CORDERO RETURNS, BUT ESPN INTERVIEW DISTURBS RED SOX BRASS
Red Sox OF Wilfredo Cordero returned to the lineup last
night at Fenway Park and was greeted by a "mixed chorus in
which the boos ... resonated louder than the cheers,"
according to Gordon Edes of the BOSTON GLOBE. Cordero was
cleared to play by two New York psychiatrists charged with
evaluating him and setting up a long-term counseling program
in the wake of domestic abuse allegations. Red Sox GM Dan
Duquette said that the team "would have preferred to place"
Cordero on the restricted list until he completed his
counseling. Duquette: "But under the landscape, we couldn't
accomplish that" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/11). A GLOBE/WBZ-TV poll
conducted Tuesday & Wednesday by KRC Communications Research
showed 45% of those interviewed in the MA area were aware of
Cordero's arrest and felt Red Sox management handled the
situation properly, 17% thought the team did not handle it
properly and 38% had no response (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/10).
CORDERO SPEAKS OUT: Cordero and his wife, Ana, spoke to
ESPN over the All-Star break in Puerto Rico. Cordero, asked
whether his wife wants him to go through counseling: "[W]e
don't feel like we need that, because we really don't ...
because we don't have problems" (ESPN, 7/9). Duquette, on
Cordero's statements: "They weren't particularly helpful to
him in getting back to work." Red Sox Dir of Corporate
Communications Kevin Shea said the team considered the
interview "absolutely regrettable. It was not set up by the
ballclub and it was against the club's advice" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 7/11). Under the header, "The TV Camera Doesn't Lie:
This Guy Still Doesn't Get It," Bob Ryan writes, "If I'm Dan
Duquette ... I take the tape of that chilling interview to
team CEO John Harrington and I say, 'Look at this, and give
me one reason why we should want this guy wearing our
uniform.' .... Cordero is not 'troubled.' He is a swarmy
wife-beater. For him to represent the Boston Red Sox with
his current attitude is an outrage" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/11).
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