Former Red Sox Star Unmasks Himself As Man Behind Viral Craig Breslow Diss

It was how a lot of fans were feeling, too

Nov 7, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Boston Red Six chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

One of the most viral moments that resulted from the Boston Red Sox firing manager Alex Cora came in the form of an anonymous quote from a former player, as shared by WEEI's Rob Bradford on Sunday.

"Woke up to a text from a former Red Sox player who summed up Saturday's moves: 'It's like (s***ing) your pants and changing your shirt,'" Bradford wrote on X.

On Friday, that player unmasked himself on Bradford's podcast, "Baseball Isn't Boring." It turned out to be a former teammate of Cora from the late 2000s Boston teams: three-time All-Star pitcher Josh Beckett.

“It was me, it was me”

Jul 25, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett (19) watches a replay during the game against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark. The Rangers beat the Red Sox 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Beckett came clean to the Red Sox fan base, and explained the emotions that he was feeling at the time of sending the text to Bradford. Those emotions were a fairly common sentiment among Red Sox fans, many of whom did not feel Cora was the root of the team's issues. Boston was 10-17 at the time of Cora's firing.

“It was so good, and I just felt like it fit,” Beckett said. “I know AC really well. I thought he was the perfect guy to be there and stable that ship.

“In Boston, it’s 162 one-game seasons. You can’t have a guy running that ship that ... can’t understand that, and I know AC was perfect for that. And who they get next, you know, he could be perfect for that as well. I kind of felt like that saying fit for this year.”

Certainly, it was a toned-down critique of the Red Sox from Beckett compared to the initial anonymous comment. It didn't even seem like the comment about "one-game seasons" was directed at chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, who claimed responsibility for firing Cora in the press conference following the moves.

The approval rating for Breslow and the Red Sox's ownership group, Fenway Sports Group, would both seem to be at an all-time low these days. At the end of the day, no matter what former players like Beckett say, it's on the current players to either make something of this season or watch it slip away, the way it did in 2012 when Beckett and several others were traded to clear salary.