Live blog: Francona, Epstein press conference

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A live blog of Terry Francona and Theo Epstein's season-ending press conference:

-- Theo: Season had three phases (bad beginning, great middle, terrible ending). "We can't say, hey, we're that team in the middle," he said. "We have to own all three phases."

-- Theo: "We can't run from this collapse. We have to own it."

-- Theo: Dustin Pedroia will have a screw removed from his surgically repaired foot on Friday. Adrian Gonzalez was dealing with a calf issue.

-- Theo: Would not discuss Francona's contract status. Says it'll be discussed with ownership (John Henry, Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino) in the next few days, when emotions have cooled and judgment isn't clouded. But "nobody blames what happened in September on Tito. That would be totally short-sighted . . . We take collective responsibility for it, all of it, and I blame myself more than anyone."

-- Theo: Discussions will be "issues-based, with plenty to fix."

-- Tito: Managing the team became challenging at the end. Called a team meeting in Toronto because "there were some things that did concern me". Was "frustrated" with some of the things that happened.

-- Theo: "You can certainly say that if urgency was felt by the players in September, we didn't respond to it the right way."

-- Tito: Reminded players in that Toronto meeting that "nothing was guaranteed" and they had to continue to play hard.

-- Tito: "You don't need to have a team that wants to go to dinner off the field. You want to have a team that protects itself fiercely on the field."

-- Tito: Doesn't think players in the clubhouse have a problem with John Lackey, "nor do I."

-- Theo: Rehabilitating Lackey as a pitcher is a top priority of the team.

-- Theo: Lackey's gestures on the field were something he also did in Anaheim "and we were aware of them when we signed him." Also said he always apologizes the next day. "He's a good teammate."

-- Theo: "I have regrets. We had a big lead, but we had a sense that things weren't right . . . I actually addressed the team myself later in the month after Francona's meeting in Toronto before a game . . . Bottom line is: We didn't . . . find a way to stop the slide."

-- Theo: "There's a lot of talent in that clubhouse, and we didn't get results commiserate with that talent."

-- Tito: "As things started to not go our way, just continually wanted to put players in position where they could succeed . . . I regret the way the month turned out. I don't regret the way we worked at it."

-- Theo: Won't discuss contract situations of David Ortiz and Jonathan Papelbon. "We'd love to keep both guys if we could."

-- Theo: Fixing Carl Crawford is "another significant priority for us . . . We'll get together with him, put our head together and see what can be done." Says Crawford has taken full, public responsibility for having a bad year. "We're not going to abandon him."

-- Theo: Conditioning of some players was an issue. "I can't say our standards have been met across the board . . . We need to be more accountable."

-- Theo: "In some small ways, we've gotten away from our ideal of what we want to be, on the field and off the field." But says if there's "one small lining" of the collapse, it's that "you have to take a hard look at every aspect of the organization."

-- Theo: Free-agent signings have "not been satisfactory, at all" and the process of identifying and signing big-ticket free agents needs to be examined and overhauled.

-- Theo: Doesn't think the roster needs a complete overhaul. "There's a core of talent here that . . . will make up the core of a lot of winning teams in the future." Says some changes need to be made, but there's "plenty of talent here."

-- Theo: "There were things that caught Tito's eye, caught my eye, that weren't quite right, even when we were winning."

-- Tito: "Theo and I talked today a little bit" about his future, "and we'll talk tomorrow . . . It's still pretty fresh and pretty raw."

-- Tito: Didn't know who would have been the starting pitcher had the Sox made it to the wild-card play-in game. There was no option that didn't involve a pitcher working on short rest.

-- Theo: Will also evaluate the future of the coaching staff in the next few days.

-- Theo: Depth of starting pitching in the organization is also an issue. "Pitching as a whole seems to have gone backwards . . . in each of the last four years," he said.

-- Theo: Would not comment on speculation that he may leave the organization.

-- Theo: "When we're at our best, I think we're the best organization in baseball. This year, we weren't at our best."

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