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Big Z

I Think the Sox Are Back

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The Red Sox have won 12 out of their last 14 games and are 11-2 in August. They are now a season-high 18 games over .500, and four games ahead of the New York Yankees in the AL East. Almost more important, though, is the fact that this team has had three walk-off wins during this hot stretch (four walk-off wins if you go back 17 games and include the Kansas City Royals series).

A couple of walk-off wins and walk-off home runs really do help turn an unlikable group of overpaid whiners into a plucky band dirt dogs.

Tom Werner must be pumped to see these “more exciting” wins, especially when he’s watching NESN at Morty Seinfeld’s condo in Del Boca Vista.

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Of course it doesn’t hurt to have your #1 prospect come up, fill a giant panda sized hole in your lineup and still exceed everyone’s expectations. And it doesn’t hurt that your “underwhelming” trade-deadline pickup has hit .372 with four home runs since coming to town.

Throw in a viral pregame ceremony, and you’ve really got some buzz going for this team. Finally.

This weekend’s Yankees series has a chance to be the biggest Red Sox – Yankees series in years. The Red Sox and Yankees haven’t finished in some combination of first and second place in the AL East since 2009. With Drew Pomeranz going for the Sox on Friday and Chris Sale going on Saturday, the Red Sox have their best two pitchers going this weekend and have a real good chance to put more distance between themselves and the Yankees.

Putting more distance between themselves and the Yankees this weekend is very important. After this series, the Red Sox travel to Cleveland for four games against the Indians. The Indians are a likely first-round playoff opponent for the Red Sox, again, and Francona’s squad always play the Red Sox tough. That series could actually be a tougher test for the Sox than the Yankees series.

 

 

Good Monday Morning Red Sox Nation!

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The Red Sox are 9-1 in August. They’ve won 10 of their last 11 games.  The arrival of Eduardo Nunez and the ascension of Rafael Devers have helped jump start a sluggish offense. Devers’s home run off Chapman in the 9th inning last night was the first home run Chapman allowed to a left handed hitter since 2011, and just the second he has allowed to a lefty in his career. And the pitch was 103 mph. And Devers hit it out to the opposite field. NBD.

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The Sox are also 11-3 since David Price went to the disabled list. Chris Sale did his part again last night, striking out a dozen. Pomeranz got the job done in a a blowout win Saturday. He’s having the best year of his career. And Eduardo Rodriguez deserved a win on Friday night, but the bullpen couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. If/when Price returns, he better have a short leash. This team that was unlikable not even three weeks ago now has an identity and some chemistry. They can’t let Price break that up.

It’s a good Monday morning for Red Sox fans. If John Farrell can brush up on the rule book, this team might be unstoppable.

 

It’s Over – The Worst New Product of 2017 Is Here

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TODAY.com – The latest wacky pickle product is something Walmart is calling “Tropickles,” a summer release featuring cucumber pickles floating in a jar of red fruit punch. The pickles, which were released July 14, are now being sold under the discount retailer’s Great Value brand. 

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I love trying outrageous new food and beverage products. I’ve yet to find a new Oreo flavor that I can’t eat a whole sleeve of in one sitting. I admire Taco Bell for its tireless efforts in innovation and for bringing new and creative products to life, like the Doritos Locos Tacos. I’ve enjoyed a few Not Your Father’s Root Beers, and know that Dougie can’t wait to get his hands on some Not Your Father’s Mountain Ale.

I love it when companies and restaurants take chances. But fruit punch flavored pickles is where I draw the line. Who the hell thought cucumbers in fruit punch flavored vinegar would be a good idea? I’m serious. I can’t think of one reason to try a Tropickle other than just to see how disgusting it is. Maybe I’ll pick up a jar and save it until December and make the guy who finishes in last place in my fantasy football league down it. It can’t be much better than pumpkin spice motor oil.

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So while I’m washing down a McLobster with a Moxie this weekend, I’ll take a pass on Tropickles.

The Players Weekend Uniforms Are Here

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Major League Baseball’s first Players Weekend will take place August 25 through August 27, and the special uniforms and nicknames that will be used that weekend were released on Wednesday. They are… interesting.

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I’ve got no issue with the nicknames. Some nicknames [2-Bags] are better than others [Astro’s Dad], but that’s to be expected. No word on whether or not the managers will be wearing nicknames but it is Players Weekend™, so I say let the players pick manager nicknames, too. I’d love to see John Farrell in full FML mode wearing a “Manager John” jersey.

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The uniforms, though, are surprising at best and outlandish at worst. I love a good pullover jersey, but contrast color sleeves on a pullover jersey look way out of place.

The colors of the Red Sox jersey aren’t much of a departure from their traditional color scheme, but some of these jerseys are truly hideous. I think the Astros, Rays and Brewers jerseys fall into that category pretty safely.

 

When I first saw these jerseys I thought they looked like cheap fashion jerseys from T.J. Maxx. Unfortunately, that might be the point.

I’d prefer to see nicknames on real jerseys, but if you already have a #15 Red Sox jersey will you buy a new one that says “Laser Show” on the back? Or would you be more likely to buy a new, “special edition” jersey with “Laser Show” on the back? It’s all about hawking merchandise, and MLB is betting the latter.

 

The 300s Reviews: Tropicana Field

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With the Red Sox in St. Petersburg this week for a quick two-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays, The 300s will take a look at the bastard ballpark of baseball, Tropicana Field.

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Though it opened in 1990, there are only seven ballparks left in Major League Baseball that are older than Tropicana Field. It’s one of only three “multipurpose” stadiums still in use and one of only two baseball stadiums that still use artificial turf. It is the last baseball stadium with a fixed roof.

The Rays website claims the venue has hosted 16 other sports and competitions. The Thunderdome, as it was known at the time, was the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 1993 to 1996.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays moved in in 1998, but not before $85 million in renovations. Renovations included the addition of a rotunda inspired by, I kid you not, Ebbets Field.

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It’s hard to forget how bad the Devil Rays were their first ten years, but the team has had some good seasons over the last ten years. They do a good job of trying to incorporate their recent success into displays throughout the stadium.

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My view from the upper level wasn’t bad. I felt closer to the field than I do in the upper level at a lot of other ballparks.

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But it can be a tough place to actually watch a game. The atmosphere was similar to the atmosphere at the South Shore Plaza on a weeknight. Very quiet and very bright. Being so far away from downtown doesn’t help generate any buzz or walk-up ticket sales. And you’re also likely to get yelled at by an octogenarian if you try to get by a slow one in the concourse.

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The Ted Williams Museum & Hitters Hall of Fame is at Tropicana Field and had some interesting items on display, but it looked like it hadn’t been updated much since Ted passed away.

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The ray tank gives fans the opportunity to pet a ray, but I passed on that opportunity. I couldn’t stop thinking about Steve Irwin.

The concourses were wide and seemed to have plenty of food options…

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But I’m going to hold back on giving them too much credit, after this came out on Tuesday:

Tropicana Field often comes in 30th in ballpark rankings, and I won’t argue with that. Teams shouldn’t play in domes where pop ups can hit the roof. It’s hard to believe that Major League Baseball actually agreed to put a baseball team here 20 years ago. It seems like the Rays have been wanting to move out since almost day one.

A lot of the “dome and gloom” talk wouldn’t be so loud, though, if the Rays could draw better crowds on a regular basis. Tropicana Field is a better experience than the Metrodome was in its last years, but Tropicana Field hasn’t hosted two epic World Series and the Rays don’t have the same fan support the Minnesota Twin have. The Twins were actually fifth in the American League in attendance in 2009, their last year at the Metrodome.

Maybe the Rays don’t have that support because it’s felt like they’ve had one foot out the door for the last decade. But a new ballpark wouldn’t fix the issues with fan support by itself. Marlins Park is only a few years old and already features large swaths of empty seats on a regular basis. The Marlins are currently dead last in the National League in attendance. The only teams behind them in attendance in the major leagues are the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays.

[Maybe Florida doesn’t need two baseball teams, but that’s another topic for another day.]

Tropicana Field may deserve a lot of the ridicule it receives, but it doesn’t deserve all of it. Tropicana Field is trying to work with what it has, but there are larger issues at play than just the hot dog stands and the scoreboard. Still, its days are numbered.

Big Z Ballpark Rating – 2.8

We’re Talking About Patriots Practice

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ESPN – It didn’t take long for one of the newest members of the New England Patriots to make some noise in training camp.

Defensive back Stephon Gilmore, who signed a five-year, $65 million deal with the team in March, tangled with wide receiver and fan favorite Julian Edelman, resulting in the ejection of both players from Tuesday morning’s practice session…

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a non-negotiable practice rule: No fights. If you do fight, you are ejected.

I like it. Would a team with a Super Bowl hangover get this fired up in practice less than a week into training camp? I don’t think so.

In one corner you’ve got Julian Edelman, the scrappy 7th round draft pick who played his college ball as a QB in the MAC. Two Super Bowl rings haven’t tamed his drive. The 232nd overall pick didn’t make the team, and stay on the team for eight years, without some serious dedication and drive.

In the other corner you’ve got Stephon Gilmore, the new guy who signed a $65 million deal with the Patriots in March. The former first-round pick made his first Pro Bowl last year and is known for his physical play.

According to Mike Reiss’s story:

[T]he fiery wide receiver took exception to Gilmore’s physical play and wrestled him to the ground before coaches and teammates separated the two.

Both players’ helmets were off by the end of the scuffle.

It’s understandable that two guys like this would get into a training-camp scuffle. The scrappy vet versus the physical new guy. I don’t think it’s an issue. I think it’s great to see that Edelman, 31, isn’t slowing down or backing down, and that Gilmore isn’t taking crap from anyone. He might take some 15 yard penalties in the fall, but that’s okay every once in a while.

The Patriots have been so good for so long, it seems like training camp often comes and goes without anything notable happening. I’m hopeful that this is a good sign that this team is still hungry, and will be ready to roll on September 7.

David Price’s Elbow Conveniently Acting Up as Red Sox Start Homestand

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This will be an interesting story to watch develop throughout the day.

The Red Sox have had lots of bad contracts since John Henry and company bought the team. Carl Crawford and Pablo Sandoval were both huge letdowns in Boston. John Lackey was a vocal malcontent who did nothing to endear himself to fans, but at least he was able to ignore the noise and revive his career in 2013. In doing so, he earned the begrudging respect of fans. But David Price is different.

I don’t see any way this David Price situation can be salvaged. I don’t see any way David Price can man up the way John Lackey did. Price must not own a mirror, because in his world, everyone else is the problem. Mean tweets, mean things Evan Drellich wrote, mean things Dennis Eckersley said, those are the real things holding Price and this team back. Not his astounding lack of focus and effort. Skipping tonight’s start and leaving his team out to dry on 12 hours notice would be just another middle finger David Price could give to this team and its fans.

There have been lots of players who came to Boston and didn’t live up to the hype. But where there was disappointment with the play of Julio Lugo and JD Drew, it feels like fans are actively rooting against David Price at this point. I know I am. I am an unapologetic Red Sox fan, but I do not suffer fools gladly.

This Red Sox team is full of fake tough guys right now, and David Price is Exhibit A. David Price knows how tough this game is. It’s much tougher than him. That’s why he might not pitch with a boo-boo. He wouldn’t want to risk anything more serious.

But I hope David Price does take the ball tonight and gets whacked by the Royals. It’s high time for this guy to take his medicine. Eventually John Lackey dropped the act and got his head on straight. It took him a full season with a 6.41 ERA to figure it out, but he did. We’ll see what it takes to get David Price to that point.

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