Category: Red Sox

Red Sox Weekend Recap

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After a tough loss on Friday night, the Red Sox bounced back to take two of three from the Minnesota Twins over the weekend in Minneapolis.

The bats were quiet for the Red Sox most of Friday night. They managed only one run off of six hits through eight innings, before getting three hits and two runs to tie the game in the top of the ninth. But with two outs in the bottom half of the inning Joe Mauer ended it with a solo shot to center. Mauer’s first career walk-off home run gave the Twins the 4-3 win.

After heating up in the ninth inning Friday night, the Sox bats stayed hot Saturday. Chris Young, who pinch hit for Jackie Bradley Jr. in the ninth inning Friday night and drove in the game-tying runs, went 2-for-5 on Saturday with two solo home runs. Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs, while Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi and Sandy Leon collected three hits each in the 11-1 Sox win.

The Sox hitters continued to pound the baseball on Sunday, but it was actually a lot closer than the 17-6 final score would indicate. Chris Sale struck out 10, but allowed four runs on four hits and three walks. The Sox led 7-6 with just one out and a runner on third in the bottom of the eighth when John Farrell went to his closer. Craig Kimbrel came in to strike out Joe Mauer and Max Kepler and get the Sox out of the jam.

The 10-run ninth inning overshadowed Farrell’s decision to go to Kimbrel with the tying run at third base in the bottom of the eighth inning. What was evident at the time and obvious in hindsight is that the last two outs of the eighth inning were the two most important outs of the game for the Red Sox. Good for Farrell to recognize that. If the Sox blow that lead, maybe the ninth inning plays out differently. A big win for the sabermetricians, too.

It was also good to see Farrell play the hot hands for the most part. With Bradley Jr. struggling, now batting just .175 on the season, it was good to see him stick with Chris Young and get rewarded. Sandy Leon also looked like a beast over the weekend, upping his average 50 points in two days with five hits, three home runs and five runs batted in.

The Sox are off today. They’ll finish up their six-game road trip with three games at  Miller Park in Milwaukee this week.

Celtics to Retire Paul Pierce’s #34

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The Celtics have retired more numbers than any other team in American sports history. With 21 numbers in the rafters, the Celtics have taken more numbers out of circulation than the New York Yankees. The Yankees will tie the Celtics for most retired numbers when they officially retire number 2 later this month, but the Celtics will retake the lead when they officially take number 34 out of circulation.

Despite the bevy of numbers in the rafters, it’s been a while since the Celtics have retired a number. The last time was December 15, 2003 when they retired Cedric Maxwell’s number 31. Maxwell played for the C’s from 1977 through 1985. The most recent Celtics player to have his number retired is Robert Parish. The Chief last played for the C’s in 1994 and had his number retired January 18, 1998.

Though the Celtics could be accused of retiring the number of any player who stuck around for a few championships, that is not the case here. Paul Pierce started his Celtics career on February 5, 1999 with 19 points and 9 rebounds against the Toronto Raptors at the Fleet Center. It was the first game of the lockout-shortened 1998-1999 NBA season. In 15 seasons with the Celtics, he scored 24,021 points, second only to John Havlicek (26,395) in team history.

Including his time with the Clippers, Nets and Wizards, Pierce retires with 26,397 career points, 15th most NBA history and third among active players. While never one of the top players in the game during his career, he posted solid numbers even while most of spotlight was placed on the likes of Shaq, Kobe, Kevin Garnett and LeBron to name a few. Maybe that’s why it is a bit surprising to realize he’s an all-time top 20 scorer in league history.

The Celtics had some lean times during the ’90s and ’00s. Pierce was good soldier through it all, and teamed up with Garnett and Ray Allen to bring Boston its first championship since the Larry Bird Era in 2008. The 2008 Finals MVP, Pierce will now become the first Celtic since the Larry Bird Era to have his number retired. He is an incredibly worthy recipient of this honor, and now unquestionably the greatest Celtic of the post-Bird Era.

Red Sox-Yankees Games in April Should Be Outlawed

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baseball-rainA spring nor’easter is heading up the east coast this week, with a 100% chance of rain and temperatures in the 40’s in Boston today. Things only look slightly better for tomorrow. Glad the Yankees are in town!

I know there’s no way to please everyone, and I don’t want to ask the league for special treatment, but I am tired of Red Sox-Yankees games in April. The NFL makes sure teams play more divisional games late in the season (the Patriots will only play one non-divisional opponent after Thanksgiving in 2017), why can’t MLB do something similar?

In 2003, the Red Sox didn’t play the Yankees until May 19. Meeting a little bit later in the season allowed each team to get established before squaring off. The anticipation made that first series more compelling. Unbelievably, tickets are still available to tonight’s game through the Red Sox box office. Hell, Bud Deck tables are still available for tonight’s game. How’s that for apathy?

Not meeting until late May also means 19 Red Sox-Yankees games in just over four months. When I went to school in the city during the height of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in the mid-2000s, classmates would ask why the Red Sox and Yankees play each other every weekend. It was great.

I know the rivalry has cooled off this decade, both teams have been off and on the last few years, but this would seem like an easy fix to generate some buzz. It doesn’t have to be every year, but it would be nice to see the Red Sox and Yankees not meet until Memorial Day occasionally. Let the warm weather rivals own April.

This Week Has Sucked

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The past five days have seen tragedy, blowout losses, bad calls and shocking news in the Boston sports pages. I’m not trying to compare and conflate real world tragedies and the ultimately inconsequential outcomes of professional sporting events. But the last five days have not been much fun as a Boston sports fan.

 

Hopefully bluer skies lie ahead for everyone. Though if it’s cloudy in Toronto, they can close the roof at the Sky Dome and Chris Sale can still strike out 20 tomorrow. That would be okay too.

A Lot of Good Things Have Happened on April 16

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We can’t go without mentioning that today is the 17th anniversary of the Patriots drafting Tom Brady. Only two other players drafted in 2000 remain active in the NFL – kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler.

The day Tom Brady was drafted was also Bill Belichick’s 48th birthday. That means BB turns 65 today.

And let’s not forget the great pizza toss of 2007. Here is the full “Here comes the pizza” incident a decade later.

LeBron James Is Crying Because People Like Steph Curry More

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Business Insider – Though Stephen Curry has undergone a somewhat sudden rise to one of the NBA’s most popular players and the league’s first unanimous MVP, he apparently has work to do within the league. According to Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, author of the newly released “Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry,” Curry is not all that popular with some of the league’s biggest stars, including LeBron James.

This is some straight up Mean Girls shit. People rag on for LeBron for a lot of things. Some fair, some not so much. But, if this is true and LeBron and other guys around the league are pissy because Steph Curry is getting too much shine? Cry me a river dude. Steph basically reinvented the 3 pointer by draining shots from everywhere on the court. Consistently. Its not like the guy hasn’t ever won a title either. So its no wonder the guy gets a lot of hype.

Steph, you want LeBron and his flunkies to accept you? Well on Fridays they wear pink so shape up.

If you wanna clown on Steph Curry for something, make it the ugly ass shoes he puts out. Twitter engulfs in flames every time Steph drops a shoe now because people can’t wait to meme the latest Dad Bod 7’s.

The NBA is a meritocracy. Simple as that. If you suck then you won’t get the shine. If you are a transcendent player then you will “leapfrog” other guys. Especially aging stars. Pipe down Chris Paul. You’ve had about 85 State Farm commercials over the past few years. You’re not exactly getting put out to pasture.

Plus people like Steph because he’s relatable. He’s not an athletic freak, he’s not a 6’8″ man-child that can play all 5 positions on the court. He’s a pretty unassuming dude who dominates with incredible outside shooting and a great handle. People can relate to that. Everyone loves to watch LeBron, he’s one of the greatest players of all time. But he’s an absolute once in a generation athletic specimen who’s been that way since he was 15. People can’t relate to that.

Fucking Mugatu over here is bullshit because people like Steph more than him. I’VE BEEN TO SIX STRAIGHT FINALS. I INVENTED THE PIANO KEY NECKTIE!

That Was Quick – Clay Buchholz Already Injured in Philly

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philly.com – Clay Buchholz flung a 70-mph pitch. It bounced before it reached home plate. The veteran starter shook his right arm. And that was it…

Buchholz suffered a right forearm strain, the team said. A gruesome night turned morbid when Buchholz, who allowed six runs to the Mets in 2 1/3 innings, walked to the dugout with a team athletic trainer during the third inning Tuesday.

The 32-year-old righthander, acquired last December in a $13.5 million dump by Boston, owns a 12.27 ERA after two starts with the Phillies.

It could be some time before his next appearance.

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It’s impossible to say that Buchholz would have gotten injured in Boston if the Red Sox hadn’t traded him. I wouldn’t have bet against it, though.

In ten years with the Red Sox, Buchholz only made more than 30 appearances once. That was in 2016 when he made 16 appearances out of the bullpen. He only made more than 20 starts in four of his ten seasons with the Red Sox.

Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t bet against Buchholz getting hurt, either. At the time of the Buchholz trade Dombrowski was lambasted for a “salary dump.” Scott Lauber wrote “Miss Buchholz yet? At some point, the Red Sox will.” Tony Massarotti called guys like me celebrating his exit “short-sighted fools.”

Sure thing, guys.

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Buy Me Some Peanuts and Lobster Poutine

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Boston Globe – In the past, Fenway Park has refrained from indulging in extravagant ballpark food trend, opting for tradition over Guy Fieri-esque creations.

But that might be changing this year, if ever so slightly. In addition to Chris Sale, Red Sox fans can look forward to a slate of exotic seafood concessions this season at Fenway.

The new 2017 menu includes a “Lobster Poutine Stak,” a New England take on the French-Canadian late-night delicacy. According to Fenway Park food vendor Aramark, the dish consists of steak fries, covered in fresh lobster meat, cheese curds, bisque, and chives.

I’m old enough to remember when people thought it was cute and funny that Fenway Park was selling clam chowder at April home games. I’m generally opposed to soup at ballparks, but  I’ll allow clam chowder at Fenway. It can’t be any worse than clam chowder out of the can from the supermarket, and it is a New England delicacy being served in New England. If I hear Cincinnati is selling clam chowder I may have a different opinion. Lobster Poutine is where I draw the line, though.

Fenway held its ground as long as it could offering up little more than hot dogs, popcorn, cracker jacks, soda, coffee and beer. The introduction of pizza, burgers and chicken tenders was a welcome sight. Clam chowder and craft beer were understandable. At least they weren’t serving deep-fried nachos on a stick or mac and cheese cones. While greatly overpriced, the concessions at Fenway still had some modesty. Not any more.

Poutine has to be the fastest growing appetizer in the food industry. The basic ingredients are easy enough – french fries, gravy and cheese – and it is also easy to upgrade and customize. With that in mind, Fenway is jumping on two bandwagons – poutine and the crazy ballpark food trend.

Call me skeptical, but I question the quality of ballpark lobster. I imagine it would be similar to gas station steak. At least with gas station steak all parties involved know what they’re getting into. In exchange for questionable meat you can make a steak for four bucks. Can’t wait to see what the actual retail price is for lobster poutine at Fenway. I’ll bid $23, Drew.

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