate, he was very kind." Shortly before the regular scheduled start time, several Boston players came into the dugout, but there still wasn't a resolution. "We have to be prepared to take care of what was ultimately promised to our staff and to everybody else that's on the trip," Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek said before the issue was resolved. "This isn't about us; this isn't about anything besides [the fact] that there's other people involved that are being forgotten about." Asked if the Red Sox would board the bus for the airport to leave for Japan on Wednesday without a resolution, Varitek said, "We will not." Early in the morning, the situation had cast a pall over the team's Spring Training getaway day. "What we want to do this morning is get excited about us playing a baseball game, and what I did was spend the morning apologizing to the coaches and being humiliated," Francona said. "That's all I know." If the g