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Joey Ballgame

I'd like to take this chance to apologize to absolutely nobody.

Views from the 617.

Primarily MMA and pop culture takes from down in the rabbit hole. Sports straight out of left field.

The Top 5 Most Important People to This Red Sox World Series Win

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Some things really do feel pre-ordained. This championship is certainly among them. As soon as we crossed off the Yankees and, apart from an 18 inning long intermission, made fairly easy work of Houston, I just didn’t see a way we lost this. So here is my list of the 5 most important people to this championship, the five we owe it to the most.

5.) Nathan Eovaldi

I remember the first time we saw this guy get up in the pen in the fall and said aloud, “Our answer is Nathan Eovaldi, we are completely fucked.” He was a rolling stone of a pitcher who gave us a few good starts down the stretch but should  not have been anywhere near a bump come the playoffs. Well, all that rolling stone did was give us every drop of blood, sweat, and tears he could , eating inning after inning to keep the rest of our staff (somewhat) in tact.

4.) Jackie Bradley Jr.

Bradley has sort of been accepted for what he is. He covers an entire outfield on his own, has a rocket of an arm, but at times might as well head to the plate without a bat. That changed this post-season. Although he was played less in the LA series, JBJ had a number of key hits, including the game tying HR in the 18-inning  loss that will now be forgotten. We owe a huge part of this banner to the Sentinel in Center.


3.) David Price

David Price is a whiny, maddening, inconsistent weirdo. He also just won us the World Series. He got hot when he needed to get hot and because the ruthless, flame-spitting starter, the descendant of Schilling and Beckett, that we needed him to become. And not a moment too soon. Cheers, David.


2.) Steve Pearce

Think I forgot about him? Stevie Longball just refused to let his opportunity at a ring slip away, channeling all the magic his 35 year old body could and slugging his way to  eternal October glory.


1.) Everyone

This is sort of a cop out but needs to be said. The truth us the Red Sox are raising their 4th banner in 15 years because of a classic Boston sports effort. Everyone did their part, everyone had their moment. From Barnes to Nunez, from Kimbrel to Devers, from Kelly to, yes, Ian fucking Kinsler. They all came together when it mattered most.

 

The MMA Apocalypse is Upon Us

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MMAFighting.com –  MMA history is about to be made with a shocking talent exchange.

ESPN reported Wednesday that the UFC and ONE Championship are in talks to trade former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson for recently retired ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren.

Straight off the top, what is basically happening if you don’t feel like reading is that the two organizations are going to release their respective fighters so that the fighters can sign with the other organization. So it’s not really a true, blue trade, but it is the kind of thing that quasi-happens on occasion in the NBA around the trade deadline.

This makes the most sense for ONE and DJ. “Mighty Mouse” has never been able to break through popularity-wise as his PPVs have sold poorly and Fight Night cards have had low ratings compared to other headliners. In ONE, he’ll have the benefit of a fanbase that loves smaller, quicker, more dynamic fighters and will be able to reap the rewards of sponsorship opportunities

I can’t rate the UFC’s side of the deal without bias unfortunately. I hate Ben Askren. He is entitled and big-headed without, in my mind, deserving to be. Don’t get it twisted, he has been completely dominant throughout his career. But he has fought literally no one of note. His first fight in ONE was against an unknown career middleweight with I think 8 fights. Woopdy do. The UFC seems to be desperate to add another marquee name in the wake of another McGregor loss and Daniel Cormier retiring imminently.  Like a baseball team that doesn’t build its farm system, the UFC did not do a good enough job building future stars.

Either way, this is the most batshit thing I can possibly think of happening in combat sports. Shipping two fighters across the world in opposite directions is laugh out loud funny especially when you consider this is being done because neither organization knows what the hell to do with the fighter they have under contract. Stupefying stuff.

-Joey B.

The 300s “No One Named Eli Has Ever Been Good At Anything” Fantasy Football Round Up – Week 7

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I’m busy at work and mad at fantasy football so all I have to say is go Sox and enjoy the fantasy takes.

Mattes

Having the second-least amount of points in the league and the most points scored against is just not a good combo. Got an almost 40-berger out of Mitchell Trubisky as a streamer and still lost by almost 80 to the league’s top scorer. At least I have an extra second-rounder next year, and it’s looking like Kerryon Johnson is going to be a stud sixth-round keeper (179 yards of total offense this week). I’m just trying not to finish last at this point.

Had a great week in my other league, but – you guessed it! – I ran into the week’s high-scorer. Got 70 points out of my receivers alone, though, and now that Arizona has someone competent running the offense I’m hoping David Johnson has a little second-half resurgence.  Also, it looks like I’m not going to lose Sony Michel for the year after all, and I was somehow able to snag Tarik Cohen last week, who has three-straight 20-plus point games. I’m 4-3 and feeling good about things to come.

 

Papa G

In a shocking turn of events, I continued my hot streak to go 3-0 again this week. Beat Red by a solid 3 points thanks to Julio Jones. A special thanks to the New York Giants for being a dumpster fire and making this all possible. In one of my other leagues I won by .14 points so luck was on my side this week. Fully expect to nose dive soon enough though.

 

Red

I would like to thank Ezekiel Elliott for murdering any chances I had this week in both of my leagues with a whopping 5 points. How bout them Cowboys indeed. Also, shoutout to Papa Giorgio for beating me by 3 points on garbage time stats in the 4th quarter of Monday Night Football. 

 

Big Z

Picked up a 98-81 win in Week 7 to improve to 4-3 and move into a tie for third place in my league. James White and the New England D/ST came up big for me. Of course it didn’t hurt that my opponent wasn’t up for the London game in time to bench Melvin Gordon who was out.

My only gripe comes from the TE position. I’ve got Eric Ebron and George Kittle. They both seem to be boom or bust, and I’ve yet to figure how to play the right guy any given week. At least it didn’t cost me a win in Week 7, and gets me a little bit closer to the Bench Points Championship

 

Joey B

My team is just awful and I lost by 20 to fall to 3-4. Whatever.

 

 

It Appears It is Pats vs. Eagles For Patrick Peterson, and I’m About To Break Everyone’s Heart

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ESPN – The New York Giants are trading cornerback Eli Apple, a former first-round draft pick, to the New Orleans Saints, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

Allow me to iterate on what the hell I am talking about.

Patrick Peterson, the ridiculously talented but oft-injured CB for the Arizona Cardinals, wants to be traded. The Cards suck and are a mess and Peterson wants to win and not be part of a mess. Makes sense. He has always given 100% and isn’t a huge issue in the locker room, from what little I know of a team that plays in the middle of the fucking desert.

Peterson stated, through his cousin Bryant McFadden, now an analyst, that he wanted to play for the Eagles, Pats, or Saints, who play in the same state as his beloved alma mater LSU. Well, as you can see from the above, you can probably cross the Saints off that list/ This leaves the opponents from last years Super Bowl on the table. Not a bad situation to be in for PP if 1.) you assume both teams are interested in your services and 2.) either/or can make a good enough pitch to the Cardinals to acquire you. And that’s where this sucks.

I cannot talk myself out of the fact that if it comes down to Rob Gronkowski for Patrick Peterson straight up (or possibly with an array of superfluous picks and/or cash to make it work/digestable for one side or the other), who says no? The Pats would get rid of a depreciating asset, which they LOVE TO DO. Just ask Seymour, or Mankins, or Vinateri, or Moss. They would do this for a physically talented corner, which they need, in his prime. Sure Peterson has been hurt too, but Gronk’s body has been destroyed. I’m sure Belichick also wouldn’t mind getting rid of Gronk’s antics, as harmless as they are, and it doesn’t help that we just beat a top tier D without him. The Cards get a security blanket and the best tight end ever for their young franchise QB. An ancillary benefit is that they would be bringing Gronk back to Arizona, where he played his college ball and would surely love the pool-side atmosphere. He’d fit in great.

It all just makes too much sense, and that makes me so sad. Gronk has been the Patriot of our generation aside from Brady. A truly transcendent and complete talent at his position. I guess if Brady is like David Ortiz, Gronk, if he leaves, would be a bit like Nomar, although we’d be switching up timelines; he means everything to our franchise but in the end, maybe it wouldn’t make sense to keep him, for the right deal.

I really fucking hope I’m wrong. Fuck this.

-Joey B.

Joey B’s Tuesday Morning Grab Bag

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Tuesdays suck more than Mondays because they’re a blunt reminder that the work week continues. That’s why I do these.

-The Pats won a bizarro world version of that Rams-Titans game of yore where Kevin Dyson was tackled at the 1 to stop a possible Music City Miracle. I think the low-key story  of that game, however, is how despite this season starting off slow, it felt like an old school, “nothing to worry about” Pats game. I don’t think we have had that feeling, unless you’re just an asshole, for a few years now. Even the last two Super Bowl years. But we all remember the days of prime Brady when even if we were down 3 TDs we’d kind of shrug, thinking we’d pull it off anyway. And you know what? 77% of the time we would have been right. That Bears game felt like that. A lot of running by Trubisky. Some lackadaisical play-calling by the Pats. Then that ridiculous hail mary. I never doubted the “W” for one second.

-Going to write a full review later but I saw “Halloween” this weekend and you should too. Lots of fun.

-Before Lewis-Cormier was supposed to headline UFC 230, The UFC trotted out Valentina Schevchenko against little-know TUF alumnus Sijara Eubanks. Well, the internet absolutely DEMOLISHED that idea so the UFC made Lewis-Cormier and also matched Schevchenko up against a more known quantity, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, at a later date. Eubanks came out yesterday and said she screamed at Dana White about. When you are a 3-2 fighter and Dana White has a full on fan mutiny on his hands because he put you on a card, maybe you should just shut the fuck up and win a couple? Especially when you know you were a desperation move to begin with?

-STOKED for this world series. I actually like the Dodgers matchup better than the Brewers. Overall it will be interesting to see how Cora handles the staff as well as the JD Martinez conundrum. Mookie at 2nd I guess? Who knows. It is going to be a fun one, especially for this #baseball guy.

-Random music suggestion of the day: If you are a hip hop head in general or need some good “nod your head” music for the work day, check out Del the Funky Homosapien.

-I have tickets to Tom Segura in April and you don’t.

 

Keep it real homies,

-Joe

 

Rae Carruth is a Free Man

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ESPN – Former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth, who in 2001 was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder of his pregnant girlfriend, was released just after 8 a.m. ET on Monday from the Sampson Correctional Institution in Clinton, North Carolina.

I saw this just now and felt both chilled to the core and very, very old. Rae Carruth, former 1st Round pick of the Carolina Panthers, was arrested, and eventually imprisoned, for his crimes when I was ten. I remember it quite clearly. Why? Because it was my introduction to the fact that pro athletes, the superheroes I looked up to because they made a living playing the same games I did at recess, could be just as profoundly evil and shitty as the next guy. Oklahoma City had happened five years earlier and I remember thinking “makes sense this guy is a lunatic.” But an NFL player? A jubilant, touchdown celebrating, deer-fast adonis of a fan? It just wasn’t supposed to happen.

The details are gory and grim but important. For those who don’t know, Carruth’s career, in its third season in 1999, was not going so well. He had knocked up a hard working recent (two or three years?) college graduate named Cherica Adams and was terrified of running out of money if the end of his career was near. So he paid some friend to take her out. One car pulled up in front of her, making her stop, one pulled up alongside her and shot her, four times. She was eight months pregnant and died a month later. The kid, a son named Chancellor, somehow survived and is now 18 years old, having been raised by Adams’ mother. He has Cerebral Palsy among a list of other maladies from the trauma he experienced.

Now Rae Carruth, a little under 20 years later, is free, walking the streets. I’m sure he is on parole and has constraints and conditions but he’s free, and alive. It just doesn’t seem fair. I’m usually someone who believes everyone deserves a second chance but this just doesn’t seem right. If you think about it how would Carruth have to do, what kind of penance would he have to deliver in order for him to make up for this? He’s only 44, still a young man by most standards, but does he even have enough time to make up for this?

Probably not.

Editorial: How Many Games Should Tom Brady Be Suspended For The Astros “Spy Phone” Scandal

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So in case you have not heard the biggest non-baseball story coming out of the ALCS, the Houston Astros basically planted a spy who had a camera in his phone (??!!!!) in the credentialed media area near the Sox dug out at Fenway and he was snapping pictures of signs or something for Houston’s use. (Editor’s note: Red gave his take on the allegations the other day.)

You can read about it here , courtesy of Sb Nation, if you like. It is truly a despicable, unethical, borderline treasonous case of a baseball team sullying the great game of baseball, our national past time. But that is not why we are here. We are here to ask the obvious question: what should Tom Brady’s penalty for this heinous atrocity be?

First there was Spy Gate. Which was a Belichick story but probably masterminded by Brady. Then there was Deflate-Gate, what we THOUGHT was Brady’s Magnum Opus, where he actually mutilated official game equipment to attain a competitive edge. But now this. Now the Astros have placed a spy next to their opponent’s, the home team no less, dugout in order to steal signs and warn their batter that a 1000mph fastball might be rocketed in their general direction. What a Godless man Tom Brady is.

If I know Roger Goodell? At least a season suspension. Possibly two. If he wants to timidly limp back onto the football field after that, disgraced and old, then fine. But there is no way Tom Brady cannot pay for what the Houston Astros have done. There’s just no way.

If only there were an attorney good enough to get Brady out of this, but alas. Our QB is doomed by his own behavior. Maybe next time he will think before the ”Stros put a man with a spy phone camera thing in the credentialed media area.

I weep for the next generation.

Yours truly,
-Joey B.

 

 

#BaseballGuy: Joey B Reviews the Red Sox Postseason Thus Far

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New York Times – In arguably the best game of his life, Price led the Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the A.L.C.S., to clinch the series, four games to one, and capture the team’s 14th American League pennant.

As a renowned #baseball fan (I usually start watching in August), I can tell you this is one of the most exciting postseasons in recent memory. We played the Yankees, who still suck I should add, for the 1st time in over a decade and sent 30,000 guidos home crying while Ol’ Blue Eyes sang to us while we celebrated. Next, we went up against the vaunted and absolutely CRUISING Houston Astros. Two fantastic staffs of pitchers and two line ups filled with dangerous bats and what did we do? Put them away in a gentlemanly five games. JBJ got hot, the whole outfield was flying around the field like ferrari, and when it mattered most and we had to put them away J.D Martinez got on base three times as part of an excellent offensive effort that also included the kid Raffy Devers going yard on Justin Verlander.

It was David Price’s night, however. According to a Friend of the Blog, the legendary and prolific Patty B, this was David Price’s first post season victory. That doesn’t sound quiiiiite right (Editor’s note: It was his first postseason win as a starter.) but he certainly cannot be described as “clutch”. I can’t lie, I hated signing Price from day one. He never seemed to be as good as billed and I never like to join forces with the enemy, as he was to us while in Tampa, I want to beat them. He has pitched well this year however, and yesterday he went deep into the game, pitching six scoreless and striking out NINE, leaving Houston’s offense absolutely befuddled.

I know our bullpen is a cause for concern; just saying that is a bit of a paradox as currently our bullpen rotation is mostly made up of our starters that didn’t start on a given day (sup Frederick Porcello?). You know what though? They’ve been good enough. They’ve gotten us this far into the post-season. Kimbrel, and Barnes, and Kelly, and the guy whose name whose name Red’s phone auto-corrected to “Brazzers” in a group chat have been nothing short of effective so far and have been a huge part in earning us a chance to win another championship. So hat fucking tip to those guys.

Seriously though, this has been some truly exciting and memorable #baseball. It reminds me of the absolute dogfights the Garnett/Pierce/Allen Celtics got in for what seemed like 10 years. So let’s buckle up and get ready for what should be a gem of a World Series.

-Joey B

P.S – I hate to rag on the guy because I am nothing if not a champion of the working man, but how excruciating was the camera man last night? There were two or three times the Astros got a solid piece and sent one to the warning track but the cameraman panned from the outfield to the upper deck, giving me and the aforementioned Mr. Blackouts a fucking heart attack. Like hey man, can we not overreact this badly. Geesh.

Loyalty is Dead: 40 is Pusha T’s Deepthroat

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Complex – Pusha-T claims he actually first learned of Drake‘s son, which he then mentioned in his “Story of Adidon” diss track, thanks to Noah “40” Shebib.

First a quick history lesson.

Almost all blue-blooded Americans know the story of the Watergate Scandal, the saga of corruption and unethical behavior that brought down President Richard M. Nixon. Most, although I would guess less so, also know Nixon was exposed in large part by two young investigative journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who gained most of their information from a mysterious source they communicated with in clandestine meetings and referred to as “Deep Throat”. It was either before porn took off or people had any sense of what a good BJ was, not sure which. Either way I doubt it caused as much of a giggle fest back then. Anyway, “Deep Throat”, as some suspected, finally revealed himself in 2005 to be Mark Felt, the 2nd in command of the FBI at the time of the Watergate Scandal. Pretty big news.

Now, acclaimed rapper, former dealer, Drake hater. and possible crazy person Pusha T has come out and stated that he had his own Deep Throat. What’s more, Push claims that it was not Kanye West who spilled the beans about Drake’s love child, as Aubrey claimed to some fuckboy in a barber shop, but that it was Drake’s right hand man and producer, Noah “40” Shebib.  Ouch.

Now I don’t know if this was true, and even if it was how much malice was behind it. I don’t think anyone, including Wheelchair Jimmy, knew Pusha T had beef with Drake before he dropped a random diss track.

Maybe even 40 was tipsy and let it slip, not thinking it was the deep dark secret Drake made it out to be. I mean really it is his fault. He’s fucking Drake. This was going to come out. Why even bother try and hide it?

Maybe just maybe, though, this is as nasty as it sounds. Drake has been using some other producers, trying some new stuff. I’d even be lying if I said I didn’t miss “Thank Me Later” and “So Far Gone” -era Drizzy. It’s possible 40 took exception to that. It’s also possible he took A LOT of exception to that. We’ll know soon enough.

Either way loyalty is dead. Vinateri went to the Colts. Johnny Damon and his noodle arm went to the Yankees. Now 40 has turned his back, possibly, on Drake. The biggest split in music since Lennon and McCartney.

My God have mercy on all of us.

(O wait Stephen Hawking said he doesn’t exist).

-Joey B

The 300s Bloggers’ Is Nathan Peterman Elite? Fantasy Football Round Up – Week 6

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Welcome back. Let’s first address today’s dedication.

I liked Nathan Peterman coming out of school. Prototypically sized, decent-armed QB from a blue collar school like Pitt. Thought he could be a good spot starter in the NFL, maybe even mold himself into a late blooming starting QB. So far I have been drastically wrong. Not in my evaluation of his talents, no. Take a look at the TD he threw Sunday. Absolute seed. No, the problem with Peterman is he cannot get out of his own way to save his life. If he just “regular sucked”, for lack of better terminology, I think analysts and fans alike would say he has potential. Instead, he throws a stupefying number of pick 6’s. It’s almost a constant at this point. He could go 10-21/200/1 and people would say, “you know what, kid might have something.” But noooope, not Nate, he prefers the 10/21/200/2/4 pick 6’s. Like what the fuck man. JUST STOP IT.

Any way here’s the round up.


Big Z

A play in three acts.

Me with 106 points Sunday at 4.

Me with 111 points and a 17 point lead after Sunday night.

Me after the two-minute warning of the Monday night game when Aaron Rodgers and my undefeated opponent pulled ahead of me for the win.

No bad beats or bad plays this week that will have the league office questioning my competence to run a fantasy football franchise. Just a tough loss to a great team. We’re on to Week 7.

Papa Giorgi

3-0 for the first time since week 1! I’ve never felt more alive. Yeah, my real life QB Josh Allen is dead and the never ending Nathan Peterman experiment rolls on, but at least i’m on my way to making some money. Aaron Rodgers played like an angel last night and I was able to steal the W thanks to a last minute game winning kick by Mason Crosby.

Joey B

Everyone from LA to Boston said Matt Breida wasn’t going to play, so I, much like Mattes and the rest of the “Why The Fuck Did I Pick Jordan Howard” Club, tried to get cute. I took a flier on Alfred Morris for the week. Welp, Breida and some absolute NO NAME played and Morris did not get A. Single. Carry. I got beat. 3-3. I’m not having fun anymore.

Red

So after ripping on Eli Manning all week long for never really being an elite quarterback outside of two hot streaks in years that shant be named, I went against all of my better judgement and started him in fantasy anyways. I was in a bind as my QB was on a bye so it was either Eli, Bortles or Danold. Welp, Eli promptly shit the bed, didn’t throw a touchdown and finished with 11 points. And I STILL WON, mainly because the other guy started the other bum on the waiver wire in Bortles.

Mattes

So, I started Amari Cooper again… I’m now 1-5. I also invested a lot in guys like Jordan Howard, Carlos Hyde, and Keelan Cole. It’s just not working out this year, but at least I traded Antonio Brown for an extra second-round pick next year. This year’s squad is absolute hot garbage, though.

Fortunately, I’m 4-2 in my other league after my opponent started TWO guys who were announced as inactives just before game time. That’s why you always gotta pay attention right up to kickoff, folks. I’ll take the gift, though, and I got both Ingram and Thomas coming back from a bye this week. (Also, how about Sony Michel??!! Kid’s a beasttttt.)