“We just have to play better on the field."

John Henry to the Boston Globe, 8/4.

Not quite. Not even close, actually. How about starting with a look in the mirror?

Look, I'm happy to spread the blame around for what has been the most disappointing, underachieving Red Sox team in my lifetime. 

You want to give some to Bobby Valentine? Sure. He was put in a terrible position from the start, but at some point Valentine needed to forget trying to make everyone like him (because the enabled, pampered players never would; it was doomed from the start) and just be himself. And for some reason that hasn't happened and now he finds himself very likely one-and-done as manager. He'll blame injuries, spoiled players and lack of backing from the front office for his demise when he's done -- and there's plenty of truth there -- but if Valentine is capable of an honest audit when he takes a look back he'll have to conclude that he failed largely because he lacked the guts to be unpopular in an environment where he was never going to be popular.

Ben Cherington? Of course. Lack of compensation for Theo, zero return for Kevin Youkilis, leader of the "Bard to the rotation" group, didn't fight hard enough for the manager he wanted and didn't back the one he had and did zip at a deadline when it seemed obvious to everyone else that it was time to start selling. Cherington could turn out to be Branch Rickey, I suppose, and his predecessor put him in a lousy position, but has Cherington done anything in his nine-plus months as general manager to suggest he's absolutely the answer as the architect of this franchise?

Is there room for Larry Lucchino? What do you think? In a perfect world we'd know exactly what moves Larry makes and what moves Cherington makes -- just as we all want to know what the Theo/Larry dynamic truly was -- but since we don't it's probably easier just to split the blame between the two. Lucchino is an easy target -- he'd be perfect casting as a network heavy who just doesn't grasp the complexities and inner torture of Will McAvoy in the impossibly sanctimonious, remarkably nauseating "The Newsroom" -- but we've been told this is now his operation. He won the war with Epstein and the early returns of his solo act have been disastrous. But at least we all know that Cody Ross is "cheerful."

And, of course, the players. They quit on Francona -- because he treated them like adults, it would seem -- and have decided they don't care for his successor. Not sure why the next guy would be any different, but they'll get the chance to find out because they always get whatever they want. When there's no accountability for anything it's easy to get fat (in some cases literally) and content. My guess is that Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey and almost every player of note on this team will be back next year. And the key changes, the ones that demonstrate where the organizations believe the fault lies, will be with the manager and the pitching coach. Sound familiar?

There's a culture that exists with the Red Sox, and it's clearly no longer working. And that starts at the very top. John Henry is first -- and most -- to blame for 54-55, for 61-75 since last September 1, for continuing to allow the clubhouse to be a house of rats, for firing and hiring processes that were totally bungled, for coddling players who need to be slapped with reality, for an almost historic lack of communication and for not publicly calling out and properly embarrassing the six-year-old who went to ownership to complain about "nice inning, Will." It starts at the top and the top has looked, yawned and grabbed a flight to England.

John Henry is the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. What that means is he could have said "no" any number of times since last September 1 and elected not to. If Henry wanted Terry Francona to still be the manager, Terry Francona would still be the manager. If he wanted Josh Beckett traded, Beckett would almost certainly be a goner. If Henry was unhappy with the attitude of the players last season, he could have told us and them about it in very frank terms. If Henry was deeply unsatisfied with what he had seen this season, he could have demanded serious changes at the deadline and it would have happened. There are times when an owner has to be heard, has to assume command. It would sure seem that we have arrived at that very point. No one under Henry has done their job properly over the last year or so. How much more do we need to see?

But Henry has been oddly and inexcusably passive with months and months of mediocrity on the field and mutiny off the field under his ownership. Where is he? I don't mean physically -- I don't care if he's in England or on Yawkey Way -- but where is his voice? Where is the outrage? How can he be OK with such pathetic results, given the titanic investment? 

I have no idea if he's ready to sell, as some have suggested, or if cares more about Liverpool, or if it's only about ratings and sellouts and bricks and all that garbage. But the time has come for John Henry to step up and lead. And don't tell me that he can't, that he needs Lucchino to hold his hand every step of the way. John Henry made billions of dollars in business and managed to do so without the wit and wisdom of Larry Lucchino. He's a grown man. It's OK to break away and let your voice be heard.

Unless, of course, John Henry isn't really bothered with what has happened over the last 136 games. Maybe he thinks we're overreacting. Maybe the NESN ratings and attendance are all that matter. Maybe he thinks the players are right and we are all wrong. 

If we see John Lackey with a new set of headphones I guess we'll have our answer.