Mark Melancon – Less Talk Needed

Sox reliever Mark Melancon, playing in the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Tournament, had this to say about former skipper Bobby Valentine. " It was so obvious, nobody wanted to talk to him because nobody could trust him. That's never good."  Melancon went on to emphsize, strangely, that he did not blame Valentine for the team's performance, but continued: "knowing somebody has your back and will stand behind you is big…but that wasn't always the case. I think a lot of guys felt there was some fakeness."
 
Fakeness? I don't know the situation well enough to say if Bobby V was guilty of being fake. But to most Sox fans, the 2012 squad was a group of guys disguised as major league ballplayers.
 
Melancon was obtained in the '11-'12 winter from Houston for shortstop Jed Lowrie and hurler Kyle Weiland.  His Sox season was bad from the start. Projected as a possible successor to Jonathan Papelbon, he soon made his presence felt, and it was not a positive one. He took the loss on Opening Day in Detroit, then blew a save two days later on a walkoff homer to Alex Avila. But it was against the Rangers that Melancon began setting records, and they were nothing to be proud of. On a Tuesday night in April, he faced six batters without retiring any, giving up three homers and walking two in an 18-3 loss to Texas. Melancon thus became only the eighth pitcher in 90 years to allow three home runs without recording an out. After this performance, his ERA stood at 49.50.
 
Mark was sent to Pawtucket, where he pitched better. He was later recalled and spent the second half of the season in mopup roles. He managed to "lower" his ERA to 6, and made some of his other stats more palatable. But he remained a bad pitcher on a bad team.
 
Since the hiring of John Farrell, most Sox players have rightly refrained from criticizing Valentine. Given his performance, Melancon is only making a fool of himself. Interesting that he would make the statements at a golf tournament. Maybe he should consider changing sports.