Category: Boston

Six Thoughts From Championship Sunday

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After yet another Patriots comeback and an epic Eagles beatdown in Philadelphia the matchup for Super Bowl LII is set. For the Patriots, the Blitz for Six is fully on.  For the Eagles, it’s a chance to cap off a Cinderella run with a back-up quarterback as they look to claim their first Super Bowl championship. Now that I’ve had a a few hours to digest both games from yesterday, here are a few thoughts from championship Sunday.

Tom Brady’s Hand Is A-OK

Like Belichick said, Brady’s injury didn’t require open-heart surgery but you wouldn’t know it by the way the team talked about it during the week. Especially with Brady wearing Hamburger Helper gloves to his Friday press conference and telling reporters “we’ll see” when asked if he would play. As a Patriots fan I understand the need to control the flow of information to prevent the opponent from gaining any advantage, but this smug routine does get old at times. I can’t blame the rest of the country for getting sick of it.

Back to Brady, he looked great yesterday. Even with the early deficit Brady looked great out of the gate. He completed 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. The zero interceptions stat might get underplayed this week. Despite his better than 3-to-1 TD-to-INT rate during the regular season, it’s just better than 2-to-1 in the postseason. The first two games of this postseason might just be the best two games he has ever had to open a postseason.

Danny Amendola Is A Playoff Beast

Can’t disagree with Dion Lewis. It’s hard to think of another player who has upped his game in the playoffs as much as Amendola has. While certainly a good player, he’s never been selected to a Pro Bowl. In 111 regular season games Amendola has averaged 3.8 receptions per game, 37.0 yards per game and has scored 19 touchdowns. In 12 playoff games, all with New England, he’s averaged 4.1 receptions, 46.4 yards and has scored 6 touchdowns.

In just this post season he’s got 2 touchdowns and is averaging 9 receptions and 98 yards per game. Without Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, it was Amendola who helped Brady pull yesterday’s game out of the fire.

James Harrison Came Up Big

ESPN.com – After totaling three tackles and a quarterback hit against the Jaguars, Harrison has 11 tackles in three games with the Patriots. He has shown a knack for pressing opposing quarterbacks late in games, in obvious passing situations.

Last Hurrah for the Patriots Second Triumvirate

The same exact thought went through my head when I saw that hug. It would seem all but certain that this triumvirate’s final act is coming up. Against the Eagles. To make it 3-out-of-4  for the Patriots.

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When it’s all said and done and they’re making the Brady/Belichick 30 for 30, I’d be interested to see Belichick compare this triumvirate to the Patriots First Triumvirate of himself, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. Weis and Crennel were Belichick’s contemporaries. McDaniels and Patricia have been his students, his prodigies. How does that affect their relationships, the decision making processes? Also, does it explain the 10 year gap in championships? The First Triumvirate was in place 2001-2004. The Second Triumvirate has been in place since 2012.

Did Case Keenum Play His Way Out of Minnesota Last Night?

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I certainly think so. It was a nice story and a fun run, but how can you hand him the keys to that franchise? With all the momentum the Vikings had from the game-winning touchdown against New Orleans the week before, Keenum hit Kyle Rudolph for a 25-yard touchdown to go up 7-0 on Philadelphia last night. Minnesota then gets the ball back up 7-0.

Keenum then proceeds to throw a pick-six and the rest of the game went to hell in a hand basket for the Vikings. Keenum would throw another pick and lose a fumble as the Eagles scored 38 unanswered points. His final numbers were 28-of-48 passing for a TD with 2 INTs.

Up until last night that Minnesota defense looked legitimate. Mike Zimmer seems like a solid head coach who doesn’t do stupid things to give games away (see Tomlin, Mike). If I were him, I’d take my chances and go quarterback shopping this offseason. It’s a formula that has worked well for other teams in similar situations before, most recently the Denver Broncos in 2016.

Which Nick Foles Will the Patriots See?

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In his three starts to close the regular season Foles completed only 47 of his 87 pass attempts (54.02%), but did throw 5 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. In two playoff games he’s completed 49 of 63 pass attempts (77.78%) and thrown 3 TDs and no picks. Has he “figured it out?”

Blake Bortles went 13-of-15 for 155 yards and a touchdown in the first half against the Patriots yesterday, but just 10-of-21 for 138 yards in the second half. Will the Patriots be able to make similar adjustments on Foles? Will they have to?

 

Taking a Look at the 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

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While I don’t have a ballot to cast, for the second straight year I have taken a look at all of the players on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame Ballot. I figured if I’m going to gripe about the Hall of Fame selection process I might as well fill out a mock ballot myself to get a better handle on the process.

It’s not rocket science but there are some tough decision to be made. Voters may vote for up to 10 of the 33 players on the ballot. I selected eight on my mock ballot. They are:

Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Vladimir Guerrero
Chipper Jones
Curt Schilling
Sammy Sosa
Jim Thome
Billy Wagner

Obviously I’m not opposed to voting for suspected steroids users. I voted for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens because, whether or not they used steroids, Bonds was indisputably the best hitter in the game for much of his career and Clemens was indisputably the best pitcher in the game for much of his career. The same cannot be said for Manny Ramirez.

Bonds won seven MVP awards, including FOUR in a row 2001-2004. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards and won the award back-to-back on two occasions, a decade apart. Ramirez never won an MVP award and quit on his team more times than I care to remember. He was also popped for PEDs twice. While strong cases could be made against Bonds and Clemens, those guys never failed drug tests. Testing didn’t start until 2003, but I have a hard time giving guys grief for doing business as business was being done at the time.

Maybe numbers were inflated, and careers extended, but Bonds and Clemens were far and away better than the rest of their contemporaries. Again, the same cannot be said of Ramirez.

Regarding Sammy Sosa, he won the 1998 NL MVP award and is the only man in history with three 60+ home run seasons. Sosa played in the same era as Bonds so he is not the best player of his era, but few players ever were as dominant as Sosa was for six straight seasons, 1998-2003.

Vladimir Guerrero made nine all-star games in 12 seasons between 1999 and 2010. He was a great offensive player and had one hell of an arm in the outfield. He didn’t compile huge numbers over a lengthy career, but he was one of the best players of the 2000s and he gets my vote for that reason.

Jim Thome was never the best player at his position, never mind the best player in the game. But he did compile huge numbers over a lengthy career. Mammoth numbers. He’s not in the 500 Home Run Club. He’s in the 600 Home Run Club. He’s eighth on the all-time home run list with 612. He also drove in nearly 1700 runs. He never won an MVP award, but it’s hard to not vote for a guy with those numbers on his resume. Guy just went to work and mashed for 22 years.

Chipper Jones was consistently very good for more than 15 years and was a big part of Atlanta’s run of division titles. The 1995 NL MVP made eight all-star teams, and I was pleasantly surprised by his 468 home runs and 1623 RBI.

As I said last year, Curt Schilling gets my vote because he was the best big-game pitcher of his era. He was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason appearances and won a ring in Arizona before winning two with the Sox. Now a noted meme curator, it’s been sad to see him self destruct in recent years but he’s a Hall of Famer nonetheless.

And in a flip from last year, I voted for Billy Wagner this year instead of Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman appeared on 74% of ballots last year and Wagner only appeared on 10% of ballots but Wagner was the better relief pitcher. The only number Hoffman has on Wagner is saves. Hoffman saved 601 games in 18 years and Wagner saved 422 in 16 years. But Wagner had a better win-loss percentage, a substantially lower ERA, he struck out more batters in almost 200 fewer innings, had a lower WHIP and a better strikeout-to-walk ratio. I know that Hoffman is getting in and Wagner probably won’t sniff even 20% but I’m taking a principled stand here. Wagner was better than Hoffman.

Regarding some notable candidates left off my ballot…

Edgar Martinez was a very good player for a long period of time but he wasn’t even the best player on his own team for most of his career (Griffey, A-Rod, Ichiro). There’s just not enough offensive production on his resume to separate him from the rest of the pack for me. It has nothing to do with being a DH, though.

Mike Mussina pitched very well in an era of inflated offense but he was never the most feared pitcher in the game, and he never won a Cy Young award.

Gary Sheffield posted very good offensive numbers for a long period of time, but it’s hard to think he would’ve bounced around as much as he did if he were truly one of the all-time greats. (Editor’s note: Dougie did his capstone project in a college Baseball Stats class arguing Sheffield should make the HOF. The most comparable HOFer? Jim Rice)

Larry Walker posted very good offensive numbers, but a lot of that production came in Colorado in the late 1990s. To give you an idea of what was going on in that era, he hit .379 with 37 HRs and 115 RBI in 127 games in 1999 and finished 10th in the MVP voting that season. He was a very good player in his era, but not head and shoulders above everybody else.

 

That’s all I got. Hit me up with your thoughts on Twitter @The300sBigZ

Friday Morning Randomness – Bombogenesis Edition

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I know a lot of people who could use the services of Mr. Plow today. The same people that told me what a moron I was to rent an apartment in the city. I don’t hear from them on days like this, though.

While I’m writing this they’re breaking their backs shoveling snow. When they finish clearing out their driveways I’ll be sipping on an Irish coffee during the first Showcase Showdown, enjoying my snow day. Renting isn’t perfect, but not having to lift a shovel on days like this is a major perk.

Close But No Cigar For El Tiante

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Lost in between the news of Giancarlo Stanton’s trade to New York and the Patriots tough defeat in Miami over the last few days was the fact that Luis Tiant was up for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame again. Unfortunately for Tiant and his fans, his Hall of Fame candidacy came up short once again. Looking at his numbers, though, that’s the right call.

Tiant played for 19 seasons, but only received Cy Young Award votes on three occasions and never took the award home. He didn’t receive any Cy Young Award votes after arguably his best season, 1968, but that had more to do Denny McLain going 31-6 and pitching 28 complete games. Tough luck for Tiant I suppose, but he had some pretty lean years too. He went 9-20 a year later in 1969 and got off to a rocky start in Boston in 1971.

Looking at all of his seasons on Baseball-Reference.com, Tiant had some great years and some not so great years but was generally a pretty good pitcher for 17 years. He was a big part of a very fun time in Red Sox history and is rightfully a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, that doesn’t get you into Cooperstown. You can be brilliant over a shorter career – Sandy Koufax, Pedro – or you can compile stats over a longer career – Nolan Ryan, Tom Glavine – but Tiant gets caught in between in no man’s land.

The fact that baseball fans and writers have been debating Tiant’s Hall of Fame resume for literally 30 years is a great example of how broken the voting system is.  At least it appears to have gotten this one right.

Check back later this month for my mock Hall of Fame ballot.  You can see who I would’ve voted for last year here.

BREAKING NEWS – Red Sox Come To Agreement with Sam Adams

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Another day, another out of touch Red Sox tweet. While the Yankees were trading for Giancarlo Stanton and the Angels were negotiating with Shohei Ohtani and improving their teams, the Red Sox had other business to tend to. They had to lock down an official beer sponsor!

Fenway Park is starting to feel like the Finer Things Club. Now we can enjoy a Sam Heavy to go with our Lobster Poutine or Fenway Farms Kale Salad.

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I don’t know about you, but I have enough trouble trying to eat a hot dog in the bleachers without getting mustard on the guy next to me. Who the hell is messing around with forks and knives to eat a salad on their lap? I’d rather eat a salad on the Green Line than in my seat at Fenway Park.

How much does Red Sox ownership look down on their Bud Light swilling fan base? Enough of this high brow stuff. If you can’t get me a hot dog for less than five bucks, stop telling me about the official $13 beer of the Boston Red Sox.

I might be more enthused if Sam Adams were going to brew a Fenway Park exclusive, but it sounds like regular old Sam Heavy – Boston Lager. Been there, done that. I know it’s Jim Koch’s favorite but there are so many more exciting options they could have gone with.

Another option entirely would have been Harpoon. At least then the official beer of the Boston Red Sox would actually be brewed in Boston, as opposed to Cincinnati or Lehigh Valley.

Red Sox Twitter Needs to Stay Calm

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The Yankees acquiring Giancarlo Stanton is obviously huge news and not great news for the Red Sox. The Yankees have acquired the reigning National League MVP for pennies on the dollar because they can eat salary better than any other team in professional sports. That’s tough for Red Sox fans to stomach, but it’s nothing new for fans of the other 28 teams in Major League Baseball.

The Yankees have obviously gotten [much] better while the Red Sox are still looking for their power bat, but can we stop the histrionics? I get it, it’s frustrating to see the Yankees payroll go up every year at a faster rate than college tuition, but can we stop talking about the Yankees like they’re going to hit 300 home runs next year and win 130 games? Last time I checked, Stanton doesn’t play nine positions.

I’m old enough to remember the last time the Yankees swung a trade to pick up a reigning MVP. In early 2004 Alex Rodriguez, like Stanton today, was a reigning MVP entering his age-28 season. I remember Bob Lobel holding a town hall meeting on Sports Final with Steve Buckley (or maybe it was Tony Massarotti) to calm down Red Sox fans. If my memory serves me well, Buckley (or Mazz) said that it all comes down to pitching and that the Yankees pitching staff didn’t get any better after they picked up A-Rod.

Whoever it was, they were right. On the backs of Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Keith Foulke it was the Red Sox who hoisted the commissioner’s trophy in October of 2004. It took the Yankees six years to win their first (and only) World Series with A-Rod. While still a good player, A-Rod’s best playing days were behind him by 2009. That 2009 World Series title really had more to do with CC Sabathia being a stud than it did with A-Rod anchoring that lineup. Honestly, 35-year-old Johnny Damon had as much to do with that title as A-Rod did.

I’m also old enough to remember when the Red Sox had two perennial MVP candidates in the middle of their lineup. Hell, in 2003 the Red Sox had Manny, Oritz AND Nomar in their primes and all three finished in the top ten in AL MVP voting. We all remember how that season ended.

Adding Stanton definitely gets the Yankees closer to a tile, and closer to a tile than the Red Sox, but let’s not cancel the season. As was the case in 2004, the Red Sox still have the better pitching staff. Next year the Red Sox will have two former Cy Young Award winners on the staff, and that doesn’t include six-time all star Chris Sale. And like in 2004, there’s still the Wild Card. It’s not 1987. So what if the Yankees win 130 games? The Sox can still win 95 games and get into the tournament. If that happens, much like in 2004, we’ll see you in Game 7 of the ALCS.

PS – I don’t know who came up with this first, but this tweet won Twitter over the weekend.

Jaylen Brown is a Damn Renaissance Man

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Jaylen Brown is a No. 3 overall pick, an NBA Players Union rep, in the midst of a breakout season out on an elite team, and he can play Dr. Dre jams on piano.

Not to mention he just turned 21. This kid is a damn renaissance man and I love it. Not to mention he’s a fashion icon with his pre-game fits.

I’d be pretty bummed I didn’t go to his meet and greet at the Cambridgeside Galleria last year if everyone hadn’t gotten maced by the cops. Now its time for the weekend, so hit that Dre and just ride to it.

Breaking: Giancarlo Stanton Reportedly Won’t Accept Trade to Red Sox (UPDATE: Maybe He Will?)

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Boston Herald – “A baseball source said yesterday that he’s been told Stanton will not accept a trade to either the Red Sox or the Cardinals, another team linked early and often in trade rumors. Perhaps there’s some flexibility in that stance, but Stanton’s preference is a factor.”

Welp, that was quick. The GM meetings aren’t even over and we’re already hearing reports that Stanton won’t waive his no-trade clause for the Red Sox. Glad I wrote 1,000 words on him earlier today. Now thats not to say this deal is completely dead. We’ve all seen some wild shit in the MLB offseason around no-trade clauses, contract terms, and the Players Union mucking things up. Namely how the Red Sox completed trade for Alex Rodriguez fell through after 2003 for various flimsy reasons.

If this definitely doesn’t happen and Stanton doesn’t want to come to Boston, the question is why? Before everyone freaks out and says “not everyone wants to play in Boston,” just relax. Look I get it, we are a very parochial town. We invented America for christ’s sake. You’re welcome by the way. But the guy is playing on a last place team and has publicly said he wants no part of a rebuild. Maybe he’s hoping to maneuver a trade to the Dodgers who seem to fucking print money these days. The same reports are also saying he won’t accept a trade to St. Louis. The only other (publicly) known trade suitors were the San Francisco Giants. Ya know the team that’s coming off a 98 loss season. I know he’s a Southern Cali guy, but if the guy really cares about winning then I can’t imagine he wants to go there. So maybe there’s a dark horse candidate out there somewhere that is going to surprise all of us.

Live look at my emotions while following the Giancarlo Stanton rumors today:

UPDATE:

Evan Drellich disagrees.

“The Red Sox may not be Giancarlo Stanton’s No. 1 choice, but he hasn’t ruled out them or anyone else as a potential destination at this point, a person with knowledge of Stanton’s thinking told NBC Sports Boston on Tuesday. The Marlins slugger, a bona fide star, is said to have a “completely” open mind about teams interested to trade for him, and is actively trying to be thoughtful about the process — one he ultimately controls because of a full no-trade clause.”

Giancarlo watch is BACK ON!

Reports: Red Sox Are a “Lock” to Land One of These Three Superstars

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WEEI – So, as the meetings kick off Monday, with Dombrowski offering his first update at approximately 5 p.m., such rumors as the ones involving Giancarlo Stanton shouldn’t be pushed aside. Sure, some are saying the Red Sox are all hot and heavy for the outfielder, while others suggest St. Louis and San Francisco are the favorites. No matter. Pay attention to every minute of it. As we found out with Sale a year ago, the end-game might not be found during the GM meetings, at least there will be a legitimate road to conversation. It is almost a lock-solid certainty that at least one of the top names in this offseason’s rumor mill — J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Giancarlo Stanton — will be holding a Red Sox press conference in December.

So Rob Bradford just reported that he believes the Red Sox are “a lock” to land one of these three guys: JD Martinez, Eric Hosmer, or Giancarlo Stanton. Now obviously Stanton is hands down the best player of the three, he also is the only one thats not a free agent so he would require a boat load of players and prospects to acquire. Not to mention the nearly $300 Million left on his deal. While I think he’s hedging a bit by including Stanton with the other two guys mentioned, all three are power hitters. Bradfo is pretty in the know so if he’s saying it you can bet the Red Sox have at least privately acknowledged their desperate need of a power bat. Now lets break down each player and see what the fit would be.

JD Martinez – Hit 45 Home Runs while batting .303 so he would definitely fill the power vacuum the Sox have, but he’s also reportedly looking for a $200 Million contract. I don’t know if Dave wants to give out yet another 9 figure contract. Especially for a guy thats only topped 23 HRs one other time before this year over the previous 6 seasons. Plus he’s an outfielder so he’d have to DH and slide Hanley back to first base, who all but refused to play the field last year, or the Sox would have to make room in the OF by dealing someone.

 

Eric Hosmer – There’s something to be said about a player that knows how to win and Hosmer fits that bill. He’s played in two World Series (and won one) over the past 4 seasons. And the WS the Royals lost went 7 games, so Hosmer has some serious experience in the pressure cooker that is October. And thats what the Sox need; a guy that isn’t going to crumble under the pressure of the playoffs, which about half of the current Red Sox roster has done the past 2 postseasons. Not quite the power stroke of Martinez, but he still hits 20-25 HRs a year and he also plays first base, which is where the Red Sox happen to have a vacancy. He’s also a stud defender, having won the Gold Glove four out of the last five years. Plus he dates resident NESN royalty Kacie McDonnell so that shores up my confidence argument.

 

Giancarlo Stanton – I don’t know much about Stanton the person, aside from the fact that before he was Giancarlo he used to go by Mike.

So he’s got that going for him. But I don’t need to remind anyone here that the guy can MASH. He’s up for NL MVP, which will be announced on Thursday night after hitting 59 HRs with 132 RBIs and an OPS of 1.007! The guy had a WAR of 7.6 for christ’s sake. I’m sure he’s a great dude too, but hitting 60 fucking home runs will make up for a lot of shortcomings elsewhere. Manny Ramirez was a complete dickhead most of his time here, but the guy was mashing 40/140 every year so nobody gave a shit. But I just can’t see the Red Sox pulling the trigger on a deal with the amount of players and prospects they’d have to give up before even mentioning the $295 Million left on his contract. Buster Olney said earlier today that even baseball execs are saying the asking price from Jeets is “out of touch with reality.”

The fact of the matter is the Red Sox finished dead fucking last in the American League in Home Runs. Dead. Last. Thats a sentence I never thought I’d type. I grew up watching guys like Mo Vaughn, Nomar, Manny, Ortiz, and all the other power hitters that have come through Fenway. The Sox have always mashed and more or less pissed on the idea of bunting and playing small ball. So to see such an anemic offense (OBP was top 5 though!) was shocking to see. However John Henry, Dave Dombrowski and the crew decide to do it, just bring me the power. Bring the bats and the rest will fall into place.

If I had to guess? I’m saying Eric Hosmer. Positional fit at first base, character guy, tons of playoff experience, provides some power, gold glove defense, and a (comparatively) reasonable contract.

Chris Sale Working Out With Red Sox Top Prospect Jason Groome is Pure Porn

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There is nobody I would rather see the Red Sox top prospect working out with more than our absolutely psychotic, alpha dog ace, Chris Sale. You look at Sale and don’t necessarily see a guy thats shredded, but you gotta be strong as hell to pitch like he does (17-8 2.9o ERA) and to get that gigantic lanky 6’6″ frame following perfect mechanics. Definitely not a bad idea to pair that guy with the Red Sox’ 2016 1st round pick (12th overall) for a little offseason workout.

Just in case you need a refresher on who Jason Groome is, he’s the top pitching prospect in the Sox farm system. Here’s the scouting report on him from SoxProspects.com

“Has the potential to develop into one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Projects as a solid number two or high-end number three starter. Has the ceiling of a top of the rotation starter. Has the build of a workhorse starting pitcher and clean, repeatable mechanics to be able to sustain 200 plus innings a year. Early makings of a three-pitch mix with fastball and curveball both projecting to be at least plus offerings. Could stand to add a cutter to give hitters another look when he reaches the high minors.”

Earlier this year, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked Groome as the second best left handed pitching prospect in all of baseball, adding this:

“He still has perhaps the best combination of stuff, upside and command of any arm in his class.”

So, yea definitely a guy we want to follow closely and surround with the right influences. It would seem Beyond Motivation is a place that Sale has been working out at for at least a couple of years, so its not just bullshit P90X or some sketchy program in the Dominican that he’s been following.

And thats what makes Chris Sale the leader in this Red Sox clubhouse, bringing along the young guys even if they’re still only in A ball. Teaching them how to be do the little things to be one of the best in baseball and not how to bitch about the media and be a malcontent.