A year before his contract with the Red Sox expires, first baseman Mo Vaughn says he doesn't want to stay in Boston because the team isn't treating him fairly.
Vaughn said management was setting him up to be blamed when contract negotiations failed."The Red Sox really do not want me here. Those are the facts. Also, it's what they put out to the fans and how they want the media to perceive it," Vaughn said in New York following Monday's 7-6 loss to the Yankees.
"I don't want to stay. That's just that," he told The Boston Globe. "I don't need no more money. I can retire right now. . . . But they are trying to establish the moral high ground like they made me a fair offer. They haven't. They're playing games. That's it."
Losing Vaughn, the 1995 American League MVP and the team's only tried-and-true superstar, would be a blow for the Red Sox, who are at the end of a disappointing season, 181/2 games out of first place with less than two weeks to play.
Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco and Mike Greenwell all criticized management after leaving the team at the end of last season.