Attitudes, perception and perspective

I got bad vibes from John Lackey when he was continually frustrated by the Red Sox in the playoffs (until last year, of course). He'd glare at defenders and spout off at his offense for lack of support.

"He's no Jon Lester," I wrote during the 2008 ALDS.

He seemed the type of player I wouldn't want on my team.

Today, however, Amalie Benjamin tries to explain his attitude - he wants to win so badly that he's a jerk when he pitches:

"But every fifth day - ask the guys that played with me - I'm probably not the nicest person in the world. I'm ready to get after it. I'm there to win. I'm not there to mess around, for sure."

"I'd never really seen John get mad until I saw him screaming on the mound one day," [his wife] Krista says. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh.' I've never seen him get that angry. He's just always a very calm, mellow person. Just goes with the flow. Then he was so intense. It was kind of scary."

If Lackey's attitude really were a problem, you have to figure Benjamin would have found a teammate to spout off anonymously. If it were a problem, there's no way his former manager Mike Scioscia would speak so glowingly about him now that he's gone:

"You're not going to find a better teammate, you're not going to find a better guy in the clubhouse," Scioscia says. "For a guy that you would think is as competitive as you see on the field, he is really soft-spoken off the field. He is very caring. He's in touch with the community."

So, hopefully, my opinion of John Lackey as a a player I wouldn't want on my team was wrong. Or maybe I'm just a biased Red Sox fan enjoying his team's latest acquisition.

Lackey has some similarity with former Phillie Brett Myers. They're both big right-handers from the South whose competitiveness sometimes overcomes their composure.

As Brett has switched from Phillies red to Astros brown? yellow? orange? mustard? he pledged to "stick it" to his former team. We've been critical of Myers' attitude, but I kind of like his spunk here. (Maybe because he's not the Phillies problem anymore?)

Say what you want about Brett, but he gets Philadelphia. From the moment it was clear he was leaving, he has made a clear distinction between the team's management (who he has a right to be angry with) and its fans (who largely supported him during his tenure).

The fact that he continues to say he wanted to stay in Philly and openly encouraged fans to boo him proves his affection for the city and its fans.

Of course, not being primarily a Phillies fan might have altered my perception here.

I asked Christine what she thought of young Brett's quote and she said, "I hope he sticks it to the Phillies like he has been over the past few years: by giving up home runs at Citizens Bank Park."

Then, she conceded that fans can give him an ovation - until he crosses the white line.