SFGate – The A’s, perennially near the bottom in major-league attendance, are getting creative about selling tickets for next season. They scrapped their traditional season-ticket format and are introducing a more flexible system in which fans will have a variety of options at every home game.It’s called A’s Access, and memberships will go on sale at 9 a.m. Friday. “A’s Access is the first program of its kind,” COO Chris Giles said. “From access to every game to special member concessions pricing, we’re focused on maximizing the value proposition for members. We are inviting our fans to truly become members of the A’s.”
First Moneyball, now this. Billy Beane strikes again!
If you can’t be good be interesting, or in this case, super convenient. Papa Giorgio and I have debated for years about going in on Red Sox season tickets, but its such a commitment. Aside from the exorbitant price of course, you have to commit to 81 games, and all the expenses that go with it. Beer, food, merch. It adds up to a fat bill quick.
Well the A’s have addressed all of that because they probably realize nobody is going to sign off on going to 81 Athletics games. This ain’t 2002.
So they flipped the script and introduced this new flexible membership plan.
“The program provides members general-admission access to every game, a reserved-seat plan and additional benefits including half-price concessions, 25 percent off merchandise and upgrade credits for games not included in a reserved-ticket plan.”
General Admission access is a great idea, especially for a team that is at the bottom of the league in attendance. Whats the point in charging a guy who buys tickets in the last row in the nosebleeds significantly less than the guy who buys tickets in the first row of the nosebleeds? If no one shows up those guys are gonna be sitting next to each other anyways. (Unless you’re one of those weirdos who sits in his obscure seat despite open seats everywhere around you.)
So just split the difference and offer GA and let people basically sit wherever they want with the option to upgrade and reserve seats for the high rollers.
Now this is where the perks get good.
“Plans begin at $240, and pricing includes $4 beers, $3 hot dogs and $2.50 sodas. Current season-ticket holders can renew under the new program. A 12-month payment plan is available.”
FOUR DOLLAR BEERS?! Thats worth the price of admission alone.
I’m terrible at math so I’m certainly not going to do this exercise, but lets say you went out to the bar 81 times between April and September. I bet you would save significant money just going to the A’s games instead and getting cocked on $4 beers, even when you factor in the ticket price. I’m just going to take that as fact.
Add in $3 dogs, $2.50 sodas and 25% off merch and I am ready to move to the Bay Area (not Oakland because I want to live) and become an A’s fan to take advantage.
The sales and marketing team got a little cocky at the end though.
“The ticket department, confident the A’s will overtake teams above them in the standings, said fans buying the A’s Access plan for 2019 will get first crack at 2018 postseason tickets.”
In the midst of walking off with their 75th win of the season, the Red Sox and Dave Dombrowksi were working the phones and acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Angels while most of us were sleeping.
The Sox PR team wasted no time in announcing the trade as I got this email at 1:02 AM.
Now I know what you’re thinking, no, Ian Kinsler is not a relief pitcher. The Indians, Astros, and Yankees continue to load up on bullpen arms while the Sox are doubling down on whats gotten them this far; hitting the shit out of the ball. So while I would like to see the Sox acquire some arms for the pen, barring any deadline day deals it doesn’t seem to be a top priority for them.
Dombrowski: “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last move we make. A lot of people talk about our bullpen but we like our bullpen.”
I guess the thinking is you can just take whoever doesn’t make the playoff rotation and throw them in the pen with the rest of that motley crew. So take Nathan Eovaldi, Drew Pomeranz, and Hector Velazquez and have them handle some innings in the playoffs. It worked with David Price last year, but I’m also not crazy about throwing starting pitchers into high leverage relief situations in October and hoping for the best.
Anyways, Kinsler is a big name and a 4-time All-Star with more pop than your typical second baseman. Similar to my old favorite Dan Uggla, except Kinsler is actually a pretty slick fielder having won a Gold Glove in 2016. He’s not the same guy he used to be as he’s now 36-years-old, but I like the addition.
Ian Kinsler to the Red Sox first reported by @Ken_Rosenthal. Kinsler’s offensive numbers are down, but still a higher WAR this season than every Sox position player except Betts, Benintendi, Martinez and Bogaerts. And he has an .859 OPS since May 28.
He’s batting a weak .239 on the year, but if you factor out a slow start to the season he’s been pretty good the past 2 months.
“In 51 games since May 29, the right-handed batter has hit .286 (57-for-199) with an .866 OPS, including .417 (20-for-48) with a 1.137 OPS in his last 13 games.”
Incredible irony in the move though as Kinsler is taking over for the injured Dustin Pedroia at second base, years after Pedroia took Kinsler’s job.
“Pedroia and Kinsler were teammates in college at Arizona State, where Pedroia took over Kinsler’s starting shortstop spot in 2002. Kinsler then transferred to Missouri the following year.”
For all the hype “Dealer Dave” gets he sure does love trading for the same players over and over again, having traded for Kinsler when he was with the Tigers in 2013.
Unfortunately this probably takes the Sox out of the running for old friend Adrian Beltre as the Kinsler move frees up Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez to platoon at third in Rafael Devers’ absence.
We’ve got just a few hours before the Trade Deadline so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for any additional moves the Red Sox make today.
So I saw an article the other day about how former Celtics first round pick Jared Sullinger is playing overseas in the hopes of making an NBA comeback. We all remember Sullinger as the guy who was always a little too large, especially for a dude with foot and back issues. Basically the definition of unfulfilled potential, and he readily admits it in the article.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the former C’s big man is absolutely DOMINATING over in China for the Shenzhen Leopards. I feel like this is something people need to be made aware of. Last year Sullinger AVERAGED 30.1 points per game. That is absurd. He is basically as effective in China as Michael Jordan was over the course of his career in the NBA. Not to mention Sullinger is also grabbing 16.6 boards per game.
The guy seems to have finally found his place in the basketball world, albeit backing down former NBA scrubs and Chinese guys he probably towers over, but still good to see. Sullinger went off in a few games specifically too, dropping 41, 46, and 55 in three individual games.
Whats more absurd is that Sullinger’s 30 PPG was only good for ninth in the league. The Chinese Basketball Association is like some wet dream envisioned by Mike “Seven Seconds or Less” D’Antoni with absolutely zero defense allowed.
Now China obviously isn’t the NBA, but it is where a lot of former NBA players go to rebuild their value, collect a paycheck, or in the case of Stephon Marbury build a fanatical following and a Chinese shoe empire.
If nothing else, China represents an opportunity to watch read about on Twitter how former big name flameouts in the NBA are finding their way to success overseas.
I’ve now spent the better part of my afternoon scrolling through Chinese Basketball Association stats just to find gems like this: former No. 6 overall pick Yi Jianlian, better known as “The Chairman” as coined by Bill Simmons way back in the day, is even putting up 27 points a game. Soo I can feel your enthusiasm for Sullinger’s stats waning the longer you read this blog…Well, former Celtic Brandon Bass averages 21 points per game…..Tyler Hansborough averages 20.8…..even Starbury is putting up 14.9 at 41 years old…
CBS Sports – With a completely revamped team, the Browns have generated a ton of buzz this offseason — buzz that will undoubtedly only increase when Hard Knocks premiers Aug. 7. One of those new players — wide receiver Jarvis Landry — has already bought into the hype.
“You’ll be lucky if we don’t score 40 on you,” he said in a feature with Sports Illustrated. “If we get everyone playing to their potential, we can win the Super Bowl this year.”
Now we’re just getting into semantics. I mean, technically he’s right. It is “possible” the Browns *can* win the Super Bowl.
They are eligible for that opportunity. But lets not confuse what we can do with what we will do. I *can* be an astronaut. Technically possible. Probably a lot more realistic if I could do long division without my phone and didn’t get nauseous on planes though.
As always, there’s an Entourage quote for that.
Jarvis Landry: “Whats it matter? We wanna do it.”
Ari Gold:
According to NFL.com“Eventual Super Bowl champions average 12.0 wins per season.”
The Browns haven’t won 12 games over the last FOUR YEARS.
Sure, they added Landry, Tyrod Taylor, Josh Gordon (maybe?), No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, Georgia RB Nick Chubb, and others. But are those guys worth 12 Wins Above Replacement? I think not.
I am hella excited to run naked bootlegs with Baker Mayfield and chuck bombs to Landry and Gordon in Madden ’19 though and thats all that really matters.
The Atlantic – Nothing has been straightforward for Terry Rozier early in his career. He’s only three years into the league, but he has already become a cultural icon in the NBA and sneakerhead community. Now he is embarking on a new phase of his journey, announcing Thursday that he is signing a sneaker deal with Puma….
I mean this is the biggest news of the offseason right? Terry Rozier aka Scary Terry aka TRozzay has become the latest NBA name to sign with Puma’s upstart hoops line. America’s 2nd Unit Point Guard is going to be sweating unwavering, sometimes bordering on delusional confidence through the official brand of Euro trash and, formerly, punk pop bands and their fans.
In all serious this kind of is a pretty big get for Puma. More and more folks are looking for the cool, cult of personality to imitate and get fashion/pop culture inspiration from rather than the outrageously ubiquitous superstar. Think how much niche blogs ( 😉 ) and podcasts now influence consumer markets. The legend of Terry Rozier fills that role to a T. He lends, quite plainly, the cred to the market-befuddling Puma basketball launch that the draft talent that announced their sneaker-deal allegiance to the Cat couldn’t.
So while I formerly laughed off Puma for this venture as misguided at best, if they continue to sign the Terry Rozier’s of the world I can see this possibly working. Stay in the Scary Terry, Lance Stephenson, Peach Lowry at MOST lane and I could actually see this doing well.
…..But I didn’t mean for this to become a business blog. We are a pro-#12 blog here, be it Oates, Brady, or now Rozier. To that end, our shot chuckin back-up 1 is the talk of the town right now, the cock of the walk. Women want to be with him and men want to be him. So I want to end this by offering a hearty “Congrats On Those Euro Dollars, Young Man”. You’ve earned it…
Yahoo Sports – When the fifth edition of The Basketball Tournament tipped off last month, more was at stake than just which team would claim the event’s winner-take-all $2 million prize.
Also hanging in the balance was the fate of a former middle-school principal’s radical attempt to revolutionize the sport of basketball.
Nick Elam, now a Ball State professor, Mensa member and Cincinnati Reds groundskeeper, has long watched with annoyance as entertaining basketball games deteriorated down the stretch into disjointed, foul-laden whistle fests. He studied the most frequently discussed remedies — stiffer penalties for intentional fouls or allowing hacked teams to pick their free-throw shooter — but none offered trailing teams a reasonable alternative to fouling…
Under Elam’s proposal, the game clock disappears at the first stoppage in the last four minutes of a college game and the last three minutes of an NBA game. Officials then establish a target score by taking the score of the team that leads and adding seven points. The game ends whenever one team reaches that number, ensuring that every contest concludes with the winning team sinking a clinching basket or foul shot.
The Elam Ending is the only reason I watched the last few minutes of Thursday night’s TBT matchup between Louisiana United and Overseas Elite. The guarantee that the game would end on a game-winning shot definitely intrigued me. Too bad that shot is not guaranteed to be a half-court heave. In fact, in last night’s Louisiana United vs. Overseas Elite contest the game-winning shot was a free throw.
Slogging through a glorified intramural tournament game (with a gym and crowd comparable to my intramural experiences) for its fantastic finish only to see it fizzle out instead was less than ideal. Still, the idea intrigues me.
Essentially, the Elam Ending prevents the final minutes of a game from becoming a parade to the free throw line. Instead of fouling to get the ball back, the trailing team can’t trade buckets and jack up threes to try to close the gap. When the team that’s leading only needs seven points to win, the trailing team is forced to try to play lock down defense. In theory, that should make the final few minutes a little less painful.
This is not like a shootout, that turns the end of a hockey game into a skills competition. Or college football overtime, which removes special teams from the game. This an attempt to make the last minutes of a basketball game look more like an actual basketball game. Nothing radical about that. It might not produce the Christian Laettner shot at the end of every game, but it would make most games more entertaining down the stretch.
Would I want to see this rule used in the NBA Finals, or the NCAA Tournament? No. But for the NBA summer league, or The Basketball Tournament? Why the hell not. It got me to watch a game from The Basketball Tournament last night, and I know I’m not the only one who watched just to witness an Elam Ending. If it gets more eyeballs on your product, it’s a win.
Everyone has been freaking out the Patriots traded Jimmy G back in October. Who is gonna take over when Tom Brady retires? Whats the plan of succession? How are we going to compete in the future with studs like Jimmy leaving town? We are all doomed. Well, I got my first look at Patriots rookie QB Danny Etling today…..and I think we’re gonna be alright.
If I know anything about playing quarterback in the NFL, and I think I do, being handsome is like 80% of it. Brady, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Drew Brees, Marcus Marriota, Garoppolo. All. Handsome.
So I just want to get ahead of the crowd and invite Danny Etling into the Handsome Men’s Club.
Show of handsome? All in favor?
Its only the first day of practice in his first year as a pro, but I think the Patriots may have struck gold with this 7th Round handsome son of a bitch.
*Insert over-used “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” reference here.* (Go ahead and even sing it in your head, if you want.)
FOOTBALL IS BACK, BABY!
The Patriots officially kicked off training camp in Foxborough today, and per usual there are plenty of storylines to get to.
But this year feels a little bit different. Instead of focusing on positional battles or guessing which player you’ll invest a high fantasy draft pick on only to see Belichick bury them on the bottom of the depth chart before the first leaves even change color (see: Dobson, Aaron; Gillislee, Mike; Ochocinco, Chad; Ridley, Stevan; Taylor, Fred), people seem to be much more concerned with how much “fun” the team is having, how “mean” Belichick really is, or why Tom Brady doesn’t eat tomatoes (no, but really, he doesn’t).
This entire offseason has felt like an episode of General Hospital, and I’m honestly done with all the soap opera bullshit. I’m just ready to watch some good action on the gridiron.
Here’s the first of a weekly series from The 300s focusing on actual football-related issues pertaining to Brady & Co. before Christmas finally arrives on Sunday, September 9:
Sexy Rexy vs. the New Kid: Who Ya Got?
The Pats surprised a lot of people in May when they selected former Georgia stud running back Sony Michel with the 31st pick in this year’s NFL draft.
Sure, Dion Lewis – who totaled over 1,100 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns last season – had signed with the Titans two months before, but the team still had Rex Burkhead, James White, and Mike Gillislee, the last of whom people thought maybe (JUST MAYBE) could have a bounce-back season after the Pats signed him to a two-year, $6.4 million deal last summer. (OK, I know most people forgot Gillislee was even on the team, but let’s not forget that this was a guy who averaged just under six yards a carry and scored 12 total touchdowns from 2015-2016 as a backup to LeSean McCoy in Buffalo. He also had 98 carries for the Pats through the first eight weeks of last season before being banished to the bench for the rest of the year, save for six carries in Week 16 against Buffalo. He’s most likely going to be cut unless he has a monster camp, but he’s really not a bad player and should re-emerge somewhere throughout the league this season.)
Nevertheless, Belichick and McDaniels saw something in the 23-year-old Michel, who finally signed his rookie deal on Monday and looks primed for a feature role in the offense.
But wait a minute, Mattes, what about Burkhead – who had eight touchdowns in 10 games last season – and White – the loveable, reliable pass-catching specialist who got robbed of a Super Bowl MVP award against the Falcons two years ago? (Sorry, Tom, but White was absolutely the MVP of that Super Bowl. Period.)
First and foremost, White’s role is locked in, and regardless of whether or not the Pats took Michel this past spring, not much is set to change for him. He’s still going to get the bulk of the targets out of the backfield, finish with 50-70 catches, and serve as the emergency ball-carrier in the event Burkhead and/or Michel go down.
But what about Burkhead?
After signing with the team as a free agent last summer, Burkhead played in just 12.3% and 10.5% of the team’s offensive snaps, respectively, through the first two games of the season before sitting out the next four games due to injury. However, after returning against the Falcons in Week 7, Burkhead played in about a third of the team’s offensive snaps the rest of the way, ultimately becoming the team’s main goal-line back and secondary pass-catcher out of the backfield – before missing the team’s final two games of the season, again due to injury.
So while durability issues may be a bit of concern for Burkhead, there is no doubt that he is a true all-around threat at the running back position. And after re-signing with the team yet again this offseason, the coaching staff obviously plans to use him.
Sooooo where does that leave Michel?
Well, no team in their right mind is going to use a first-round pick on a running back only to have him ride the pine for the majority of his rookie season. We may see this happen with quarterbacks, even more so in recent years, but first-round picks are not spent on running backs unless the team believes they can handle the rock right away. Michel is going to get his.
Even with Burkhead in the fold last year, Lewis still received the lion’s share of the playing time in the backfield, averaging exactly 15 carries per game over the team’s final 10 contests. He also hauled in 25 catches over that same stretch.
There were also five instances last season where both Burkhead and Lewis each surpassed 50 total yards in the same game, demonstrating that the Pats, much like the vast majority of the NFL, are furthering the belief that the days of a bell-cow back are truly coming to an end. (OK, sorry, I see you Le’Veon Bell. You’re a freakin’ machine. OK??)
Also, while there is no doubt that Michel was an absolute FORCE to be reckoned with at the college level – 1,227 rushing yards, 17 total touchdowns, and an out-of-this-world 7.9 yards per carry average (WHAT??!!) last season – he was never truly a bell-cow back himself. Michel only exceeded 156 carries in a season one time in four seasons, and he actually shared a feature role in Georgia’s backfield for the past few years with fellow NFL rookie and Cleveland Browns second-round pick Nick Chubb. He also averaged just 16 receptions per year as a Bulldog, so he is no threat to White’s status either.
Now, I’m not trying to make it seem as though I’m not absolutely amped to see this kid play. (Again, he averaged SEVEN-POINT-EFFING-NINE YARDS PER CARRY last year against the toughest conference in the country.) I’m just saying that people need to temper expectations if they expect him to be the next Zeke Elliott or Leonard Fournette.
Editor’s note: AJ Green begs to differ:
It should also be noted that since 2004, only three guys – BenJarvus Green-Ellis (2010), Stevan Ridley (2012), and LeGarrette Blount (2016) – have toted the rock more than 200 times in a season for the Pats, and there’s no reason to expect that trend to change this season.
While it’s often an exercise in futility to try and predict exactly what Belichick and McDaniels are going to do in any scenario, I am still going to provide you with my completely meaningless 2018 stat prediction for the Pats three-headed monster at running back:
Rex Burkhead:141 carries; 544 yards; 42 catches; 382 yards; 10 total touchdowns
Sony Michel:192 carries; 839 yards; 11 catches; 45 yards; 7 total touchdowns
James White: 55 carries; 205 yards; 61 catches; 510 yards; 4 total touchdowns
All I know is, Belichick knows how to use running backs of all shapes, sizes, creeds, and colors; he’s proven it throughout his career. Not since the days of Clock Killin’ Corey Dillon has Bill invested his entire stock into one running back, and he both understands and appreciates the value of having multiple guys who can carry the load.
So no matter what happens, it’s nice to know the Pats shouldn’t be in dire straits without Lewis this season, and it’ll be fun to watch how it all shakes out.
Be sure to check in with The 300s next week for Part 2 of the series!
On most days I’d agree with Joey that Dan Shaughnessy’s act has gotten old. The trolling. The smugness. The recycling of columns. The flagrant flip flopping. But every dog has its day. Today was Dan Shaughnessy’s day.
If you’re a Patriots fan and you say that you are satisfied with Bill Belichick’s previous answer on why Malcolm Butler didn’t play in Super Bowl 52, you’re lying. The “we have to make the decisions that we feel are best for the football team” routine wasn’t new, but it never rang more hollow. From the outside, until we find out more it seems like Belichick pissed away a Super Bowl over personal bullshit. And had a lot of pissed off players to patch things up with over the offseason.
I’m not here today to try and take down Bill, though. He’s still the best coach in the league, and he doesn’t owe anyone other than Robert Kraft an explanation of what happened with Butler at the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean I still don’t want to know, though. It could’ve been anyone, but it was Shaugnessy who had the balls to ask the question today.
I often wonder what is the point of sending reporters and cameras to Belichick press conferences. He rarely says anything noteworthy. If you’re going to go, though, at least ask some decent questions. Otherwise just quote the Patriots press releases. I still want to know why Butler didn’t play. I don’t care about left-footed punters. So credit to Shaughnessy for at least trying to answer the most pressing question in Patriots Nation.
Even Tom E. Curran, who has had beefs with Shaughnessy in the past, agrees.
Dan Shaughnessy, early riser today, with a flurry of necessary questions on Malcolm Butler benching. Belichick parried with “working on this year.”
Its only the first day of practice in his first year as a pro, but I think the Patriots may have struck gold with this 7th Round handsome son of a bitch.
The 300s 