Category: Red Sox

Red Sox Push to Rename Yawkey Way – Does Anyone Actually Care?

By on • ( Leave a comment )

I’ve never typed “4 Yawkey Way” into my phone for directions to Fenway Park. I’ve never texted a friend or tweeted “Heading to Yawkey Way!” before going to a Red Sox game. The Red Sox desire to change the name of Yawkey Way back to Jersey Street has zero impact on my life, and it will not affect how many Red Sox games I buy tickets to or watch on NESN.

I generally don’t get too worked up over people, places or things getting renamed, and this situation is no different. I think that the free market usually does a pretty good job of figuring these things out on its own. If the Red Sox believe this change will allow them to sell more tickets, more NESN subscriptions and more hats, more power to them. It feels a bit like virtue signaling from John Henry and Tom Werner, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad move.

Debates over Tom Yawkey’s racist image aside, from just a pure baseball standpoint he doesn’t deserve to have the street named after him. Yawkey owned the Red Sox for 43 years, from 1933 until his death in 1976. In that time the Red Sox won three pennants but not one World Series. His Hall of Fame plaque mentions the pennants his teams “narrowly missed” in 1948, 1949 and 1972. If the Hall of Fame has to mention your “narrow misses” on your plaque, it’s a good indication that you probably don’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Wayne Huizenga won more rings than Tom Yawkey.

The Yawkey Foundation is not taking this news well and issued its own scathing response. They point to the foundation’s philanthropic endeavors across the region over the last 40 years. Perhaps a compromise could have been to rededicate Yawkey Way to the Yawkey Foundation, as opposed to Tom. Nuance doesn’t do well, though, in the age of the internet.

I think my response to this whole situation can be summed up in one word. Deep down, I think most Red Sox fans will agree.

Image result for simpsons meh gif

Brock Lesnar Probably In, Jon Jones Probably Out, And The State of UFC Headliners

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Sherdog – …During a hearing on Tuesday, the California State Athletic Commission revoked Jones’ license in the state and fined him 40 percent of his purse — $205,000 – from UFC 214. The revocation comes with a one-year period of ineligibility, meaning that Jones will not be able to reapply for a license until August at the earliest….“Let USADA give their discipline, when that’s completed, I’ll be inclined to support Jones in getting his license back,” CSAC Executive Officer Andy Foster said. “”I do not believe we should end Mr. Jones’ career today, but I do believe he should sit out for a while.”

sky sports – Lesnar is currently the WWE Universal champion but did not attend Raw this week…He was also absent from Sunday night’s Sky Sports Box Office event, Elimination Chamber, although he was not scheduled to appear, and was photographed in the host city Las Vegas with White…..That led to speculation that Lesnar will return to UFC after WrestleMania, and when asked on Sirius XM radio what the odds of that happening were, White said: “Very, very, very good.”

Express – Conor McGregor is reportedly in talks with the UFC to fight twice this year. That’s according to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, who last week revealed that negotiations between the UFC and their poster boy are going swimmingly. “The word is that negotiations with Conor McGregor are going well,” he wrote in his subscription-only newsletter.

It is surely a very odd time to be a UFC fan right now. It seems like the injury bug is biting everyone, including those at the top, and what seems to be compounding everything is that the few folks that could be counted on to carry a PPV simply aren’t around. In Brock Lesnar’s case, he hasn’t been for awhile, save a cameo at UFC 200. Jon Jones actually hasn’t been around much either, fighting once a year since 2014 and prefering weed, coke, hitting and running, and steroids to fighting, or so it seems. We’ll get to the man with the red panties later. What that makes for is this sort of holding period for the leader in MMA while they build up new superstars with peculiarly-placed headlining and co-headling bouts while biding their time with fan friendly duels between veterans and solid title fights that move divisions along the best they can.

There is a reason, after all, That previously barely-knowns Darren Till and Josh Emmett were both recently given quick turnaround, high profile fights (Till vs. Cowboy Cerrone, a success, Emmett vs. Jeremy Stepehens, not) after a noted highlight-reel knock out. The UFC is desperate to quickly build up names and star power, hoping to get one or more of the next generation of revenue generators into the title picture while they await Jones and Lesnar to cycle off and for Conor McGregor to stop slinging whiskey and shoes and get back in the gym.

This is the same reason behind Brian Ortega stepping in against Frankie Edgar in this weekend’s UFC 222 co-main event. Frankie Edgar has been a longtime top-10 pound for pound talent and has been breathing down the belt’s neck for awhile now, save for an admittedly lackluster performance against Jose Aldo at UFC 200. He could have either dropped from the card and waited for his title shot or faced a better known opponent, as it is rumored McGregor himself offered to step in to some capacity. However, Edgar has also proven to be willing and able to provide his services as the gatekeeper to the 145 top -3ish as well, e.g when he took on the highly-touted Yair Rodriguez last May. “The Answer” demolished Rodriguez, who was clearly not ready for what he had bitten off, and sent the prospect back home to catch up to the 36 year old veteran. Enter Ortega – coming off a convincing, if not a little sloppy, guillotine finish over perennial top-10 145er Cub Swanson. If Ortega is able to beat Frankie Edgar, it sets up a HUGE Featherweight Title fight between two of the best young fighters to come along in a who knows how long: Ortega and 145lb Champion Max Holloway. If he loses, it only cements Edgar’s claim to his title shot and his place among the featherweight elite. Either way, it clears the way for a big PPV headlining fight for the UFC; one less that they have to worry about.

Besides Till and Ortega, there are a few other guys you can be sure the UFC will try and build quickly over the next few months. At 170lbs with Till there is Santiago Ponzinibbio (Dana White doesn’t seem too pleased with the pace of a lot of Kamaru Usman’s fights and Colby Covington’s behavior is too erratic for the UFC to trust him yet; see Jones, Jonathan Dwight). At Middleweight, champion Robert Whitaker should be a household name soon if he can stay healthy, with stud Kelvin Gastelum, a 170-185lb tweener, always on the verge of stardom. There’s a bit of dearth in the heavier weight classes, but I could see Volkan Oezdemir sticking in the title picture and gaining popularity at 205. I could also see Aussie Tyson Pedro making the jump at some point, should he string together some wins. Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic should already be a star and the UFC is foolish to not have capitalized on his bankable skills and personality already. Up-and-comer Curtis Blaydes has star potential and pedigree and returning legend Cain Velsaquez has one more run in him should he stay healthy. In the lower weight classes, the Dillashaw-Garbrandt feud should be around awhile and a money maker. Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes are also breathing down their necks at 135 lbs. 155lb is ready to blow up with Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and maybe some day Nate Diaz gunning for a part in the enjoyable feud between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, with McGregor soon returning to join the fracas.

That paragraph, if you stuck around for it, was probably a long, boring read of a list of potential superstars who you probably don’t care about yet. But it illustrates my point that the lack of RIGHT NOW star power is not so much of a problem for the UFC if they can capitalize on what they have on their AAA team. With Lesnar possibly coming back to fill in a space and McGregor supposedly fighting twice this year, the UFC may only need a Fox card and a high-PPV spot for a couple of these guys to be pushed into contention and headliner status. If you are as much of an MMA nerd as I am, you’re also excited to see how it plays out.

 

JD Martinez Introduced by Red Sox; Crisis Averted. So, Does Another 9 Figure Contract in the Clubhouse Help or Hurt?

By on • ( Leave a comment )

JD Martinez has officially been introduced by the Red Sox so everyone can safely remove their finger from the panic button.

I fully admit I was starting to get a little nervous about the Red Sox shiny new toy, despite all the Boston sports writers rushing to their keyboards to defend the honor of the Sox and say this was totally normal.

Its definitely not out of the ordinary for any team to work in a clause in a contract to protect both sides. Think of when the Sox signed John Lackey and specifically put a clause in the deal saying if he missed any significant amount of time due to Tommy John Surgery, the Red Sox would automatically get an additional year added onto Lackey’s contract at the league minimum salary.

Now that ended poorly of course as Lackey blew his elbow out, activated the clause, and then bitched and moaned about said clause, and forced his way out of town via trade. So I honestly don’t know if those types of deals are still kosher in the MLB, but working language in that can activate opt outs is nothing new. However, announcing a deal is done and then not introducing the player for 7 full days is far from normal.

Whatever, either way the deal is done. It might not ever come out what the actual language was that caused the delay, but I think its safe to say, barring a very specific injury, JD Martinez is here for the long run.

Martinez does have an opt out clause of his own after the 2nd and 3rd year of the contract, but this is a guy thats already 30 years old and couldn’t find the deal he wanted after a 45 Home Run season. So you’re telling me that guy is going to opt out when he’s 32 or 33 in hopes of that mythical $200 Million deal? Sorry my friend, the days of guys on the wrong side of 30 getting that type of money are over. You can thank A-Rod, Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera for sucking that well dry.

Martinez is a good fit here though and more importantly he’s a veteran guy who’s completely reworked his game to get to where he is now. Seriously. He got cut by the Astros in 2013 and I mean the shit-bum Astros that lost 111 games that year, not the sexy 2017 World Series winning Astros. Then he signs with Detroit, reworks his entire swing and breaks out in 2015 with 38 Home Runs making his first All-Star team. Then in the midst of his career year, the Tigers ship him off to Arizona where he puts on a hitting clinic and finishes the year with 45 dingers.

So while he may not have that playoff/big market experience, he definitely has the adversity thing down pat. (Does that concern me in terms of consistency? 100%) My point is, a rough stretch should be no big deal to this guy. That could be very valuable in a club house that was filled with more dickhead diva types than blue collar types that willed their way to success. There were too many instances of guys like Mookie or Xander hitting a cold streak and instead of working it out, they went into the tank and had massive slumps en route to hugely disappointing years.

Hopefully another 9 figure contract walking into the clubhouse has the balls and really just the gravitas to tell some of these guys whats up rather than letting David Price run the joint all by himself. Think about it, theres not a lot of guys on that team that are 1.) good enough and 2.) paid enough to demand that immediate respect. Thats why this role has seemingly defaulted to David Price once David Ortiz was no longer around. Sure you could say Chris Sale, but I honestly think he’d rather be a lead by example type of guy. Pedroia threw his teammates under the bus last year with the whole Adam Jones scenario. Hanley Ramirez isn’t engaged enough to be a leader. Bogaerts seems to want no part of it and the rest of the team is full of young guys or part-timers. Your best bet is either Mookie taking on the role like he’s said he wants to or JD Martinez coming in and being THE guy. Only time will tell, but I am fired up to see this team on the field together.

David Price Doing His Best to Deter Free Agents from Signing With the Red Sox

By on • ( Leave a comment )

ESPN –  J.D. Martinez had no shortage of information to consider before agreeing Monday evening to sign with the Boston Red Sox. But ace David Price tried to make the slugger’s decision a little bit easier. “I’ve talked to him a couple of times,” Price said recently. “I told him we’d love to have him here.” Price, Martinez’s teammate with the Detroit Tigers in 2014-15, elaborated in an interview with USA Today Sports that was published Tuesday. “I told J.D. he will love the guys here in this clubhouse, but also told him he’ll get booed,” Price told the newspaper. “He’s a quiet, soft-spoken guy, but he’ll handle it. Besides, everyone gets booed. I heard Big Papi get booed many times in Fenway.”

Jesus christ this guy just can’t get out of his own way. Just lie to us. Just lie. Don’t tell me that you told a Free Agent Boston is a great place to play, but then follow that up IMMEDIATELY by saying its a negative shit hole and all the fans will boo you and are mean on Twitter.

“It’s tough here,” is how Price described his first two seasons in a Red Sox uniform, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “There’s just so much more negativity.”

And whats all this about booing David Ortiz? Many times? I mean maybe some fans did in 2009 (the only year from 2004-2013 he didn’t make the All-Star team) when he hit .238? That was also a cool 7 years before Price played for the Red Sox. Did fans boo Big Papi many times in the one season they played together in 2016? Ya know the year Ortiz hit .315 with 48 Home Runs and 127 RBI’s on his retirement tour? The year he had a 1.021 OPS, the 4th best of his entire 20 year career?

I call Kangaroo Court.

But, I digress. If anything, this tells you what JD Martinez thinks of David Price’s opinion. Oh its a miserable, negative shit hole? I’m in.

Meanwhile we have Rick Porcello going the complete opposite direction in his assessment of Boston when asked by Martinez:

“It’s honestly a pleasure playing in Boston,” he explained. “Yeah, there are tough times if you’re not playing well. You’re going to hear about it. But what’s wrong with that? Who doesn’t want to hear about it? Because when you are playing well, it feels like you’ve got the entire world behind you, and that’s all you can ask for as a player. That’s fair.”

Little tidbits like this make me wonder just how divided this Red Sox clubhouse really is. You have guys like Porcello and Chris Sale talking about how they love the pressure and accountability of Boston, which is the antithesis of Price who bitches about everything every chance he gets. I wonder if one of the veterans is going to, if they haven’t already, tell Price to just STFU.

Before the negative attitude infects all of the good young players on this team and they think its natural, encouraged even, to piss and moan to the media every time Dan Shaugnessy writes a mean word about you.

This is what guys like Price say they understand, but they don’t really get it. If you 1.) play hard and 2.) perform well you’ll be scotch. Hell even if you can’t do #2 but you still do #1 then you’re good in my book. Trot Nixon is a goddamn legend in this town. People to this day still lovingly refer to him as a dirt dog. The guy with a .274 career batting average and 137 Home Runs. That guy is revered around here because he played his balls off every day.

I’m not saying you can’t complain or you can’t get mad because that’s only human, but channel that negative energy man. Use it. Get pissed off. Pitch well for an entire season. But don’t cash those $31 Million checks every year while whining about every little perceived slight every single time there’s a mic in your face. And definitely do not tell prospective Free Agent signings that they will get booed by the fans if they sign here. Christ.

John Henry Just Son’d Tom Werner Saying “We Don’t Need to Be Popular, We Need to Win.”

By on • ( Leave a comment )

ABC – As the Boston Red Sox stepped out into the sun Monday for their first full-squad workout of spring training, owner John Henry maintained that he’s more concerned about W’s and L’s than the team’s Q rating. “We really don’t need to be popular,” Henry said. “We need to win.” But despite winning 93 games and the American League East title for a second straight season in 2017, questions were raised about the Red Sox’s likability. Although attendance at Fenway Park remained almost unchanged, regional television ratings were down 15 percent on New England Sports Network, according to Nielsen Media data, while sports-talk airwaves were filled with the grievances of dissatisfied fans.

If you’ve ever read “Feeding the Monster” then you know exactly what I’m talking about here. In the behind the scenes book covering the inner workings of the Red Sox you read about a young Theo Epstein going to battle time and time again with Tom Werner and the entertainment side of the Sox over player personnel.

Theo wanted to build a farm system and sign smart, albeit boring, free agents to, ya know, win. Tom Werner isn’t against winning per se, but goddamnit the Red Sox needed to be sexy. He wanted more big names, more story lines.Winning be damned. The team had to be marketable to more demos with more attractive stars. Seriously. Read the book, Werner said that shit. You think hits like Roseanne just fall into place? No way. It takes years of creative genius steering the ship and shame on Theo for not listening to the Neilsen Rating System more when building his roster. Guy never stood a chance as a baseball executive going up against brainpower like Tom Werner.

Goddamnit. Can you tell I’m still bitter about the Red Sox running the best baseball mind of our generation out of town?

Anyways, if we’re going to take John Henry at his word, it seems like he may be smartening up. He’s not exactly George Steinbrenner so he’s not going to just punt on everything that doesn’t directly lead to winning. But, Henry is a smart dude, he knows that popularity follows winning, not the other way around. If the Red Sox are hammering opposing teams all summer on their way to a World Series then they’ll be pretty damn popular. However, if the team is focused on signing guys based solely on their marketability (i.e Pablo Sandoval the Panda) well thats how you find yourselves in a shit storm you’re still digging out of 3 years later.

I Think the Red Sox Yankees Rivalry May Finally Be Back

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Its been a tough decade for the so called blood feud between the Red Sox and the Yankees. Neither team has really been very good at the same time recently. After the epic postseason clashes of 2003 and 2004 the two sides haven’t played each other in the playoffs even once. Before last year, both teams hadn’t even made the playoffs in the same season since 2009. In 2007 when the Sox won it all, the Yankees got smoked in the divisional round. In 2009 when the Yankees won it all, the Sox got swept in the divisional round. And in 2013 when the Red Sox went the distance again, the Yanks straight up sucked and missed the playoffs winning only 85 games.

The guys much smarter than me over at fivethirtyeight.com actually put together a graph last year, based on each team’s World Series odds, to measure how meaningful games between the Sox and Yankees actually have been over the years.

“From 2007 to 2016, the typical Yanks-Sox contest was only about as important as any old opening-day game. In other words, it was fun but no big deal.”

So we’re on the up ladies and gentlemen. Last year Boston won its second straight AL East crown and the Yankees came within a game of advancing to the World Series on the back of young, homegrown talent. All of that was BEFORE New York added the best power hitter in the game in Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees, who featured a guy in Aaron Judge who hit 52 home runs AS A ROOKIE, just added a guy who hit 59 home runs. Ridiculous.

Well, thank god the Sox finally responded by signing one Julio Daniel Martinez.

It took a lot longer than most expected, but it sure is nice to take a team that won 93 games and then add this guy: .303 BA/.376 OBP/ .690 SLG with 45 Home Runs and 104 RBIs.

And for all the Yankees fans in my timeline talking shit already (its not even St. Patty’s Day yet) I’m just going to quote my man Jared Carrabis:

“After finishing last in the league in homers last year, the Red Sox added the player who is second in the MLB in slugging percentage (.574) since the start of the 2014 season behind Mike Trout (.579) with a minimum of 300 games played.”

A consolation prize he is not.

My point being though is this could be the first time we see Boston and New York square off in the playoffs in more than a decade. Both teams are stacked, young, and trending upwards. Sure the Patriots have taken the No. 1 spot in town and the Sox have won 3 titles since 2004, but I honestly don’t think thats why the venom between the Red Sox and the Yankees has dissipated. No, its because both teams haven’t been trying to kill each other for that next ring. If the Yankees and their loudmouth fans in the Bronx are standing between Chris Sale and a World Series appearance, you better fucking believe fans are gonna be fired up.

All we need is the opportunity, and thats what we have here tonight.

The Red Sox Finally Sign JD Martinez

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Update: The JD Martinez deal is $110 Million over 5 years with opt outs after the 2nd and 3rd year.

LETS GO! According to Pedro Gomez of ESPN the Red Sox just signed JD Martinez after months of blue balling each other.

The total dollars have yet to be reported, but years wise it seems like a good deal for both sides. The $200+ Million deal Martinez was hoping for never materialized and he chose to wait it out hoping someone would get stupid and swipe their Free Agency credit card. Never happened and you can imagine JD is less than pleased with Scott Boras for setting those expectations.

But a 5 year deal is perfect for the team and if JD continues to hit 40+ home runs every year then he can opt out after 2 years and try his luck again.

Depending on who you listen to the Sox were offering anywhere from $100-$125 Million and as a Red Sox fan I am more than happy with that. I mean its not my money so I could care less how much these guys actually get paid, but as we’ve seen in recent years when the team buries itself with bloated contracts it hamstrings them in potential future deals. An abortion of a $95 Million deal for Pablo Sandoval, a $217 Million contract for media combatant David Price, and of course the $72 Million deal the Sox handed out to Rusney Castillo after seeing his And1 Mixtape. All huge commitments with the most successful of the 3 having been as a middle relief pitcher in the playoffs. That my friends is what they call a less than ideal ROI.

So assuming the JD deal is in that reported $100-$125 Million range, the Red Sox have set themselves up really well for the present without strapping themselves for cash in the future when guys like Mookie Betts come due for big money deals.

Dealer Dave finally got one right and I’m sure everyone in Dunkin Donuts will hear all about it Tuesday morning.

 

If the TB12 Method Works for Hanley I Will Never Drink Pepsi Again

By on • ( Leave a comment )

hanley

AP – Coming off a career-worst batting average and sizeable drop in production, Red Sox DH Hanley Ramirez turned to a new offseason workout routine — he’s following Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady’s TB12 method.

The 34-year-old Ramirez felt like entering the later stages of his career that it was time to make a change. For him, who better to follow than a 40-year-old QB that just captured his third MVP award.

“I went on the Tom Brady side,” said Ramirez, who reported on Friday, a few days before full-squad workouts begin. “I think it’s 100 percent everything he says in the book, the work he does, makes sense.”

I’m on record as saying that I will never read The TB12 Method. I’m more of a Bartolo Colon Big Sexy Cookbook kind of guy. I love my nightshades. But if the TB12 Method works for Hanley Ramirez, I will gladly pour out my Pepsi bottles, dispose of my Frosted Flakes and move to “the Tom Brady side.” If the TB12 Method can work for Hanley Ramirez, that’s enough proof for me that it can work for anyone.

For the sake of this Red Sox season I hope that the TB12 Method does work for Hanley. Do I believe that he has read every word of the The TB12 Method, cover to cover? No. At least he’s saying the right things at the start of spring training, though. It shows that he is focused and that he is motivated. With or without J.D. Martinez the Red Sox need production out of Hanley to compete for a title this year. If Hanley’s 2018 looks anything like his 2017, the Red Sox would be lucky to win even one game in the playoffs.

It also happens to be a contract year for Hanley Ramirez, which might explain his focus this spring. If he makes 497 plate appearances this season his $22 million option for 2019 will kick in. Only three times in 12 years has Hanley failed to make at least 497 plate appearances. All the more reason for the Red Sox to sign J.D. Martinez and keep Hanley’s workload in check. Five years at $25 million a year for J.D. Martinez sounds a lot better if it also allows you to move on from Hanley Ramirez sooner.

Even if Hanley doesn’t make 497 plate appearances a strong 2018 will still allow him to maximize his earning ability as a 35-year-old free agent a year form now. If he’s adhering to the TB12 Method, even if his big-money days are behind him, maybe it’s a sign he would still like to play for a few more years and make some decent dough at the end of his career.

Baseball-Reference is projecting 539 plate appearances, a .255 batting average, 24 home runs and 73 RBIs for Hanley this year. If the Sox don’t add J.D. Martinez, I bet Hanley does make the necessary amount of plate appearances to come back for $22 million in 2019.

While his time in Boston as a whole has been disappointing, Hanley was a 30 HR / 100 RBI guy in 2016. He had offseason surgery on his left shoulder and said he was “hitting with one arm last year” when he hit 23 home runs and still made 553 plate appearances. I wouldn’t be surprised if a healthy, motivated and focused Hanley Ramirez puts up numbers more like 2016 (than 2017 or 2015) this season.

If Hanley has 20 HRs and 65 RBIs by the all-star break, I will head down to Patriot Place and buy The TB12 Method book, the TB12 weighted vest, medicine ball, looped band kit, and all the salt water electrolytes I can get my hands on.

WEEI to Get the Jon Taffer Treatment Friday

By on • ( Leave a comment )

25483176-0a89-4255-9ad0-0fb64c04d24b

It’s been a rough couple of weeks at WEEI. After Alex Reimer’s “pissant” comment late last month and Christian Fauria’s racist impression of Don Yee last week, the station has been getting all sorts of bad press and hemorrhaging advertisers. Something had to be done to address this situation, and it now appears that WEEI will shut down for the day on Friday to host mandatory sensitivity training for all employees.

The fact that WEEI’s sensitivity training will probably resemble Dunder Mifflin’s sensitivity training is irrelevant. Something had to be done. If nothing else this station, and its parent company, had to do something to show that it was taking these incidents seriously. They’ve had enough incidents lately for it to become a full-blow situation over there.

And based on the timing, right before the start of spring training, I wouldn’t be surprised if WEEI wanted to show the Boston Red Sox in particular that it was taking this situation seriously and handling it appropriately. Even with deals in place for years to come, I can’t imagine John Henry would want the logo of an embattled radio station all over his ballpark all summer. Especially since his club has plenty of its own marketing issues to worry about.

Friday seems as good a time as any for the station to take a much needed timeout. It should give everyone a chance to discuss, reflect and reset. As was written about in the Herald earlier today, WEEI needs to get back to basics, and fast. I don’t want WEEI to turn into some bland midwest “Sports Animal” sports talk station. Its brash style is what has made WEEI wildly funny and entertaining in the past. But if it can’t get back to basics, I don’t want to listen as it continues to spiral out of control.

The XFL is Back! Lets Start Constructing Our Dream Team

By on • ( 3 Comments )

“What would you do if you could reimagine the game of football?”

Vince McMahon always has been and always will be the ultimate showman. Oh that ill conceived football league I launched in 2001 that only lasted one season? Well guess what, we’re doubling down and bringing it back! Vince said he’s here to “give the game of football back to fans.” What does that mean? Nobody knows! But it sure as shit fuels the hype machine.

Vince made the announcement on Twitter dot com because he’s savvy like that before taking questions from reporters. Highlights from the #XFL2020 press conference below:

  • 8 teams, 40 man rosters, 10 game regular season, and a 4 team postseason with a Championship Game
  • “In the XFL the quality of the human being is going to be as important as the quality of the player.”(Soo you can sit down now, Greg Hardy.)
  • “There will be no crossover whatsoever of talent from the WWE.” (Thank god. Somebody get Gus Johnson on the line STAT.)
  • “As far as our league is concerned it will have NOTHING to do with politics and nothing to do with social issues….whatever our rules are, are what everybody will abide by….we’re here to play football.” (Sounds like Vince was not a fan of the kneeling.)
  • “It will just be a better game than what people are accustomed to.” (Sure!)
  • “There may not be a half time, sitting and watching a 3-3 1/2 hour game is laborious…we’re going to try to get to 2 hours.” (Now we’re talking.)
  • “Not sure about the individual of the He Hate Me…whether or not we do that we’re going to listen to football experts and what the fans want.” (If you don’t allow nicknames on jerseys don’t even bother, Vince.)
  • The season will begin at the end of January/early February (Fill that crippling void post-Super Bowl.)

So Vince was super dodgy about giving any actual details on the league, why he’s bringing it back, what exactly will be different etc. but it seems like he’s going to be giving himself more time to actually get something quality in place. Rather than rushing it, the XFL will begin play in 2020, so thats a 2 year window for Vince to get it together. Vince referenced the quality of play as the No. 1 thing that was lacking the first time around so we’ll see if 2 years is enough time to get some decent talent together.

I’m sure plenty of details and rumors will flood in over the coming days. But for now, lets get to whats really important. Whats my starting lineup for my first game in the XFL? This is assuming nobody is going to leave the NFL unless they hate money, so we’re going to have to dig deeper with some castoffs or guys that may be on their way out of the NFL.

  • QB1: Tim Tebow
  • QB2: Vernon Adams
  • RB1: Reggie Bush
  • RB2: Toby Gerhart
  • FB: Glenn Gronkowski
  • WR1: Terrell Owens
  • WR2: Ocho Cinco
  • WR3: Wes Welker
  • TE: Tim Wright

I had Money Manziel and Adrian Peterson penciled into my starting lineup, but then Vince dropped this line:

“You want someone who does not have any criminality whatsoever associated with them. In the XFL even if you have a DUI you will not play in the XFL so that would probably eliminate some of them…If Tim Tebow wants to play, he could very well play.”

So that probably eliminates Manziel, Peterson and basically half the available players out there. We’ll go with my guy Tim Tebow instead because they will let him do whatever the hell he wants. The first coach since Urban Meyers that will be willing to build an offense around Tebow. But in case he doesn’t want to leave his cushy job at ESPN/hitting cleanup for the Mets, then we’ll smuggle former Oregon QB Vernon Adams out of the CFL and let him do his damn thing. I cannot imagine anyone other than a running QB will have any success in the XFL.

Running the ball we’ve got old school thunder and lighting with my man Reggie Bush, who should have no problem carving up the scrub DII linebackers he’ll be playing against, and Toby Gerhart backing him up because…well…hey man slim pickings for running backs not on an NFL roster these days. The Pats have 5 running backs for christ’s sake.

We got Baby Gronk at fullback because how are you going to have the XFL without a Gronkowski in it?

Who are my go-to receivers? Easy. The first two guys I’m calling are T.O. and Ocho Cinco because ya just know those guys are rearing to go and would probably play for minimum wage at this point. T.O can still play, he’s just insufferable so nobody wanted him on their team….in the NFL. Then we got old reliable Wes Welker working the slot. Unless Vince is afraid of someone getting diagnosed with CTE in the first week of the season then he might not get cleared to play.

Then we got that bum Tim Wright playing TE because he’s another athletic freak that just has not been able to make it work in the NFL so to the XFL for you, Tim.

I’m sure theres plenty of names that will become available, but with Vince throwing a wrench into everything with his morality clause we could be seeing a lot of CFL or college players roaming the field.

2020 is so close, yet so far away. The XFL is back baby!