Leadership: Someone needs to be in charge of this mess. Team captains (Ortiz and Pedroia, pictured) are fine if they take those roles seriously and act as a buffer between the players and management. Team captains must know when to tell the crybabies “shut up and play” and when to take legitimate issues to management. Major league players have guaranteed contracts and ownership operates within the parameters of a lopsided collective bargaining agreement, but doesn’t mean those same players cannot be told what to do nor does it mean they must be coddled like children with a head cold.