Category: Red Sox

The Citgo Sign is Now Officially a City Landmark in Boston

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WCVB – The Boston Landmark Commission has approved giving the Citgo sign located in Kenmore Square official landmark status. The designation helps protect the 60-by-60-foot sign that has stood in Kenmore Square since 1965 from any future development that would move the sign or block its view.

“Nationally and culturally, the sign is of Boston, not of an oil company or a government outside the United States,” Greg Galer, with the Boston Preservation Alliance said. “People in Boston and New England see this sign as a symbol of the city.”

I’m normally opposed to giving a company free advertising, but the Boston Landmark Commission is right; the Citgo sign is a part of the city and should not be touched. It’s iconic, it’s in every famous photo, painting, and bad tattoo honoring the city. I just hope whosever idea this was at Citgo back in 1965 is living a life of luxury because that is the best advertising in the history of advertising.

We Have A New Addition to the Double A Baseball Ridiculous Name Hall of Fame – Introducing The Amarillo Sod Poodles!

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The Padres’ new Double-A Affiliate in Amarillo, Texas, on Tuesday announced that “Sod Poodles” had won its “Name the Team” contest. The other finalists were the Boot Scooters, Bronc Busters, Jerky and Long Haulers.

Double A Baseball has officially gone off the rails and I LOVE it. First we were given the Hartford Yardgoats. What’s a yardgoat you may ask? Hell if I know. Then we were blessed with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, home of the best quarterback in baseball, Tim Tebow. And now ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Amarillo Sod Poodles. I guess it’s just a really fancy way of saying prairie dog? And look at that logo! That thing screams machismo. My credit cards are already maxed out, but one little Sod Poddle snapback isn’t going to land me in debtors jail.

Former Red Sox Top Prospect Yoan Moncada Likely to Switch Positions; Dombrowski Deserves Credit for This Move

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Yahoo – White Sox second baseman Yoán Moncada is “open to a position change,” according to comments made by GM Rick Hahn over the weekend. It appears to be something the club is considering as they head into their third rebuilding year, though Hahn noted that the decision would hinge on any pickups the club makes over the offseason.

It’s not the first time Hahn or Moncada has addressed the potential shift away from second base. After the 23-year-old infielder closed out his 2018 run with 21 errors and a .963 fielding percentage (eclipsed only by the Reds’ José Peraza and Red Sox’ Rafael Devers, the latter of whom committed 24 errors with a .926 fielding percentage), Hahn told reporters he believes Moncada’s athleticism will make him an “above-average defender at other positions.” Moncada himself said he’d be willing to move back to third base, a position he occupied during his rookie campaign with the Red Sox in 2016. There’s also a possibility that he could be considered at shortstop or center field, although he has yet to play either position at the major league level.

Full disclosure: I am a HUGE prospect guy. I hem and haw about every trade the Red Sox make that involves high level prospects. For better or for worse, I am very reluctant to include top prospects in a deal. Maybe it’s the Theo Epstein in me, who knows? Big Z is the exact opposite when it comes to handling prospects, but it’s what makes us different that makes us great, guys.

I think Dealer Dave has as much regard for individual prospects as a college kid has for what brand of beer he drinks, but Dombrowski deserves credit for making the right decision here.

I have been fond of beating on the drum that Dave Dombrowski primarily makes moves that any of us could make like signing the most expensive free agents in David Price and JD Martinez or trading top prospects for premiere talent like Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale. Something that I have yet to give him credit for though is making the absolute correct decision in the Chris Sale trade.

The Red Sox coveted Chris Sale for years and the season before they finally pried him away from Chicago, reports had mentioned the White Sox wanted Mookie Betts AND Andrew Benintendi in any deal.

Obviously that didn’t happen, but when the trade was finally consummated the Red Sox and Dombrowski essentially said to Chicago we can’t give you those two guys, but we can give you our *top* prospect in Yoan Moncada, who was also the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball at the time. And again, full disclosure, I was big on Moncada so this is far from revisionist history.

Some of my commentary aged better than others…

“I feel like Costanza after he ate one of Kramer’s mangoes from Joe’s fruit shop. You want to talk about excited? How about having a player waiting in the wings that many scouts say projects to be most similar to Mike Trout…Whether he sticks at 2B remains to be seen, Pedroia is signed through 2021 so that could be a logjam issue.” – April 25, 2016

So while Chris Sale has been lights out (when healthy), it was still hard to trade away a guy as talented as Moncada. Things haven’t really gone so well for him thus far though. While still only 23 years old, Moncada has been an unmitigated disaster to put it lightly.

In 901 Plate Appearances in 211 games over parts of three seasons, Moncada is batting .234/.319/.399. That amounts to a little less than two full seasons so it’s not a huge sample size, but Moncada also led the league in strike outs last season with 217 K’s, which is alarming.

But at least he can play defense right? Well, actually he made 21 errors at second base last year, good for third in the league.

Now Chicago has publicly broached the idea of moving Moncada to another position like third base, center field or even shortstop, which makes no sense. Shortstop is a much harder position defensively with a longer throw to first. It seems like the White Sox are just looking for somewhere to plant Moncada while they shuffle some roster pieces around. It’s been reported that the White Sox are going to court Manny Machado who could play either SS or 3B and they also have another first round pick coming up in the system that apparently is a stud 2B and Moncada seems like anything but a natural second baseman.

Now just to go back to me giving Dombrowski some credit for a second; the Red Sox could have very easily traded Benintendi as part of that deal instead. So lets take a look at how Benny’s numbers stack up when compared to Moncada.

Benintendi is nearly a year older than Moncada and has a bit more experience at the major league level with 1,437 Plate Appearances over 333 games in parts of three seasons. For his career, Benintendi is slashing .282/.359/.447. The power is about even so far between the two as Benintendi wacked 16 dingers to Moncada’s 17 last season. Whether you value it or not, Benintendi also topped him in steals 21 to 12 last year. I won’t get into RBIs because thats largely dependent on the team around you, which is garbage in Chicago. In another display of power, Benintendi also bested Moncada in doubles last season 41 to 32.

Benintendi has essentially been twice as valuable to the Red Sox with a career WAR of 7.0 to Moncada’s 3.5 (3.9 to 2.0 in 2018 alone).

So it would take some serious mental gymnastics to argue that Moncada has been or remains the better prospect thus far, especially with Benintendi playing such a vital role in the playoffs for a 108 win Red Sox team.

The best prospect Chicago got in the Sale trade now seems more likely to be Michael Kopech than it is Moncada. Kopech is the No. 4 overall prospect in all of baseball on MLB.com and looks like an absolute stud in the making. Just look at his MLB.com scouting report:

“Kopech throws as hard and is as difficult to hit as any starter in the Minor Leagues, which has prompted comparisons to Noah Syndergaard. His fastball, which sits at 96-99 mph, repeatedly hits triple digits with late run that keeps it off barrels. Hitters who try to sit on his heater get embarrassed by his upper-80s slider, which features two-plane break and is a plus-plus offering at its best.

Kopech just needs some refinement before he’s ready to pitch at the front of a big league rotation.”

Butttt he only threw 14.1 innings last year as he tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John Surgery because of course he did. So as big as I am on Kopech, his timeline was obviously pushed back a couple of years with the elbow injury.

Dombrowski swung and missed on the Drew Pomeranz – Anderson Espinoza trade, but he absolutely nailed the Chris Sale – Yoan Moncada trade and to that I tip my cap.

 

Red Sox Adviser and Sabermetrics Guru Bill James in Hot Water for Saying MLB Players Are as Valuable to Baseball as Beer Vendors

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CBS Sports –  In a series of since deleted tweets, sabermetrics godfather and Red Sox special consultant Bill James responded to general criticism by agent Scott Boras, who ripped teams for tanking during the GM Meetings earlier this week. In those since-deleted tweets, James called all players replaceable (transcript via Hardball Talk):

If the players all retired tomorrow, we would replace them, the game would go on; in three years it would make no difference whatsoever. The players are NOT the game, any more than the beer vendors are.

Yikes. Bill James is the godfather of modern day baseball. He made analytics, sabermetrics and Moneyball cool. He changed the game, there’s no denying that. But he’s also been know to say some pretty outlandish shit. Like back in 2012 when he defended Joe Paterno for turning a blind eye to child rape.

“During an interview on ESPN radio, James claimed…that it wasn’t Paterno’s responsibility to report allegations of child molestation to the police… When asked if he knew anyone who had showered with a boy they were not related to, James said it was a common practice when he was growing up. “That was actually quite common in the town I grew up in. That was quite common in America 40 years ago.”

Soo yea, Bill James is all over the place. Revolutionary baseball mind? Yup. A guy that probably has a few screws loose after spending the majority of his life playing baseball in excel sheets? You bet.

I can kind of understand what he means when he says baseball is bigger than any one player; its the centuries of fandom, its listening to the game on the radio with your dad, the old adage we all root for laundry. But to flat out say that if Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, JD Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and the rest of the Red Sox quit it wouldn’t make a difference?

If a high school baseball team was playing under the lights at Fenway rocking the classic white and red home unis, ya know what? That game would be unwatchable. There’s a reason minor league baseball is a niche sport in terms of spectators. Theres a reason nobody gives a shit about the CFL. Theres a reason nobody watches Boston College football. Theres a reason only degenerate gamblers watch Division II football. It’s the players. It’s the talent. If your team, league, or sport doesn’t have the best talent in the world then I’m not really interested.

Well it came as no surprise that the MLB Players Association was pretty cheesed when they heard Bill James say the players are as valuable to the game as BEER VENDORS!

MLBPA chief Tony Clark responded to James’ stunningly dense tweets with a statement Thursday morning.

“These comments Bill James made yesterday are both reckless and insulting considering our game’s history regarding the use of replacement players. The Players ARE the game. And our fans have an opportunity to enjoy the most talented baseball Players in the world every season. If these sentiments resonate beyond this one individual, then any challenges that lie ahead will be more difficult to overcome than initially anticipated.”

Not to mention, Bill James’ comments come right on the heels of Scott Boras accusing the entire league of collusion against big money free agents. So Tony Clark has every right to be bullshit here. If an employee consultant of the Boston Red Sox and someone with a vast influence as the most respected sabermatrician ever is publicly downplaying the value of the league’s players, you can imagine the conflict of interest. Maybe the GM of one team says you know what he’s right, I’ll just pay 25 beer vendors the league minimum instead and people will still show up. I mean, the Marlins tried it and they had 39 of the 50 Lowest Attended Games in baseball last year, but you get my point.

Players around the league, including the one who just won the Gold Glove for the team that employs Bill James, were less than pleased with his comments.

Even the guy who credits analytics for making him his fortune, Red Sox owner John Henry, is side stepping the bus to let his old friend Bill James take this hit on his own.

The Red Sox issued the following statement Thursday afternoon in response to James’ comments:

“Bill James is a consultant to the Red Sox. He is not an employee, nor does he speak for the club. His comments on Twitter were inappropriate and do not reflect the opinions of the Red Sox front office or its ownership group. Our Championships would not have been possible without our incredibly talented players — they are the backbone of our franchise and our industry. To insinuate otherwise is absurd.”

Live look at the Red Sox front office calling Bill James in for a meeting:

While nothing is quite as entertaining as the drama that is the NBA offseason, the MLB offseason is off to a roaring start with Bryce Harper turning down $300 Million contracts, Craig Kimbrel claiming to be the GOAT, Scott Boras blaming everyone for everything, and now Bill James is referring to real life MLB players like they’re his own personal MVP 2005 on PS2.

Craig Kimbrel’s Agent Made an OUTRAGEOUS Claim Yesterday

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This is hyperbole that would make Scott Boras blush and that’s a guy who just said JD Martinez was so good (the best free agent ever in fact) that teams should apologize for underpaying him!

But for Craig Kimbrel’s agent to say he is the *best* closer of ALL-TIME?

Only 319 more saves to go to tie Mariano Rivera, Craig.

Lets take a look at this outrageous statement. Yes, Kimbrel is 14th all-time in MLB history with 333 saves. In fact he and Fernando Rodney, who is 11 years older than Kimbrel, are the only active players in the Top 20 in career saves. But that 333 BARELY puts him halfway to the 652 saves that Rivera racked up in 19 seasons. So if Mo Rivera pitched until his age 43 season and Kimbrel just finished his 9th season at age 30, that means he’d have to average 25 saves a season for the next 13 seasons. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but what position is more fickle and fades faster than hard throwing relievers?

Hell, Jonathan Papelbon is the best closer in Red Sox history, one of the most dominant relievers I’ve ever seen, and he only lasted 12 seasons (7 with Boston). Papelbon is 9th on the all-time list with 368 career saves, but he fell off the map and was done at 35.

So yes, statistically Kimbrel is definitely up there with the best closers of all-time, but have you ever really felt secure when he comes into a game? Yankees fans went two goddamn decades of playing 8 inning games because when Mo Rivera came into the game in the 9th it was over. Meanwhile every single Craig Kimbrel save is a high wire act and god forbid someone is on base or it requires more than 3 outs.

Love ya, Craig. Mean it, wish ya the best. But you are not the greatest closer of all time and the Boston Red Sox will not be paying you anywhere near what you are looking for.

What is the Most Obscure Sports Memorabilia You Own?

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Aside from all the outdated 4x Time Super Bowl Champion and 04/07/13 World Series Champion banners, shirts, and posters that I own, one piece of sports memorabilia really takes the cake. My 2013 World Series Game 7 tickets are absolutely the most obscure piece of sports memorabilia that I own because as you may remember, that game never actually happened as the Red Sox won the World Series in six.

Funny story behind those tickets.

We all joke that Sox tickets have become much easier to get the last few years as “championship fatigue” sets in (Big Z told a story on a recent episode of The 300s Podcast how he once literally found tickets on the street), but when it comes to Green Monster seats and playoff tickets, good luck. Sure you can pay through the teeth and get in the building buying on the secondary market, but getting playoff tickets face value is nearly impossible. The only way to really do so is to enter the Ticket Lottery that the Sox put out each year for Opening Day, Patriots Day, Yankees games, Green Monster seats, and playoff tickets.

So back in 2013 it was really an incredible series of moments coming together. I lived in Allston with Papa Giorgio and our third roommate was a bartender right outside Fenway. With that being said, a lot of October 2013 is a blur. I entered into all of the lotteries as I normally do and I actually won the opportunity to buy tickets to the ALCS and wound up getting to see the greatest game of my entire life: October 13th, 2013 ALCS Game 2 AKA Big Papi’s Grand Slam.

Incredible game to be at. I was only about 20 feet from where the legendary dinger landed, as seen in this grizzly Sasquatch-like footage from the broadcast.

Anyways, I also wound up winning the lottery and an opportunity to buy tickets for the World Series. Unfortunately I was stuck in a meeting so I texted Big Z to grab the tickets and after passing on some nosebleeds in Game 1, the best he could find was Game 7 standing room.

Guys, you never go back in when buying tickets online! You take what you can get and say thank you.

So while the Red Sox winning the World Series at home in 6 games was something I’ll never forget, I will also never forget these obscure World Series Game 7 tickets I own for a game that never was.

Now I ask you, whats the most obscure piece of sports memorabilia that you own?

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.

Red Sox MEGA Blog: What’s Next for the World Series Champions?

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The Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions once again and that feels so sweet on my finger tips as I type this from my cubicle. I was at the mall on Monday after work grabbing my fresh new champs hat and will be wearing that everywhere from work to the bar to Thanksgiving dinner. So make sure you enjoy the 4th Sox title in 14 years, but with a gaggle of free agents this winter and some serious question marks around a few core players, lets take a look at what’s next for the Boston Red Sox.

David Price

As we covered the other day, David Price has officially opted into the remaining four years and $127 Million of his Red Sox contract. After his excellent ALCS and World Series run it should come as no surprise he opted to stay. The guy seems to love his teammates, finally got over the hump in the toughest market in baseball, and is coming off a 108 win season and a World Series championship. Why leave now? Quite frankly, with Chris Sale’s health concerns, the Red Sox need him. But how will that contract age? Just about as well as you’d expect a 7 year $217 Million contract for a pitcher that will be 37 by the end of it. And that’s not a knock on Price at all, thats a knock on the cost of doing business in today’s MLB, especially for a team that said we don’t sign pitchers over 30 years old in 2014 only to then sign a pitcher over 30 in 2015 to a 9-figure contract.

Chris Sale

I am extremely worried about the longterm health of Chris Sale and not just because of the recency of his shoulder issues. This is the second year in a row that Sale has worn down and gone on the DL with shoulder injuries. Sale is absolutely lights out dominant and one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy, but at 6’6″ and “180” pounds staying healthy has proved difficult for the big lefty.

Lets look at his K’s/9 IP (Baseball Reference refers to this as S09) real quick just to get a sense of how much he is whipping the ball around because that number jumped *significantly* from his last year in Chicago to his first year in Boston. Sale averaged 9.3 SO9 in his last year with the White Sox in 2016, which jumped up to 12.9 in his first year in Boston and then jumped up again to 13.5 in 2018. That is huge and is especially significant because Sale is a guy that the White Sox had tried to tame a little bit. Chicago had tried to get Sale away from chasing strikeouts in order to get more innings out of the lanky lefty. I can’t find a direct quote, but I remember Sale not being a fan of the approach as it resulted in his lowest SO9 since his first full year in the big leagues. His last two years in Chicago were also his worst two years ERA wise, granted they were 3.41 and 3.34, but still. Some guys just need to let it rip.

The Sox are in a tricky position here because Sale is grossly underpaid at $15M in 2019 (if healthy), but it’s also his contract year. So Sale will likely be looking for a huge payday after making peanuts his whole career relative to his performance. Seriously, take a look at the bargain he’s been his whole career.

Sale has barely made more in his entire career ($44M) than Price made last season ($30M). Even if you’re not about the money, thats gotta piss you off a little bit. And if the Sox have legitimate concerns about his shoulder are they really going to pony up $25-$35 Million a year for another 30-year-old starter? They might have to.

Craig Kimbrel

Over his four years with the Red Sox, statistically Kimbrel was very good. He had 108 Saves and a 2.44 ERA with 305 K’s in 184.1 Innings Pitched. He made the All-Star team each of the 3 years he was with Boston saving 31, 35, and 42 games respectively. But he has shown a knack for the high wire act save, which reared its ugly head in the playoffs this year. Kimbrel is very good, even if he simply cannot pitch effectively in non-save situations or for more than one inning, but for a guy with a “potential path to the Hall of Fame” he is going to command big money. I just don’t think the Sox need to invest that into a closer as we’ve seen effective relievers and closers come out of nowhere year after year across the entire league. You had one on your own team this year as the Sox leaned heavily on Ryan Brasier as a 7th and 8th inning guy in the playoffs. A guy that was pitching in Japan last year. Dave Dombrowski seems to agree with that line of thinking as well.

“We do think that we do have a situation where internally we have a couple candidates to do that. (Matt) Barnes and (Ryan) Brasier are the top candidates,” Dombrowski said, via WEEI.com. “They’re not Craig Kimbrel at this point in their careers. But I don’t think we go into the closer by committee approach. So if it wasn’t Craig it’d be either them or we’d have to see what other alternatives existed outside the organization.”

So while he was very good while he was here, I think Kimbrel’s time with the Red Sox is over.

Dustin Pedroia

Alex Cora has already said Pedroia will hit lead off on Opening Day next year if he’s healthy. Pedroia has traditionally hit in the 2-hole (4,115 Plate Appearances) or as a No. 3 hitter (1,290 Plate Appearances) in a pinch, but Cora said it would be more out of respect to Pedroia if he’s able to come back.

“If he’s ready to go, I think that’s the only game he’s going to lead off next year. He’ll lead off Opening Day,” Cora said. “I told him that a few months ago because he deserves it. So Mookie won’t lead off one game next year. That’s the goal.” 

Stuff like this worries me because despite all the shit Pedroia took on the airwaves the last couple of years, like being snidely labeled “the little leader,” he still is the heart of this team. So Cora saying Pedroia deserves this ceremonial at bat has a certain “last hurrah” type feel to it. I’ve blogged about it in the past, but I think Pedroia’s days as a full time second baseman are likely done. Even Dombrowski had said that Pedroia’s knee was something they would have to monitor for the rest of his career, so we might start to see the beginning of Pedroia the platoon player next year if healthy.

Joe Kelly

The real life Rick Vaughn could be a guy the Sox turn to for closer duties in 2019 if he can replicate anything close to his 2018 postseason performance. I would think a player who has had such an up and down career with 2 Saves on his resume wouldn’t have a huge price tag, but you never know. For a guy that seemed to really buy into Alex Cora’s plan and became someone that fans adored after inciting a riot with the Yankees, I’d be shocked if he wasn’t on the Red Sox in 2019.

Drew Pomeranz

I’ve stuck to my take 2+ years that the Red Sox lost the Drew Pomeranz trade and I think I’ve generally been proven right. He seems like a really nice dude so I’m not gonna trash him (plus he can snatch beers out of the sky with the best of them), but I just never loved the move. Look I know the prospect we traded for him, Anderson Espinoza, blew his arm out and hasn’t done much in the minor leagues, but thats never been the point. The point has always been that Espinoza was the Boston Red Sox No. 1 pitching prospect and the No. 13 prospect in all of baseball at the time. In fact he’s still the No. 89 prospect in all of baseball despite not throwing a pitch last year. The Sox sold incredibly low on that kind of equity. You should have been able to get a much better return than a starter/reliever one-time All-Star with injury concerns in Drew Pomeranz. Not to mention a guy who was INJURED AT THE TIME as the Padres got caught fudging his medical records. All that combined with the fact that Cora acted as if Pomeranz was Boston Kryptonite and kept him securely fastened to the bullpen bench, I still think the Sox lost that trade.

Eduardo Nunez

He exercised his $5 Million player option for next season so he’ll be back. While Nunez had a bit of a down year, he showed in the playoffs why he is such a valuable bench player. He can play multiple positions, pinch hit, and generally plays balls to the wall all the time. If he can stay healthy this is a great guy to have on your bench.

Nathan Eovaldi

Have you ever gone to a concert of your favorite band and been so blown away that you legit started getting emotional? That’s what Nathan Eovaldi did in the playoffs this year. He was so good in the World Series that he literally made Rick Porcello cry.

He went 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA in 6 appearances (2 starts) with 22.1 Innings Pitched, 16 K’s, and only FOUR Earned Runs. Incredible. I was on the brink of tears when he wasn’t named MVP and I watched my +5000 lottery ticket float away, but still an incredible month from Nasty Nate. I would love for the Sox to bring him back, but Eovaldi likely pitched his way into a 9 figure deal with his dominant postseason run and I just don’t think the Sox have the payroll flexibility or the stomach to pony that up. He is a guy with two Tommy John surgeries already on his resume so that could be another reason the team shies away, but with Chris Sale already dealing with injuries, Eduardo Rodriguez constantly on the DL, and Rick Porcello on the last year of his contract next season, the Sox could certainly use another young stud pitcher (he’ll be 29 at the start of next year) for now and the future.

Steve Pearce

MVPearce would be a great fit to return and platoon with Mitch Moreland as the two formed a bash brothers duo this season. However, after putting on an absolute show in the playoffs and taking Clayton Kershaw out behind the shed to earn World Series MVP honors, it would not surprise me if a team threw way more money at him than the Sox are comfortable with. This is a toss up, but we’ll never forget the short time we shared together. Steve Pearce does owe me $2,500 after he stole the MVP away from my guy Nathan Eovaldi though…

Ian Kinsler

The Catching Situation

Sandy Leon, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart are all under contract for next season so what does a team do with 3 catchers? Vazquez recently signed an extension, the team loves Leon’s game calling, and the Sox also made room for Swihart rather than dishing him at the trade deadline. Something has to give though, especially with Swihart all but requesting a trade earlier this season due to lack of playing time. You could probably get a prospect back for Swihart, but I think the team has tanked his stock to really make it worth it. I would expect the team to move on from Leon and integrate the switch hitting Swihart more into the mix while Vazquez takes over primary duties. Especially after Vazquez started 12 games in the playoffs with more than twice as many Plate Appearances as Leon.

We Hardly Knew Ye, Carson

Oh and the Red Sox finally kicked Carson Smith to the curb after his tour de force asshole performance back in May.

After throwing 14.1 innings and getting taken out of a game Smith slammed his glove and blew out his shoulder doing so. You may remember though that he threw Alex Cora and the coaching stuff under the bus blaming his workload for his injury. The guy who was never healthy was now throwing a fit in front of the media. Hit the bricks pal, best of luck.

The Barren Boston Red Sox Farm System

The Red Sox farm system is BARREN right now and everybody knew that would be the case from the second Dave Dombrowski walked in the door. It’s just how he operates. Trade any and all prospects to acquire proven MLB (preferably Tigers) talent. And it won you a World Series so I am not going to complain for one second about that. But, if you take a peek down the road, there are no reinforcements coming for this team. God forbid the Sox are unable to re-sign their own young studs like Mookie Betts and/or Xander Bogaerts. Not to mention David Price is 33, Chris Sale has had shoulder injuries 2 years in a row, Porcello is in a walk year, and the rotation behind them consists of JAGs like Brian Johnson, Hector Velazquez and Steven Wright.

Back in 2016 the Red Sox had the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball in Yoan Moncada and the No. 5 overall prospect in Andrew Benintendi leading the way for their six prospects in the Top 100. Obviously some of those guys were involved in the Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel trades, moves that helped you win the World Series. But, keeping an eye on this team’s long term viability, the Sox now only have ONE prospect in the Top 100 in Michael Chavis, who got popped for PEDs last year so your guess is as good as mine for how he’ll pan out.

One of Boston’s most exciting prospects, Jay Groome, was ranked No. 43 by MLB in 2017 before he blowing out his arm last year. Groome has the build that makes scouts drool as a 6’6″ lefty, but after Tommy John surgery won’t be back on the mound until late in 2019 at the earliest. He would likely start at Single A when he comes back from injury so Groome could still be years away from making an impact at Fenway. I still have sky high hopes for the kid, and not just because he was working out last offseason with current Red Sox ace Chris Sale. Just look at this MLB.com scouting report from 2016:

“Groome works with a 90-95 mph fastball that peaks at 97 with armside run, and he could throw harder as he gets stronger. Nevertheless, his best pitch is a curveball with power and depth that many evaluators believed was the best breaking ball in the 2016 Draft… Groome’s 6-foot-6 frame is built for durability and he uses it to generate good downhill plane on his pitches. His athleticism enables him to repeat his clean mechanics and fill the strike zone. He has the potential to become an ace if his makeup issues don’t get in his way, and he could be the best pitcher signed and developed by the Red Sox since Roger Clemens.”

So there are a ton of questions to answer for this team, but first there are a ton of beers that need drinking and a ton of Schrute Bucks that need spending on all of the World Series Champions swag.

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!