Category: Boston

World Series Champion Red Sox Keep On Winning, Two-Thirds of Their Outfield is Now Gold Plated

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Boston.com – Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Kinsler have won Gold Gloves for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

It’s the third straight for Betts in right field. Kinsler got his second Gold Glove at second base, and Bradley won for the first time in center.

Press play to get the full Gold Glove experience

The Red Sox continued their winning ways last night as they took home two (three if you count Ian Kinsler) Gold Gloves to go along with their recent World Series hardware. The recipients of those golden trophies were none other than center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and right fielder Mookie Betts. Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, the rest is covered by JBJ and Mookie.

Seriously though, for all the talk about how elite Boston’s outfield defense is, this is a great rubber stamp on a season filled with insane defensive plays. JBJ has a rolodex of SportsCenter Top 10 plays…

But Mookie’s most recent web gem may take the cake with his ALCS Game 4 game saving catch, which he didn’t technically catch.

As we all know the umps ruled the batter was out on fan interference. Let me repeat that. The ump ruled that if not for some guy in the first row Mookie Betts, without a doubt, makes one of the greatest catches in postseason history. That, my friends, is a gold glove. What doesn’t hurt his case is the fact that he essentially made the same play the next night in Game 5.

Not to mention, for a guy thats only 5’9″ and 180 pounds he has a cannon for an arm. You legitimately cannot run on this man.

You would think for a team with two Gold Glovers patrolling the outfield grass, the third guy would just be some hulking slugger who can’t bend over to tie his own shoes. Nope. Instead they got this guy:

Good luck getting a bloop single past these three guys over the next decade.

Well deserved gold, boys.

Drunk Red Sox Fan Ruins it for Everyone By Breaking the World Series Trophy

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Throwing beers to players on the Duckboats was funny when guys like Gronk were catching and just guzzling them in everyone’s face.

It started to become a bit of a “thing” as I saw beers and nips flying into the Duckboats during yesterday’s Red Sox parade. Harmless enough right? Well then people just started firing beers at players on the boats without even taking aim first.

Well needless to say one fan took it too far and ruined it for everyone by rifling a beer off the fucking World Series trophy.

12 ounce Bud Light cans will in fact Do Damage.

Welp it would seem like that little drunken tradition is on its way out now. Come on people this is our 11th parade in the last 18 years! Celebrate right for me one time!

David Price Officially Opts Into Red Sox Contract

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NESN – David Price’s redemption tour will continue right where it began. The Boston Red Sox pitcher removed any uncertainty about his future Wednesday, declaring ahead of the team’s World Series championship parade he won’t exercise the opt-out clause in his contract and will remain with the team. “I’m opting in,” Price said, via Chris Mason of the The Eagle-Tribune. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to win here. We did that this year and I want to do it again.” Price has four years and $127 million remaining on the seven-year, $217 million contract he signed with Boston in 2016. He had until midnight Wednesday to decide whether to continue on that contract or to opt out and hit free agency, but it appears he’s already made his decision.

This should come as no surprise because the guy finally conquered his biggest demons on in the postseason, which has been the bane of his existence for the past 3 years. He’s finally figured it out in the playoffs, why leave now? All the grief David Price has taken over the years has been almost entirely rooted in his postseason failures. It would not shock me one bit to see him have a John Lackey type turnaround with Red Sox fans.

But theres also the fact that over his first three seasons with Boston, Price has gone 39-19 with a 3.74 ERA.

  • 2016
    • 17-9
    • 3.99 ERA
    • 228 K’s
    • 35 Starts and 230 IP
  • 2017
    • 6-3
    • 3.38 ERA
    • 76 K’s
    • 11 Starts and 74.2 IP
  • 2018
    • 16-7
    • 3.58 ERA
    • 177 K’s
    • 30 Starts and 176 IP

Not terrible numbers, but not exactly elite. Sure some of those ERA numbers are inflated by a few horrendous starts, but they all count. Price has shown he is prone to streaky pitching though where he follows up a bad month with stretches of being untouchable.

Those numbers coupled with the fact Price is now 33-years-old would make it unlikely for him command the same $127 Million over 4 years on the open market. Plus it seems like his teammates genuinely like the guy so you put all those factors together and it’s no surprise David Price chose to stay with the Sox. Not to mention with 2 straight years of health issues for Chris Sale down the stretch, the Sox are in no position to be jettisoning starters.

David Price does indeed hold all the cards now.

Whitey Bulger Murdered in Prison at 89 Years Old

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NBC News – Notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was found dead at a federal prison in West Virginia Tuesday, federal officials said. Bulger, 89, had recently arrived at the high-security penitentiary USP Hazelton in West Virginia, according to the Boston Herald. The feared former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, Bulger was convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders stretching from Massachusetts to Florida to Oklahoma.

And so it ends exactly how it went all along. James J. “Whitey” Bulger, either a modern Robin Hood or a sociopathic mass murderer, depending on who you ask, will finally meet his maker.

He was recently moved from Florida to Oklahoma City and was in West Virginia at the time. It is kind of a fitting end if you think about: probably bloody, a little cloak and dagger, and with cops holding their dicks wondering how the fuck it could happen.

For my generation, whose parents grew up at the same time Bulger ascended to Mob power, we have a pretty odd lens through which we view the whole thing. I have the VAGUEST of lucid memories from when he took off when I was about six years old. I have much, much stronger ones of my parents, grandparents, etc. over the years shaking their heads at the latest news story claiming the Feds had a lead on him, “they’ll never catch him,” they’d say. Or, more commonly, “They don’t want to catch him. He has too much on them.”

So now the final chapter has been written. It’s all over. Maybe we’ll get a a prologue on who did it. A LOT of speculation on who arranged it, whether it was an old associate finally serving some ice cold revenge, or, more likely, a high-up government official who still feared Whitey had one last card to play in his deck of corrupt bureaucrats .

But you know what? “Cops or criminals…..when you’re looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, what’s the difference?”

-Joey B.

The Red Sox Are Boom Roasting Everyone on Twitter Who Doubted Them

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**checks my Twitter mentions with one eye closed**

I am a huge proponent of being petty. Holding a grudge is what makes winning all that sweeter, rubbing it in the faces of Yankees fans and haters alike. So I can respect this from the Red Sox. Hall of Fame petty move by the team here, just smoking fools on Twitter who doubted the team after one game.

And I have to admit, I was certainly one of those guys.

Welp, thats why they play for seven months. From Opening Day disaster to World Series Champions!

These Are the Best Red Sox World Series Videos (So Far)

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These videos will be rolling in for awhile, and thats before we even get to Wednesday’s Duckboats parade, but as of right now these are the best Red Sox World Series videos (so far).

Checking In on the Celtics After First Two Weeks of Action

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Image result for kyrie irving

The Celtics 2018 season has been officially underway for about two weeks now, but with everyone focusing on the 2018 WORLD CHAMPION Boston Red Sox and the 5-2 Patriots lately, the C’s have gotten a bit lost in the shuffle.

Never fear! That’s why ya boy Mattes is here to catch you up to speed.

Off the top, the Green are currently sitting second in the Atlantic Division and fourth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 record. (The Toronto Raptors are 6-0, sitting in first place in the division and tied for first in the conference with the Milwaukee Bucks. Kawhi Leonard is absolutely dominating, and our neighbors to the north could definitely be a problem this year.) Besides a very disappointing loss to the Orlando Magic last week, I’m pleased with our record so far.

However, the offense, until Saturday night, has been a bit lackluster. Besides Marcus Morris (more on him in a minute), the team has really struggled shooting the rock, especially from deep. Both Jayson Tatum and Kyrie Irving are shooting less than 30 percent from behind the arc so far this season, and as a team the Celts currently rank second-worst in offensive rating. After two solid showings to start off the year, Jaylen Brown also had a rough three-game stretch wherein he shot 19 percent overall before getting back on track with 19 points against Detroit two nights ago.

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He may still lead the team in points per game (16.7), but Tatum’s yet to rediscover last season’s lethal three-point stroke.

On the flip side, their defense has been top-notch, ranking first in the league with a very solid 96.73 rating. (Basically, this is how many points they should be expected to give up per every 100 possessions, and it is pretty much spot on with the 96.3 points per game they have given up through the first six contests so far.)

In fact, the D has been so good that Blake Griffin – who was off to a ferocious start heading into Saturday night’s contest (33.8 points per game through the Pistons’ first four games) – was held to just seven points by Jaylen Brown this weekend. Opponents are also only hitting 28 percent of their threes against the C’s this year, which is the No. 1 mark in the league.

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Jaylen showed out in Motor City on Saturday night.

So, to sum it up: the defense has been phenomenal so far, and the offense needs to pick it up.

Now, here are few other noteworthy bits from the team’s first half-month of action:

  • Marcus Morris is now officially my new favorite player. I predicted he might very well ascend to such status during the preseason, when he was on a tear and making sure, through both his words AND his play, to set the tone for he and his fellow benchmates this season. Even though he’s technically coming off the pine, he’s currently second on the team with 14.3 points per game and shooting about 50 percent in terms of both field-goal and three-point percentage. This man is on an absolute mission this season, and there’s no doubt who the leader of the newly coined BWA is and will be moving forward.
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That’s right, Marcus. You’ve certainly been backing up that big mouth so far.

  • Gordon Hayward has been solid but unspectacular so far, averaging 11 points on 42 percent shooting through five contests. (He sat out the team’s game against the Knicks to get some extra rest). Most importantly, however, he does not seem to be having any ill effects from the gruesome injury he suffered last year.
  • Another guy trying to make his way back into the rotation after a season-ending injury, Daniel Theis, exploded for 17 points in 19 minutes on Saturday night to go along with eight rebounds. His presence has been especially significant with Aron Baynes being out the past three games due to a hamstring injury. Once Baynes is back in action, the Celtics will have a pretty nice trio of bigs – the third, of course, being Al Horford – to use down low. (AND don’t forget about rookie – and 300s favorite – Robert “Bob” Williams and what he could potentially do, too!)

Again, it’s only been two weeks, so no need to over-exaggerate anything so far – either positively or negatively – as we still have a very long way to go. But, from what we’ve seen so far, I think Celtics Nation is going to be in for a good time this year, as expected.

That’s it for now. Be sure to keep checking in with The 300s for Celtics talk all season long!

Is Dave Dombrowski the Smartest Man Alive or Did He Kinda Sorta Get Lucky?

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This will be one of the most fiercely debated questions when we look back at the 2018 World Series. Is Dave Dombrowski the smartest man alive for the way he built this team or is he just lucky?

Before the playoffs started everyone, myself included, ripped Dombrowski for not making the “big name” move and getting an arm for the bullpen at the trade deadline. And it was a completely justifiable question as this team’s relievers were struggling bad down the stretch. The only guy that you could trust was essentially Craig Kimbrel, who ironically enough you could not trust in the playoffs. Then the playoffs come and they turned into the ’98 Yankees. Some real Freaky Friday shit.

Ryan Brasier, formerly of the Japanese League, became a dominant 7th/8th inning guy out of absolutely nowhere. Joe Kelly went from blowing the first game of the year to excellent to benches clearing brawl spark plug back to awful during the season and almost didn’t even make the postseason roster. Kelly morphed into a triple digit hurling shutdown setup man. And Nathan Eovaldi, who was coming off his SECOND Tommy John Surgery and who the Sox acquired for the immortal Jalen Beeks(!), became “The Rover.” The ultimate weapon out of the bullpen. I honestly don’t know if the Sox win the Series without Eovaldi. For my money (literally) he should have been World Series MVP, which he probably would have won if the Sox took the 18 inning affair in Game 3.

Now my main point is whether we’ll look back at this championship and praise Dombrowski for being a genius with moves like adding Eovaldi and World Series MVP Steve Pearce. Incredible moves. Or will we look back and say wow I can’t believe that actually worked out.

I can’t help but imagine Dealer Dave as Happy Gilmore after this championship run though. Looootta luck involved.

Dave Dombrowksi:

Plus I would argue most, if not all, of the credit should go to Alex Cora. The way he managed that bullpen was absolutely flawless, if not dangerous. I heard Cora use the phrase “All in, all the time” and it just perfectly captures what this team was doing. From the very first game in the ALDS, Cora was bringing out starters rather than trust it to a traditional bullpen guy. He had David Price starting, relieving, or warming up in just about every single World Series game, then brought in their ace in Chris Sale to close it out. You just don’t see that.

So yes ultimately Dombrowski’s moves paid off in the end, but without Alex Cora and all the shrewd managerial moves he made, I think this team falters much earlier on and Dombrowski is on the hottest of hot seats.

PS – Jon Wallach made a great point on Toucher and Rich this morning. It looks like Cora may have established the new norm for how to manage a bullpen in the playoffs. You never see this habitual usage of starters in the playoffs outside of Game 7 scenarios. Now, as Wallach said, you could very easily wreck your staff by the sheer amount of usage, but hey it worked.