Dave Page, the strength and conditioning coach let go by the Red Sox yesterday, told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he “was surprised” by the firing and “it caught me off guard that it happened now and not right after the season.”
In other words, once the constant headlines about beer, fried chicken, and video games in the clubhouse finally died down Page thought his job was safe. He’d been with the Red Sox for six seasons and was named strength and conditioning coach of the year in 2007.
Here’s more from Page:
“Sometimes perception goes a long way whether it’s right or wrong” could be the motto of the Red Sox’s offseason, at least so far.
Page told Abraham that at least a half-dozen players called him after news of the firing, adding that “Papelbon and Youkilis were less than pleased. I can tell you that.” Interestingly, none of the pitchers implicated in the beer/fried chicken/video games stuff were included on the list of callers.