Report: Shoppach, not Gonzalez, responsible for message to Red Sox ownership
Former Boston Red Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach, not Adrian Gonzalez, was the player primarily responsible for crafting the text message sent to team ownership in July complaining about manager Bobby Valentine, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.
The message led to a meeting between frustrated players and owner John Henry and team president Larry Lucchino.
The message was sent from Gonzalez's phone but he was not the chief author.
Shoppach has been traded to the New York Mets since then, but still refuses to acknowledge he was the author of the email.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he told the Daily News on Saturday.
Last week, Yahoo! Sports reported that several Red Sox players were frustrated with Valentine, and later voiced their frustration in the meeting with Henry and Lucchino on July 26. Some players said they no longer wanted to play for Valentine.
On Wednesday, Gonzalez denied Yahoo! Sports' report that said he was the author of the text message that set things in motion.
Sources told the Daily News that the text message "was not (Gonzalez's) idea or his opinion" but started with a small group of Red Sox players that included Shoppach.
Gonzalez felt that, as the team's highest-paid player, the text message should come from his phone.
On Wednesday, Gonzalez denied Yahoo! Sports' report that he was the primary person responsible for organizing the meeting and that he was one of the most outspoken critics of Valentine oat the meeting attended by 17 players.
"The source is inaccurate," Gonzalez said. "He says that I was animated and one of the most vocal guys in the meeting, and that's false. If somebody's going to try to be an unnamed source, they better be right with what they say, because this is putting our integrity and everyone about us out there, and that's just unfair."
Shoppach hit .250 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 48 games with the Red Sox this season. He shared time with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
ApparentlyShoppach had complained about his lack of playing time with the Red Sox, and he was traded to the Mets on Tuesday for a player to be named later.
"I don't know that anybody is saying anything, and to be honest, I don't care. I don't play for them (the Red Sox)," Shoppach told the Daily News on Saturday. "I play for the Mets. My responsibility is here. Nothing I did yesterday does anything for today, and that's going to be my stance for the rest of my life. 'What am I going to do today? Yesterday's gone. It ain't gonna do (expletive) for me today.' That's my philosophy on life."
