“It’s something we’re concerned about, just to make sure that we get all the facts, and that’s my area,” Torre was quoted as saying by the Boston Globe. “I know I have plans just to talk to some people.”
Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester, from Puyallup and Bellarmine Prep, admitted to drinking in the team’s clubhouse during games while Clay Buchholz said on Thursday that he drank beer, too. The Boston Globe, citing “team sources,” reported that fellow starters Josh Beckett and John Lackey were also involved in the beer-drinking controversy.
There were no details as to what an MLB investigation would include.
“It’s something we’re going to look at and find the best way to approach it, let’s put it that way,” Torre said. “… I have no problem talking to someone in regards to baseball, whether it’s behavior or otherwise.”
Thirteen teams allow alcohol in the clubhouse, including the Red Sox, the Globe reported. By considering a blanket ban on all clubhouses, Torre wants players to understand the consequences of their actions.
DODGERS CUT PRICES
In the wake of a season in which the Dodgers played to a half-empty stadium, the team announced that the price of almost every season ticket would be reduced next season, some by as much as 60 percent.
The Dodgers sold 2.9 million tickets last season, their smallest total in a non-strike year since 1992. The Dodgers ranked 11th in the major leagues in tickets sold last season, trailing among other teams the Milwaukee Brewers, the team that plays in the smallest market in the majors.
The Dodgers had ranked among the top three in tickets sold every year since 2004, when Frank McCourt bought the team. They sold about 17,000 season tickets this season, down from about 27,000 four years ago.
PHILS DECLINE OPTIONS
The Phillies have declined 2012 options on pitchers Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge.
Oswalt gets a $2 million buyout instead of $16 million next season. Lidge receives a $1.5 million buyout instead of $12.5 million next year.
Oswalt was 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA in 23 starts for the Phillies this past season. The three-time All-Star right-hander was acquired in a trade with Houston on July 29, 2010.
SHORT HOPS
Jim Thome intends to keep moving up baseball’s home run list. The 41-year-old slugger, eighth all time with 604 homers, said he still has the passion to play. Whether or not the Indians or another team will want him will be determined when impending free agents become eligible to start negotiations five days after the end of the World Series. … Ben Cherington is set to become the new general manager of the Boston Red Sox, replacing his former boss, Theo Epstein. Cherington’s promotion from assistant general manager will be announced today, the team said.
