Category: Boston

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

By on • ( Leave a comment )

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.

giphy (1)

 

Big Day for Sale, Sox in Seattle

By on • ( Leave a comment )

22734098-mmmain

Chris Sale has been solid for the Red Sox all season. When he takes the mound at Seattle this afternoon to face the Mariners, it might be his biggest start of the season.

The Red Sox are scuffling. The Red Sox have lost four games in a row, which is their longest losing streak of the season, and are just 5-8 since the All-Star break. The Yankees, meanwhile, are 7-5 since the All-Star break. The Yankees have won four of their last five games, and recently took 3 out of 4 in Seattle to win their first series since they swept the Baltimore Orioles June 9-11.

Just a week ago, the Yankees found themselves in third place in the AL East,  4.5 games behind the Red Sox. Today the Yankees start the day in second place, just one game behind the Red Sox. If the Red Sox lose today and the Yankees win, the Yankees will finish the day percentage points ahead of the Red Sox for first place in the division.

The big problem on the field has been the Red Sox offense. The Sox have been outscored by their opponents 50-44 since the All-Star break, and it doesn’t even feel that close at times. On the season the Red Sox have hit just 100 home runs in 102 games. That’s 27th in the big leagues and dead last in the American League.

But the on-field issues have taken a back seat as of late to the clubhouse soap operas. By now you’ve probably read Dan Shaughnessy’s account of what happened between David Price and Dennis Eckersley on the Red Sox’ June 29th flight to Toronto (if you haven’t used up your free articles for July). Shaughnessy’s story portrays Price as oversensitive and petty, which is not surprising. What is surprising is that, according to Shaughnessy’s story, many players applauded Price’s dressing down of a broadcaster who is essentially a team employee.

Then on WEEI yesterday, after evading the question several times, Manager John confirmed that he had not apologized to Eckersley since the Price incident. The second David Price media explosion of the month. John Wayne Manager John is not. Manager John is afraid he’ll lose the clubhouse if he simply asks one of his highest paid players to stop acting like an unrepentant asshole.

Normally with the team in a tailspin the last week of July, trade deadline blockbusters would seem less likely. But, the Red Sox still have the second-best record in the American League. The Red Sox certainly don’t look like a World Series contender right now, but who will stop them? The Houston Astros are the favorite to win the American League right now, but they aren’t your traditional juggernaut. They’ve made the playoffs once in the last dozen years. Don’t tell me they couldn’t be beat in a series.

Which leads me back to my original point. Today is a big day for Sale and the Red Sox. If they win, they have tomorrow off and come home for a 10-game homestand that starts Friday. If they lose, does John Farrell get on the same plane as the 25 players? Or does Dave Dombrowski try to find a no-bullshit manager to try and right the ship for two and half months?

If only such a manager were available…

detroit-tigers-manager-jim-leyland-announced-he-is-stepping-down

I Am Offended at the Lack of Patriots Fans That Want to Go for 19-0

By on • ( 1 Comment )

It seems like the topic du jour around the local sports media is whether the Patriots can realistically (or should even attempt it) go a perfect 19-0. Except there seems to be less people talking about if they can do it and more people just straight up refusing to talk about it and saying its stupid to do so. USA Today thinks its doable. But basically every other media personality wants no part of it.

As a Patriots fan, the lack of people that want to go for 19-0 personally offends me.

Guys, I know it brings up bad memories. We almost had it in 2007. It was in the palms of our hands, less than 2 minutes to go and the 07 Patriots would be crowned the greatest team of all time.

If Asante Samuel makes that interception. If David Tyree plays like the insurance salesman he really is, if Rodney Harrison somehow jars that ball lose from his fucking helmet, if the refs actually called holding on the Giants offensive line on that play. The list goes on and on.

That shit used to kill me. Used to. But I noticed something recently. The 07 Super Bowl highlights come on….and I watch them. It doesn’t make me physically ill anymore. I can watch those clips and say ah man that sucked, without smashing a pint glass off my wall like I would have done a few years ago. Winning two Super Bowls since then goes a looong way in healing that pain. Brady’s 5-2 in the SB for christ’s sake. That will always be the most painful loss of my life. I was a freshman in college and my direct roommate was a Giants fan, not to mention half my hallway. So losing in that fashion, surrounded by that many Giants fans in neutral territory as a young, inebriated boyish man, that was a tough pill to swallow.

But like I said, one of the greatest Super Bowls EVER against Seattle with the Malcolm Butler pick to seal the W was cathartic; the greatest comeback of all time against the Falcons in 2016 gave us all our swagger back. You can’t say shit to us. You can’t hurt us.

The Patriots have 5 Super Bowl rings, Tom Brady is a 2x MVP, a 4x Super Bowl MVP, he had one of his greatest seasons ever during the Deflategate saga, and then was suspended the following year only to come back, tear it up and win another fucking Super Bowl. Belichick and Brady are the. Greatest. Of. All. Time. So…what do you get the men who have everything? The only thing left. Perfection

Its the ultimate. Its the only thing left that the Patriots don’t have. And there will always be the Felgers of the world saying we as Patriots fans all have a persecution complex (is it paranoid if its true though?) and theres nothing left to prove. But, tell someone they can’t do something or don’t need something and what do they want? Exactly. We’ve conquered the AFC East, we’ve conquered fan bases in St. Louis, Carolina, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Atlanta, we’ve taken on the league and the commissioner himself and come out with one for the thumb. TB12 is 40 years old and playing better than anyone has ever played the position. Minneaposix™ is the goal, but 19-0 will always be the ultimate.

PS – Plus if the Pats do go 19-0 I can get my fucking t-shirts back stateside.

Time to Make the Donuts

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Yesterday was Monday, so of course I was off my game and missed the Monday morning post. But I was watching a game from The Big 3 yesterday and it got me thinking back to some of my favorite ballers. Not great basketball players in the NBA, but ballers. Guys that you know were kings of the court, dominating one on one, and throwing down hellacious dunks in style. AKA Gerald Green. Lets throw it back to 2007 when Gerald Green won the dunk contest when he was just 21 years old.

Did the Red Sox Commit Another Error at Third?

By on • ( Leave a comment )

I’m old enough to remember the last time the Yankees made a mid-season deal to pick up a third baseman and, spoiler alert, it did not end well for the Red Sox.

Looks like this tweet didn’t age well:

Regardless, I can’t get too worked up over this deal. I don’t know what the answer is at third base for the Red Sox, but I never thought it was Todd Frazier. Everyone said the Red Sox could get him for nothing, so I would’ve been okay if they brought him in as a flyer but Bobby Abreu he is not. Despite his pop™, Frazier is still just hitting .207 this season. Pablo Sandoval was hitting .212 when the Red Sox DFA’d him.

On a related note, here was Brock Holt after hearing that Frazier went to the Yankees:

workah

The Red Sox – Yankees rivalry cooled off a few years ago, but hopefully this trade puts it back on the front burner. Every Red Sox – Yankees game was an event in Boston from 2003 through about 2010.

Maybe the rivalry cooling off had to do with George Steinbrenner passing away and Brian Cashman running the Yankees like a normal franchise. But the urge to dump high-ranked prospects for washed up veterans is hard to shake. I’ll take this as a sign that the rivalry is back on. I’m in.

nuts1

Yankees Trade for Todd Frazier and I Can’t Help But Think of the 2006 Bobby Abreu Trade the Red Sox Didn’t Make

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Yahoo – The New York Yankees are going for it. They boosted their lineup and the backend of their bullpen in a trade Tuesday with the Chicago White Sox that’s sending slugger Todd Frazier and relief pitchers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Bronx..The White Sox (38-52) were already in full rebuilding mode and this adds to their minor-league riches, as the Yankees send Chicago a package that includes outfield prospect Blake Rutherford (New York’s No. 3 prospect) and left-handed pitcher Ian Clarkin (No. 19). Big-league reliever Tyler Clippard is also reportedly in the deal, as is outfielder Tito Polo.

The Yankees traded for Todd Frazier last night, swept in under the cloak of night and traded for the guy while I was enjoying a few Bud heavys at Fenway.

This trade did not come lightly though as the Yankees (with a suddenly flourishing minor league system) dealt their No. 3 prospect as part of the deal. Pretty steep for a guy who’s hitting .207 and will be a free agent at the end of the year if you ask me. He does provide some pop though with 16 Home Runs and 44 RBIs on the year. Not convinced? The last 3 years Frazier finished with 40, 35, and 29 Home Runs respectively. (On a side note, as that story points out the White Sox are rebuilding the smart way as they now have 5 of the top 30 prospects and 10 of the top 100 in all of baseball thanks to their recent fire sales.)

Now I wasn’t one of the people clamoring for the Sox to deal more prospects just to put a band-aid on third base. Especially with $50M in dead money from the euthanized Panda we just DFA’d. I’m definitely in the camp that the Red Sox should bolster the bullpen before brining in your 12th third baseman of the year.

HOWEVER, seeing this trade instantly reminded me of 2006 when the Yankees traded for Bobby Abreu because its a similar situation. Abreu, like Frazier, was a solid if not spectacular hitter who was on the market and the Red Sox were rumored to be in on. Then the Yankees swooped in and made the deal for Abreu. Wouldn’t have been as big of a kick in the dick if it wasn’t for the so called Boston Massacre that summer when the Yankees came to Fenway and swept the Red Sox in a rare 5-game series. Complete beatdown. And how’d Abreu do in that series you ask? Oh he merely hit fucking .500 in the series going 10-20 over the 5 games.

Over the course of the 2006 season Abreu hit .297 with 15 Home Runs, 107 RBIs and also had 30 stolen bases. In the second half of the 2006 season alone, playing for the Yankees Abreu hit .330 7 Home Runs, 42 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.

So, yea not a bad guy to have.

Ended up biting the Red Sox in the ass as they never really got right after that 5-game sweep and famously missed the playoffs. Lets just hope Todd Frazier doesn’t repeat history and go on a goddamn tear for the Yankees.

PS – Complex ranked that 5-game regular season sweep as one of the greatest moments in Yankees HISTORY. What a sad and sorry existence in the Bronx.

I Would Trade Every Player On the Celtics Roster for Anthony Davis

By on • ( 1 Comment )

The Vertical – “Rival executives expect Boston to be keeping close tabs on New Orleans, which is entering a critical season. The Pelicans are committed to seeing if an Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins frontcourt can work, but if the season goes awry, it’s widely believed the Celtics will make a strong run at Davis, who is under contract through 2020.”

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: there are growing rumblings around the league about the future of Anthony Davis and how the Celtics could be in on any potential deal. If the New Orleans Pelicans start off poorly next season and the DeMarcus Cousins pairing doesn’t mesh, a lot of smart guys around the NBA like Chris Mannix expect the Pelicans to start listening to offers for Davis.

I am one of the biggest Anthony Davis guys you’ll find. He is a top five player in this league, he’s a future MVP and I just want to state for the record that I would trade every single player on the 15-man roster plus everyone on the Maine Red Claws to get Anthony Davis. He is literally the only guy in the league that can put up a 40 and 20 game. I will buy that AD jersey TONIGHT.

You can have whatever the fuck you want if it gets me Anthony Davis. Sure you can point out that the C’s would be in the same situation the Pelicans are in right now with Anthony Davis and no one around him. But I will take Danny Ainge and Anthony Davis and let them figure it out. I have faith in that pairing. Love you Jaylen Brown. You look like a pretty good player so far Jayson Tatum. Isaiah you’re my guy, but if I can get Anthony Davis I will play one-on-five if I have to. Get me the Brow and we’ll go from there.

Donte Stallworth Talking About How Tom Brady and Randy Moss Ran Improvised Plays in 2007 is Patriots Porn

By on • ( Leave a comment )

In case you missed it, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t bring this Donte Stallworth story about the 2007 Patriots team to your attention. The 2007 Patriots are the greatest, most dominant team I’ve ever seen and were the most fun I’ve ever had watching football. They were straight up dismantling the league, blowing everyone out as a response to the NFL hosing them with the overblown and hypocritical Spygate scandal.

This was also the first year Tom Brady had real weapons around him like Wes Welker, Stallworth and of course Randy Moss.  This season finally helped put to rest the Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning argument. Yes, when TB12 has Hall of Famers catching his passes he can put up 50 TDs too. Some of the plays these guys made were just outrageous though and it turns out some of them were legitimate accidents. Just Brady and Moss out there improvising and freestyling like only two first ballot Hall of Famers can.

PS – If you want to watch every single one of Tom Brady’s 50 TD passes, @fearthe_beard11 is doing Gods work on twitter and tweeted each one out.

Celtics Officially Re-Sign Paul Pierce So He Can Retire With the Green

By on • ( Leave a comment )

You know its the little things in life that bring me the most joy. The Boston Celtics bringing back Paul Pierce on a one day contract to officially retire in green is one of those things.

Paul Pierce was the greatest Celtic of my lifetime for sure. I was too young to watch Larry Bird and those great 80s Celtics teams. So I grew up with those early 00s Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker teams. Pierce was the first guy in my life to get drafted, developed, become an elite NBA player and win a championship. He was the NBA Finals MVP the year they won and he’s gonna have his number in the rafters before too long. If Kendrick Perkins doesn’t get hurt in 2010 or Rasheed Wallace isn’t a complete bum, Pierce has two rings in three years with the C’s. He was competitive – routinely going head to head with LeBron in the playoffs. But above all, he was clutch. This was the guy you wanted with the ball in his hands with the clock winding down. Get Paul the ball, isolate and let him go to work. Didn’t matter who was guarding him, take him to the elbow, give him the Pierce lean to draw the contact or pull up and drain it. I had this Pierce game winner in LeBron’s eyeball as my background for a LONG time.

Pierce was also a part of one of my favorite Boston teams of all time, the 2011 team that lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. They only won 39 games that year and finished as the No. 4 seed, but it was the ultimate Grit and Balls team. The Big 3 was an old group of aging vets and this team was on its last legs. They had LeBron and the Heat on the ropes, who needed an otherworldly performance from LeBron to hold them off and ultimately knock the C’s out in 7. But that team was fun as hell to watch, getting by on effort, execution and just straight up balls. Sure they didn’t win the title that year, but they did spawn the best NBA playoffs commercial ever.

To sum it up, Pierce was the one constant for the Celtics over the years. He has the 2nd most points in franchise history with 24,021. He was there as a kid, he was there when the team was BAD, winning less than 30 games, the guy nearly died in Boston after getting stabbed for christ’s sake. He was there for the KG and Ray Allen team up. He was there to hoist the first Larry O’Brien trophy for Boston in 20+ years. Kevin Garnett changed the culture in Boston and they don’t win the title without Ray Allen, but Paul Pierce WAS the Celtics. The guy bled green for 15 years so it’s awesome to see him retire with the Boston Celtics.

HIT THE TRUTH HIGHLIGHTS!