Red Sox Post Mortem: Unpacking Everything On Day 1 of the Offseason

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There is A LOT to unpack here less than 24 hours after the Red Sox bowed out in the ALDS for the second year in a row. Granted they didn’t get swept again this year, the Sox lost in 4 games after they started off poorly as it was too little too late against a stacked Astros squad. Where do they go from here? We’ve got the future of Manager John in question, Dustin Pedroia’s health, the absolute enigma that is our starting rotation, as well as questions around Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts, Craig Kimbrel and more. Lets get it.

Has the John Farrell Era Come to an End?

If so it finally does so in a fitting way; getting ejected defending a player who never really seemed to be all-in on him.

I’m never the guy clamoring for a manager to be fired because I think with the few exceptions, an MLB manager isn’t going to make or break a team. Just don’t screw it up, put players in a position to succeed, and most of all be the clubhouse therapist. And while Farrell certainly has his limitations with in-game adjustments, and even filling out the scorecard (honestly how do you bench arguably your best hitter in Hanley Ramirez for Game 1 in favor of a guy with a shitty knee?), but I think his ultimate downfall is his inability to be that armchair psychologist.

Manager John is not the guy that will call someone into his office to lay down on his couch and just talk things through. One of my favorite stories of a manager excelling at this was one about how Terry Francona used to call players over to talk with him right behind home plate as the team took BP. So everyone in the world could see them, but no one could hear them. This is an area where Manager John is sorely lacking, which became painfully obvious on multiple occasions this year, none more so than David Price blowing up on Dennis Eckersley and then essentially defending Price and the situation was never really resolved. In a market like Boston, managing the clubhouse and all its personalities is the No. 1 job requirement, which is why I think Farrell is ultimately shown the door this offseason.

What Should We Expect Out of Dustin Pedroia Moving Forward?

I don’t want to immediately overreact less than 24 hours after their season came to an end, but I am very, very concerned about Dustin Pedroia. Similar to old friend Kevin Youkilis, as he continues to get older, Pedroia’s balls out playing style is starting to catch up to him as he is routinely dealing with nagging injuries. This year it was the knee, which limited Pedroia to 105 games this year, and Dave Dombrowski sent me in to full blown panic earlier this year when he said that Pedroia’s knee would be something he’d have to deal with for the rest of his career. At 34 years old, that is a terrifying thing to hear. Now facing a number of options on what to do about his balky knee, Pedroia himself intimated that going the surgery route could put him out for a long time.

So while I know its the health thats affecting his play more than anything else, Pedroia just batted .125 in the ALDS this year, .167 in the ALDS last year, .238 in the 2013 playoffs, .167 in 2009, .233 in 2008, and .283 in 2007. Overall, he’s hitting just .204 in his last 26 playoff games. That my friends, is a bad trend. Maybe the Red Sox can do what the Yankees should have done with Jeter years before he retired and either limit his games in an effort to keep him healthy or perhaps move him to a less demanding position. While he’s not an ideal height or power profile, perhaps mixing in some games at first base would help lessen the demand on Pedroia’s body. Rotate him in at DH, where Pedroia has actually thrived in his career, to keep him fresh. Limit the number of games he’s throwing his body around at second base and maybe you get a healthy (and productive) Pedroia in the playoffs. But with four years left on his current deal, the Red Sox don’t really have much of a choice. While I’ve heard a lot of people slamming Pedroia’s leadership this season, I think the reality of an aging body that isn’t bouncing back the way it used to, coupled with the scrutiny of having to police his own locker room to keep dickheads like David Price in check, is mentally draining the guy. Keep him healthy and you’ll have a more energetic, engaged and productive Pedroia. He did hit .293 this season when he was on the field so he’s still a very strong hitter when he’s upright. But, he’s not 25 anymore, so maybe a revived role for the longterm second baseman gets him back to his hey day of shit talking Jeff Francis and Brady Quinn. Can’t ask the guy to do everything, so while I don’t want to defend his poor playoff performance, I think its something the Sox can mitigate by taking a few steps. Again, put the players in a position to succeed.

What the Hell Do the Red Sox Do About Their Pitching

Chris Sale had his worst start of the year at the worst possible time in the playoffs. Sound familiar? Now that we’ve got that out of the way, its important to note how he bounced back and was downright dominant out of the bullpen (on short rest) to give the Red Sox a lifeline in Game 4. Despite the fact he gave up that solo HR to cough up the lead, its important to note that he was lights out. Given the fact that it was his first career postseason start, I’m willing to give Sale the benefit of the doubt. Combined with the fact that Sale seemingly ran out of gas down the stretch, I think the Sox would benefit by working in some rest throughout the year for him, similar to how they used to do for Pedro Martinez. Sale was incredible this year where he was the hands down Cy Young winner before a shaky final 2 months. And while it was exciting to watch him chase that single season strikeout record that Pedro set, whats the point? If it left the guy gassed in October then its doing the team a disservice. So I think he’ll be back and better than ever next season.

As for David Price its hard what to make of him. He was downright dominant out of the bullpen for the Red Sox, which was encouraging to see, especially to see a pissed off emotional David Price. Seriously, the guy was screaming coming off the mound at opposing batters. That David Price I need to see more of. But again the Red Sox aren’t paying $217 Million for a bullpen guy. Price needs to replicate that, or at least come close to that as a starter in 2018 or the team’s cooked again. Most big free agents seem to struggle in Boston in Year 1 and Year 2 was a bit of a wash for Price due to his elbow injury. So maybe Year 3 he’s finally got that comfort level and makes a John Lackey type redemption with a bounce back year. That elbow is still a concern though so its tough to predict.

Rick Porcello followed up his 2016 Cy Young season with a terrible 2017 season going 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA and once again failing to go very far in the playoffs. He went 3 innings yesterday and only 4 1/3 in his ALDS start last year. Not a great trend. Maybe its a mechanical issue he can fix over the winter, but the back to back playoff shellackings are less than ideal.

Steven Wright, remember him? The knuckleballer who was an All-Star that John Farrell broke by having him run the fucking bases. He should be back next year, as well as Eduardo Rodriguez unless he has another knee injury doing nothing before the season starts. Drew Pomeranz had a really solid year going 17-6 with a 3.32 ERA, but another guy who got shelled in the playoffs. Doug Fister pitched admirabily in the regular season after being a guy Dombrowski picked up off the scrap heap in July, but he also shit the bed in the playoffs getting yanked in the second inning of Game 3 and finishing with an ERA over 20! He’s probably the odd man out next year assuming everyone else is healthy. So there’s not really a lot the Sox can do other than have the starting rotation get their shit together. Barring a huge trade, this is going to be the 2018 starting rotation.

The Rest of the Rest

Craig Kimbrel drives me fucking bananas. A two-pitch flamethrower with questionable control is a prescription for Tums. Kimbrel was incredible this season going 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 35 saves plus 126 Ks in just 69 innings. But like a lot of other guys with the ball in their hands, he shit the bed when it counted most. Kimbrel had a 4.50 ERA in the playoffs this year, more than triple his regular season ERA. And for a guy who is completely lights out with 3 outs to go in the game, he craters when asked to get a couple of extra outs.

Kimbrel came into yesterday’s game in the 8th inning with a man on first and two outs. Just get the final out of the 8th and the Sox are still tied heading into the bottom of the frame. Kimbrel proceeds to go: Wild Pitch (advancing runner to second) Walk, and RBI Single to give the Astros a 1-run lead before getting the third out. He then hits a guy in the 9th before giving up an RBI Double to put the Sox in a 2-run hole before getting yanked for Closer B Addison Russell. Can’t have that from a guy that everyone praises all year long for his dominance.

If we can get Playoff Hanley Ramirez and not store brand Manny Ramirez, then the Red Sox are golden. But as we all know, Hanley is off more often than he is on, which is a problem. Maybe he had a “Come to Jesus” moment in the ALDS this year. Maybe Big Papi got in his ear. I don’t know, but if he can actually give a shit for an entire season then the Sox are cooking with gas. But, it would be fool’s gold to bank on that for 2018.

Xander Bogaerts needs to start drinking his protein shakes or something after struggling badly down the stretch for the second consecutive season and then hitting .059 in the playoffs this year. Before the All-Star break this year X hit .303 and after the All-Star break X hit .235. Last year his splits were .329/.253. Granted two years ago he actually hit 30 points higher in the second half, but Xander needs to figure out how to stay fresh or he could quickly find himself on the way out of town.

2018 Silver Linings

Despite some hit or miss defense, Rafael Devers looks like the real fucking deal. Devers was called up on July 24th and was the youngest player in the league at 20 years old. Ya know, after a whole NINE GAMES in Triple-A. All he did was proceed to hit .284 with 10 HR’s and 30 RBIs. Then he became the youngest player in Red Sox history to hit a postseason HR and then he hit another one; and inside the park job in the 9th inning of Game 4 as he nearly kept the Red Sox alive singlehandedly. Unreal. After the disaster that was Pablo Sandoval and trading away Travis Shaw, who hit 30 dingers himself this season, it seems like the Sox have found another young budding star. Thank god Dombrowski didn’t trade him too.

Not a ton else to look forward to as I don’t see a team thats already pressed up against the Luxury Tax making too many additions. Barring a huge trade, this will be the same squad trotting out there in 2018. So maybe another year of playoff experience, a new manager, and maybe a new bench player acting as the glue guy (i.e. Kevin Millar, David Ross, Jonny Gomes) gets this team over the hump next year. Thats it.

#RushHourRap – Childish Gambino – Sweatpants

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Nothing like some heavy ass bass from our boy Donald Glover to get your Monday (Tuesday) morning going after the long weekend.

“Sweatpants” is off of Gambino’s second official album, “Because the Internet,” which came out at the end of 2013. This whole album was another banger coming off the killer “Camp” debut album he dropped in 2011. I wasn’t a huge fan of his latest album “Awaken, My Love!” but I respect the hell out of a guy who’s got to a point in his career where he’s able to take creative chances rather than just rehashing old shit. And Donald Glover hasn’t been exactly subtle in saying that Childish Gambino is more of a side project for him and he doesn’t anticipate making many more albums, so enjoy him while he’s here folks.

Lets Gamble! NFL Week 5

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Overall Record (14-16)
Last week (9-6)

Another week, another one of the worst beats I’ve ever seen in a football game with the ending of that Kansas City game. Just ruthless. As always, all of our betting lines are courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook so blame them if the numbers change. Its that time once again to start playing fast and loose with our paychecks. Its Week 5 in the NFL, LETS GO


New England Patriots (-5.5, 55.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I picked the Pats to cover and cover they did.

Sunday, Oct. 8
1 p.m. ET

New York Jets at Cleveland Browns (-1.5, 39)
There’s no way you’re going to actually put money on the Browns as a favorite are you? I sure as shit am not going to. I’ll take the Jets here.

Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions (-3, 44)
Coming off their walkoff win over the Patriots, the Panthers have some momentum heading into Detroit. But the Lions are looking legit this year sitting at 3-1 in first place in the NFC North. It seems the Panthers are slowly figuring out the best way to use Christian McCaffrey with Jonathan Stewart together though so I’m taking the Panthers to cover here.

San Francisco 49ers at Indianapolis Colts (-1.5, 43.5)


Tennessee Titans (NL) at Miami Dolphins
No Line for this game, so nothing to see here.

Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals (-3, 38)
Call me crazy, I’m taking the Bills here. I like Tyrod Taylor to have a big game against the struggling Bengals.

Los Angeles Chargers at New York Giants (-3.5, 44.5)
A battle of two 0-4 teams. Woof. I’ve been picking the Chargers all year and they keep disappointing so its hard to rely on them here. Giants are in the same boat, but with a fully healthy Odell Beckham I think they finally get on the board here. I’ll take the G-Men to cover.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers (-8.5, 44)
Steelers are pretty big favorites at (-8.5) so thats asking a lot, but it is the Jaguars. I can definitely see Pittsburgh winning by 10. Fournette’s been solid in his first year rushing for 285 yards and 3 TDs, but Big Ben is rolling with Antonio Brown whos got 30 catches for 388 yards and a score. So I’m taking the Steelers to cover the big spread.

Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5, 45)
Eagles look like they’ve found their QB of the future with Carson Wentz and while I’m still bummed about Short Guy Hall of Famer Darren Sproles going down, Philly is still rolling along. Not a huge fan of old man Carson Palmer, especially with the non-existant run gam post David Johnson, so I’m taking the Eagles to cover.

4 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams (-2.5, 47)
You gotta be shitting me? I know the Rams are off to a 3-1 start, but I refuse to take them as favorites over the Seahawks on a (-2.5) spread. Put some respeck on Seattle’s name. I’m taking Dangeruss and the Seahawks here.


Baltimore Ravens (NL) at Oakland Raiders
Seems to be a lot of No Lines this season, soo nothing to bet on here.

 

Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (-2, 52.5)
Its hard to bet against the Packers, who are 3-1 on the season going against the 2-2 Cowboys. The Pack just continue to plug and play guys like Aaron Jones and not miss a beat, but I like Dallas here. Feed Zeke all night long and win by a FG, I’ll take the Boys.


Kansas City Chiefs (NL) at Houston Texans
Another game with No Line. Moving on.

Monday, Oct. 9
8:30 p.m. ET


Minnesota Vikings (NL) at Chicago Bears
No reason to watch MNF if theres No Line. Carry on.

Picking Up the Pieces: How’d I Do Gambling NFL Week 4?

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Overall Record (14-16)
Last week (6-9)
This week (9-6)

 

Thursday, Sept. 28
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-7, 45.5)
Packers covered W (1-0)

Sunday, Oct. 1
9:30 a.m. ET (at London)
New Orleans Saints (-3, 49.5) vs. Miami Dolphins
Saints shut out the Dolphins 20-0 sooo they covered. W (2-0)

1 p.m. ET
Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots (-9, 48.5)
Pats defense continues to look like a dumpster fire as the Pats lost on a last second FG, obviously did not cover the (-9) spread. L (2-1)

Los Angeles Rams at Dallas Cowboys (-7.5, 46)
Rams look more legit every week, topped the Cowboys 35-30 so thats an upset. L (2-2)

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (no line)
Does Westgate have something against the Vikings? There’s no line for them for the second week in a row.

Tennessee Titans (-1.5, 44) at Houston Texans
Texans CRUSHED the Titans 57-14 and as I said last week “I think Deshaun Watson found his groove last week so I’m taking the Texans to cover here.” So thats a W. (3-2)

Jacksonville Jaguars (-3.5, 39.5) at New York Jets
Jets topped the Jags 23-20 in OT, which was one of the most boring games I’ve watched in a while. Thats what I get for putting my money on the Jets. L. (3-3)

Cincinnati Bengals (-3, 40) at Cleveland Browns
Bengals stomped the Browns 31-7 so thats a W. (4-3)

Pittsburgh Steelers (-3, 43.5) at Baltimore Ravens
Ya knew the Steelers weren’t gonna lose back to back weeks after losing to the goddamn Bears in OT as they covered this week with a 26-9 win so thats a W. (5-3)

Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons (-8, 48.5)
HUGE win for the Bills who topped the Falcons 23-17, thus earning us all some free money. W (6-3)

4 p.m. ET
New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3, 44)
As (-3) pt favorites we picked the Bucs to cover and guess what? They won by two freaking points. Goddamnit thats an L. (6-4)

Philadelphia Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers (-1, 47)
The hard luck Chargers were (-1) pt favorites and lost by 2 as they drop to 0-4 and Phil Rivers is screaming into his helmet mic. Not great, but thats an L. (6-5)

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (-7, 44.5)
Cardinals had to take it to OT to beat the Niners and only did it by 3, so thats an L. (6-6)

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos (-2.5, 46.5)
Broncos covered the (-2.5) pt spread and won by 6. Granted the Raiders lost Derek Carr to a fractured back, but a win is a win. (7-6)

8:30 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts at Seattle Seahawks (-13, 41.5)
Seahawks SPANKED the Colts 46-18, easily covering the (-13) pt spread. And as I said last week “Russell Wilson looked great last week and if the Seahawks can get him out of the pocket he’ll shred the Colts D. So while I usually hate picking the favorite in huge spreads like this, Dangeruss is looking good, and the Seahawks are at home where they are loud as shit. I’ll take Seattle to cover.” Thats a W! (8-6)

Monday, Oct. 2
Washington Redskins at Kansas City Chiefs (-7, 49.5)
With one of the greatest backdoor covers you’ll ever see the Chiefs scored on a R-Words fumble as they attempted to lateral it across the field as time ran out. The TD put them up by 9 to cover the spread! VICTORY. (9-6)

 

 

Happy Trails, AIM

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TechCrunch – The pioneering chat app that taught us to text is pulling the plug. On December 15th, AOL Instant Messenger will shut down after running since 1997. AIM dominated online chat in North America at the turn of the century. But with SMS and social apps like Facebook and WhatsApp having conquered chat, AOL is giving up the fight with no planned replacement.

Giving up the fight? What fight? I haven’t used AIM in six years, but it was pretty much the same in 2011 as it was in 2001. People complain about Facebook changing its look and features too often, but those changes keep it relevant. Facebook will be twenty years old in seven years, but it’s hard to imagine Facebook dying a death in obscurity like AIM.

Now that pretty much every app on your phone has the ability to send and receive messages from your pocket, AIM really did become superfluous years ago. It’s even a bit surprising this end didn’t come sooner. But broadband internet may of played a bigger role in killing AIM than smart phones. It used to be exciting when your best friend or crush signed on. After broadband internet became common place, no one ever signed off.

And while it is a shame that AOL never figured out a way to freshen up AIM, or keep it a little bit more relevant for a little while longer, it was a trail blazer. Away Messages really were the predecessor to status updates and tweets. Your profile is where you put obscure music lyrics and threw shade at frenemies in the days before MySpace.

But maybe going away is the best thing that could happen for AIM right now. How could we have ever missed Crystal Pepsi or Surge if they never went away? I’ll bet you an Andrew Jackson that AIM is relaunched as an app within the next five years. At that point, younger millennials will remember AIM the way I (an older millennial) remember SEGA Genesis. Now excuse me while I go crush the competition as Stockton and Malone in NBA JAM TE.

The Patriots Win! The Buccaneers Cover! We All Go Home Happy!

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Are people listening to me yet? Are you making money yet? In tonight’s Patriots Pick Em I was not exactly overflowing with confidence about our boys. With the Pats being a (-5.5) favorite coming off a walkoff loss to the Panthers and still having the Patriots defense I felt that was a little rich and had the Bucs covering.

“Even with Brady having one of the best starts of his entire career, the guy can’t play defense. So while I’m not saying the Pats are necessarily gonna lose, I don’t see them winning by a touchdown or more. I think if anything they squeak by with a FG or less so I’m picking the Bucs to cover.”

What happened? The Bucs hang around and score a late TD with just over 2 minutes left to bring that Pats lead down to 5. Very, very close to blowing everything to hell, but as John Sterling would say THEEEE BUCCANEEERSSSS COVERRR!!!

Patriots Pick Em Week 5

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I’m writing this after the Red Sox just finished getting bent over by the Astros so I’m a little bit jaded right now. So tonight on the American tradition that is Thursday Night Football Color Rush, the Patriots are a (-5.5) point favorite over the Buccaneers….and I don’t feel great about that line. (As always, all of our betting lines are courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook so blame them if the numbers change.) The Pats defense has obviously looked like shit. Well, no actually they’ve looked like a defense on pace to be the worst defense in NFL HISTORY. Alan Branch got left at home and now Gronk is out. That is not a great equation especially on a short week. Even with Brady having one of the best starts of his entire career, the guy can’t play defense. So while I’m not saying the Pats are necessarily gonna lose, I don’t see them winning by a touchdown or more. I think if anything they squeak by with a FG or less so I’m picking the Bucs to cover.

PS – I saw Rich Keefe tweet earlier today the payoff of an anti-Boston parlay today and I’m kinda wishing I took that right about now.

Cam Newton Says Some Not So Nice Things About Women in Sports

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I was half heartedly watching this video waiting for the innocuous comment that everyone was getting all riled up about. Fire up the outrage machine and call the PC Principal. Overreaction metaphors galore. But in literally the first 5 seconds of speaking Cam Newton drops an absolutely cringeworthy line.

“Its funny to hear a female talk about routes….its funny.”

This is like something out of an SNL skit because it just comes off as so bizarrely out of place. Am I personally offended by this? Of course not. But do I think that this will be discussed ad nauseam every single day on SportsCenter for the next month? 100% And thats the weird part. I don’t know if Cam Newton is a raging sexist who goes around telling female reporters to get back in the kitchen, but jesus christ dude you’re doing a press conference in front of cameras and microphones. You HAVE to know that comment is not gonna play well. Comedy Rule No. 1, Cam: Read the room. Know your audience.

The Internet Remains Undefeated with this Donald Trump Larry Bird Mashup

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Regardless of where you stand politically, if you can’t laugh at this video then you’re dead inside. Was Trump making a little too light of a serious situation by swishing paper towel rolls into the crowd in Puerto Rico?

Yea probably, but without his joshing around we wouldn’t have had this glorious mashup with Larry Legend. The winner AND STILL undefeated, undisputed champion, the internet.

So Long Malcolm Subban, We Hardly Knew Ye

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ESPN – Goaltender Malcolm Subban was claimed off waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Tuesday. The Bruins waited until Monday to waive the 23-year-old, with most teams already set in goal, hoping to sneak him to their Providence affiliate, but the former first-round pick was claimed by Golden Knights general manager George McPhee.

We hardly knew ye, indeed. Well, except for the 2 games you started and got absolutely annihilated by real NHL players, giving up 6 goals on 22 shots (a scorching .727 save %).

While you never want to give up on a young player you invested a lot in (24th overall pick), its been five years and it probably just wasn’t gonna happen for him in Boston. Still it sucks to have the Bruins squander another asset, getting nothing for Subban. Sweeney basically said Subban’s trade value was so nonexistent that he couldn’t get anything for the goalie. The Bruins tried to sneak him through waivers, but the Golden Knights claimed him so his trade value couldn’t have been that barren.

While Subban certainly ate a bag of dicks in his limited opportunities between the pipes for the Bruins, he is still only 23 and goalies tend to age like fine wine. You routinely see older guys figure it out or get hot or find the right situation and go on a tear for a season or more. Tim Thomas anyone?

He was 32 when he landed the Bruins starting job full-time and he was the oldest player in league history to  win the Conn Smythe at 37 years old.

So Subban could still figure it out, but its also a reminder that goalies routinely come out of nowhere. So maybe just don’t blow top draft capital on them.