Maybe he's not intentionally making things up, but he's at least making some big assumptions. And how convenient that those assumptions fit nicely into the narrative that he's trying to create. Just like the 2011 collapse under Francona, it's not sufficient to explain the team's disappointments with on the field factors like injuries, bad luck or simple lack of talent. No, it's all about leadership and character and other nebulous stuff that Gammons and the like want to pontificate about, whether or not those qualities are actually present.