Chris Arcand in his latest ‘Red Sox Review’ show promised to keep the nightly analysis on the air despite the record-losing team making it almost moot.
If he’s raising the possibility of killing the show, that means he’s not ruling it out.
“My heart is broken,” Arcand said in disgust as he signed off Friday night, seemingly earlier than he originally had planned.
As the Sox fell beneath rising 10 games below .500, Arcand seemingly tossed in the towel, saying it’s time to jump off the sinking ship.
Arcand, who anchors the night EEI desk after Sox games, said the team is doomed and has broken him, but he insisted he’ll stay the course and continue running the Red Sox Review show, allowing Sox Nation callers to vent their animus.
The Sox are 23-33, after falling to the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 Friday night in Cleveland.
The sorry Sox can’t even string together a clump of wins at home in Fenway where their record is even worse than on the road.
Arcand is now aiming his anger not only towards Director of Player Operations Craig Breslow but at Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy.
Kennedy earlier this week picked a new fight with Arcand and Sox Nation by intimating on the EEI Greg Hill morning drive-time show that once up-and-coming Sox phenom Roman Anthony is not hurt as badly as Anthony claims.
Anthony ultimately took issue with his boss over the air waves after Kennedy claimed he has been out due to only a sprained right hand.
Anthony argued that Kennedy’s remarks are off-base.
He – Anthony – quoted a doctor saying has has a tear in his right-hand ring finger, not merely a sprain.
Arcand said Anthony may be lying but he believes him.
The EEI host Arcand said the last thing the Sox need now is an public feud between the Sox CEO and star player, which Arcand claims will never heal.
He said history shows that such disputes don’t get resolved and only harbor forever bitterness.
Anthony, now only 22, was called up to the mother ship last season from the Sox minor league affiliate in Worcester, Massachusetts, with great hopes.
Sox management had been under fan pressure to call up Anthony even sooner.
Finally, management relented and pulled him into Fenway Park.
Anthony rose to the occasion until he didn’t.
After playing 70 games and displaying a solid bat in his rookie season last year, Anthony was taken out for a month due to back spasms and other ailments, and things deteriorated from there until this year when he began anew with a fresh start, until…
He hit a foul ball earlier this month on a check swing, injuring what many believed then was his wrist.
Then talk arose about Anthony’s possibly-doubtful future with the team, culminating with Kennedy seeming to offer comments downplaying the severity of his injury.
Arcand suggests it was Kennedy’s way of trying to rush Anthony back into the line-up.
Over the last couple weeks Anthony tried swinging a “dry” bat and then moving forward trying to hit balls off a batting tee on Thursday, resulting in new pain.
Now, Arcand questions rhetorically whether the Sox will shut down Anthony for the season or even try to shop him before the soon-to-arrive trade deadline.
While possibly injury-prone, as Arcand suggests is a possibility, Anthony has not been shy at trying to work hard at developing into a better player.
Prior to his latest injury, he had been coming to the stadium hours early before games to practice quicker and more-accurate relay throws from his outfield position.
If Anthony is a huge Sox flop, which ex-WEEI host and current airwaves guru Michael Holley is suggesting, Arcand and Sox Nation are wondering how much further the Sox season will tumble.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what possible impact Arcand’s pulling his support from the Sox will have on his future at WEEI.
Although he insisted his Red Sox Review show will continue, simply raising the issue may have been a subliminal plea to WEEI management plea to not remove him, despite him saying he’s finished supporting the Sox.
Just last week, EEI host KJ Carson axed a caller who dumped on Sox announcer and EEI hire Will Flemming, saying Flemming sucks and that he’s no Joe Castiglione, the long-time veteran play-by-play guy.
For years, WEEI Sox games have been sponsored by Shaw’s/Star Market grocery outlets, but if Arcand continues belittling the Sox, EEI and Shaw’s/Star Market suits may decide to find a better cheerleader to help pay their bills.
Arcand pulled no punches after Kennedy denied on Hill’s show that things aren’t necessarily as bad as they appear.
“Yah, that is the way it is,” Arcand shot back several times as he wove-in an actual clip of Kennedy telling Hill “that’s not the way it is.”
Chris Arcand may become Chris Arcanned if he keeps up that brand of what the EEI/Shaw’s bean counters may see as inexcusable management disrespect.
If they should decide Arcand isn’t enough of a cheerleader and needs to disappear they will have actually shown disrespect to the fans who want realistic, honest Sox analysis rather than dishonest chamber-of-commerce pablum.
