Wade Boggs Sounds Off on David Price for Being Soft in the Ongoing Eckersley Feud

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WEEI – On Friday, Price surrendered six runs in a losing effort to the Orioles, the worst team in baseball.

Though Eckersley refrained from taking any shots at Price, his ex-Red Sox teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Wade Boggs went right in. “Everybody in the game loves Eck. He was a great teammate,” Boggs said to Shaughnessy. “And David Price? Please. He should ask me what it used to be like to play in Boston. These guys today don’t hear any noise compared to the stuff that was aimed at us. I mean, seriously.

“‘Yuck?’ Give me a break.’’

Lost in all the media noise around David Price pouring gasoline on the Dennis Eckersley feud last week was this quote from Hall of Famer Wade Boggs. After Price made this a gigantic story, he proceeded to get lit up by the Orioles on Friday, a team best described by Michael Felger as one that should be relegated. It was a PTSD flashback of sorts for Price who was faced with his first highly scrutinized start since getting lit up in Game 2 of the ALCS last year. Despite vehemently denying it,

“That doesn’t affect me at all,” Price told reporters after he allowed six runs, including two homers, in four innings in the Red Sox’ 11-2 loss in Baltimore on Friday night “I’m sure it’ll be used in Boston, but it doesn’t affect me. “If you think I’m thinking about that out there on the mound tonight, you’re 100 percent wrong,” Price said. “Or even last night or the night before or whatever the case may be. That’s not the case. No, it didn’t affect me.”

Price predictably let it get to him as he crumbled on the mount. Now granted this whole renewed feud is all the Boston media has talked about the last week and certain sports blogs have been hawking YUCK t-shirts for the better part of two years, Wade Boggs came off the top rope to basically call David Price soft.

“And David Price? Please. He should ask me what it used to be like to play in Boston. These guys today don’t hear any noise compared to the stuff that was aimed at us. I mean, seriously.

“‘Yuck?’ Give me a break.’’

Get your YUCK shirt today!

Depending on where you stand on the Eck vs Price feud you could take this as a laugh out loud funny quote like I did or you could compare Wade Boggs to the old man yelling at a cloud. Either way, it sounds like Price touched a nerve going after not just Eck’s work as a broadcaster, but his character. Eck may not want to get into the mud and talk about this anymore, but his former teammates like Boss Hogg are more than willing to do so. May he Rest in Peace.

Mark Sanchez Retires from the NFL. Never Forget the Butt Fumble.

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NY Post – Quarterback Mark Sanchez is putting away his helmet and heading to ABC/ESPN to be a college football analyst, The Post has learned.

Sources tell The Post the former Jets quarterback’s main job will be in ABC’s lead college football studio, where he will join Kevin Negandhi and Jon Vilma. Sanchez is replacing Mack Brown, who left to coach North Carolina.

The Catch. The Immaculate Reception. The Butt Fumble. There are certain plays in NFL history where you just say two or three words and everyone knows exactly what you’re talking about and where they were when it happened. Luckily for me I was a part of NFL lore because I actually attended The Butt Fumble game at the Meadowlands. I saw that glorious play on Thanksgiving night 2012 with a bunch of my buddies. Since it was Thanksgiving we had been eating and drinking for about 8 hours leading up to the game so saying I *saw* the play is technically accurate even if it didn’t fully register up in the 300s section.

I do however vividly remember the stadium announcers not even addressing what had just happened and just moving along like it was business as usual. Thank god for high def cameras though so this incredible performance could live on in the football archives forever.

Oh and Lenny Kravitz played the halftime show that game. What a night.

Anyways, shout out to Mark “the Sanchize” Sanchez for a head scratching yet decent career. He led the Jets to BACK TO BACK AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME APPEARANCES as we would hear for years and years despite not winning any of them. He was a solid if unspectacular quarterback, but if you remember it was a shock the Jets traded all the way up to No. 5 to draft him. Especially after his coach at USC and current Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was a pretty big asshole when asked about his assessment of Sanchez turning pro.

Looking back he was probably right as Sanchez was the the full time starter at USC for only one season before skipping his senior year to go pro and immediately being crowned the savior in New York and starting as a rookie.

He’ll forever be linked to Rex Ryan as the two spearheaded the most successful era of Jets football since the Bill Parcells days. That was a fun time to be a Patriots or a Jets fan because both teams were very good and the Jets loved to talk so it led to some heated rivalries. Theres still players from those late 2000s Jets teams that I despise like Bart Scott.

Can’t Wait til your radio show gets cancelled.

So Sanchez may have only thrown 20+ touchdowns once in a season and may have thrown three interceptions in a 45-3 blowout to the Patriots on Monday Night Football, but he seemed like a genuinely likable guy. Sure he had some weird photoshoots

but who hasn’t?

I don’t know if I’ve ever identified with a pro athlete more than the time Sanchez got busted sneaky crushing a hotdog on the bench.

I respect that move.

Well, Sanchez is off to ESPN where I think he will actually be a great football personality. A good looking dude with some charisma and legitimate NFL playing experience? Sanchez and fellow USC alum Matt Leinart will be the deadliest duo on the LA circuit since the days of Leo Dicaprio and Tobey Maguire.

Ken Griffey Jr. is Still DRIPPING Swag in Custom Cufflinks, Socks, and Tie at Hall of Fame Weekend

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Ken Griffey Jr. is probably the favorite baseball player of anyone between the ages of 30-35 because he legitimately changed the game. He was the first guy that I remember having fun while simultaneously being the best player in the game. Guys like A-Rod and Jeter looked like anxiety attacks and business suits whereas Griffey just put his hat on backwards and hit moonshots with a smile on his face. Not to mention he was the namesake of one of the best video games of all time: Ken Griffey Jr Baseball.

I haven’t really heard much from Junior since his retirement in 2010. I know he works as a special consultant in the Mariners front office, but unless you’re doing TV like Pedro does in addition to his role with the Red Sox, then its a pretty behind the scenes gig. So for Griffey to step out at Hall of Fame weekend just DRIPPING in swag is awesome to see. All these years later and he’s still cooler than the other side of the pillow with custom branded cufflinks, socks, and tie.

The swingman tie may be the greatest fashion accessory I’ve ever seen. Incredible branding by Junior. Excuse me while I try and squeeze into my Griffey Mariners jersey from 1996.

Now Millennials are Accused of Killing Cereal? My Official Response:

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CNN – “General Mills has a cereal problem. It thinks children and aging boomers can help solve it. The cereal category has been shrinking over the past several years as increasingly health-conscious consumers turn to other options. But cereal remains important to General Mills: Along with yogurt, it makes up about 30% of the company’s overall business…While Millennials have generally turned away from cereal as a meal -— instead snacking on it during the day or swapping it out for dessert on occasion — kids and older adults who eat cereal still like it for breakfast…For people over 55, cereal is attractive because it offers certain nutritional benefits, like fiber. While Millennials and younger adults tend to care about “ethical labels,” like organic certifications and may try avoid foods that use genetically-modified organisms…”

It is one of my great joys in life to blog about what “millennials killed” every time one of these stories comes up. We’ve apparently killed department stores, tipping, beer, canned tuna, and even the United States economy among other things. Well now I see this headline that Millennials abandoned cereal? My official response:

Darren Clarke is a Man of the People, Ripping Cigs Between Shots at The Open

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John Daly would be proud, Darren. Just an absolute man of the people we have here. Who here doesn’t rip a cig, throw in a dip, or slug a beer in between shots while on the golf course? Nobody I want to be friends with, thats who.

Want to Feel Old? Entourage Premiered 15 Years Ago

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Just hearing Jane’s Addiction “Superhero” instantly gives me a dopamine dump and brings me back to a simpler time. Entourage first aired on HBO 15 years ago yesterday, July 18th, 2004. Big Z and my affinity for this show is no secret as its been prominently referenced on The 300s many times over the years. Entourage really was a perfect storm for a lot of guys my age. It premiered in 2004 when I was 15, which is ironic because the running joke is that show is only funny to 15 year olds. Well, I’m a grown ass man and I still will sit down and throw on a couple random eps of Entourage every now and then. The show was a mega hit on HBO, but never really found its footing in syndication. I know Big Z argues its because the show’s plotlines are too short and scattered for one random episode here or there to really make any sense unless you’ve already seen it. A procedural this is not.

Now, I say this without a drip of sarcasm or embarrassment, but at one point in my life I had both this poster

as well as this poster

scotch taped to my dorm room walls.

An excellent show, for the first few seasons at least, that would NEVER get made today because 1.) It ripped on Hollywood elites like no one had before and 2.) the PC Police would shut that shit down before they even filmed the pilot. Can you imagine a show getting greenlit today where Jeremy Piven tells his gay assistant that he looks like Michelle Kwan in drag? No shot.

A lot of people say shows like this don’t age well because there are definitely some homophobic, misogynistic, insensitive tones throughout the series, but thats bullshit. The show was made in 2004. It made jokes about what played in 2004, not 2019. So its not really fair to criticize a TV show for that. Christ, just look at the racist shit Archie Bunker used to say on All in the Family while laugh tracks boomed in the background. But again that show first aired in 1971 so its not really fair to scrutinize it the same way you would today.

Anyways, call it frat boy comedy if you want, but the show did win six Emmys, including three by Jeremy Piven for the iconic role of Ari Gold. Along with the Simpsons, and Seinfeld, Entourage is one of the few TV shows that I still quote to this day in just about any situation.

Top Gun, Jay and Silent Bob, IT: WE GOT TRAILERS GALORE TODAY!

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We have received oodles and oodles of sweet new trailers today and this week as a whole. Fun fact, one time Papa Giorgio walked into my room in college and looked at me laying in bed with my laptop and said “…you’ve been watching movie trailers all night again haven’t you?” What can I say, I am a sucker for a great trailer. Its how shitbombs like Terminator Salvation and Medellin trick Joe Sixpacks like me into seeing their mediocre flicks. Heres hoping these movies don’t suck!

Top Gun: Maverick

I don’t know what to expect out of this movie. Its usually not a great idea to make a sequel to a movie THIRTY THREE YEARS after the original, but I’ll give it a go. Plus, there was a suspicious absence of Jon Hamm shown in this teaser so color me curious. Probably should’ve just went to space tbh.

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

LETS. GO. This isn’t what I truly wanted, which is Clerks 3, but its the next best thing so I’ll take it. Jay and Silent Bob were staples for anyone in their late 20s to early 30s. Just good old fashioned raunchy comedy and gratuitous bullying of celebrities in cameo roles. This reboot looks to be completely aware of how ridiculous the fact that it even exists is, which is a great start for a satire like this. I’m excited for this one.

IT 2

Soo I still haven’t watched the first IT if we’re being honest. It’s been recorded on my DVR for several months now. Why haven’t I watched it? Is it because I’m a giant puss and don’t want to fear for my life every time I go in the basement to do laundry? Who’s to say…

Supersize Me 2: Holy Chicken

Supersize Me is still one of my favorite documentaries because of how preposterous of an idea it was. The guy destroys his body and decimates all his vital signals in a MONTH just through McChickens and Big Macs. Not crack or booze. Cheeseburgers. That movie still just makes me hungry though and if you disagree you are a liar or a vegan.

The Red Sea Diving Resort

Captain America is back in his first post-Marvel role and he is teaming up with MY GUY Daario Naharis. Also shoutout to Netflix for completely flipping the film industry on its head. It used to be a death sentence for actors to go from the big screen to the small screen, but now A list actors do it without a second thought. That of course allows me to see movies without having to leave my couch and for a monthly fee thats *still* cheaper than a ticket to the movies.

A Score to Settle

Nicolas Cage long ago embraced the typecast role of unhinged characters. And he does it damn well.

Good Boys

So this has been out for a while, but they just dropped a new trailer so it technically makes the cut. Simply put, this movie looks hilarious. Basically Superbad with middle school kids, which makes sense since Seth Rogen is prominently involved in this one.

The Open at Royal Portrush Has Been a House of Horrors for Everyone Except My Fantasy Team

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Today has been a nightmarish start to The Open for a whole bunch of household names at Royal Portrush. Tiger Woods is +7 and tied for 144th. Seeing as how he’s had more surgeries than Gronk and has a spine made of Adamantium, Tiger unsurprisingly doesn’t play as well in cool weather. Bad news because Ireland is pretty much permanently 60 degrees and rainy.

Rory McIlroy is +8 and tied for 150th. Oh and Rory had a QUADRUPLE bogey on the first fucking hole.

Rough start for Rory who may be gripping the clubs a little tight playing in front of his countrymen.

Oh and David Duval had an absolute meltdown on Day 1 with a 14 on the 7th hole. The former Open champ and No. 1 golfer in the world actually set a record for the worst Open round in 69 years. Yikes.

So yes, the first round of The Open has put a beatdown on pretty much everyone. Everyone except my fantasy team. Yes in my infinite wisdom I rolled with studs like Brooks Koepka (-3), John Rahm (-4), Jason Day (-1), Tommy Fleetwood (-3), and my guy Kiradech Aphibarnrat (-3). This squad of killers has me currently tied for 4th place in my fantasy pool.

Naturally I forgot to double dip my lineup in some sweet, sweet DraftKings action, but hey I could definitely use the free green fees and cart fees that go along with winning my fantasy pool. Now I just have to sweat it out for the next 3+ days.

Thank God I’m Not in College Anymore or Else I’d Have to Drink This

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A younger me would have said “do it for the content.” Well as a freshly minted 30 year old I can now comfortably say, get this poison away from me. Thats coming from a guy who drank Admiral Nelson almost exclusively for four years in college too. Used to call it going sailing. They should have hired me to be a brand manager if they were smart.

Reminds me of that time I drank Cherry Rubinoff at a party at UMass one time. I’d tell you more, but to be honest thats basically the end of the night in my brain.

So for all the young guns out there that pound their fists when us Olds talk about what “real” Four Loko was like before they took the caffeine out; now is your time to shine. Mix up a few Red Bulls and a bottle of cherry Admiral Nelson and I’m sure it’ll have a similar effect. Godspeed.

On Stealing First Base

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In 2006, a movie was released called “Idiocracy.” The basis of the plot is that, over a long period of time, while intelligent professionals continue to focus more and more on their careers rather than personal lives and well, reproduction, fucking imbeciles have kids at more and more rapid rates until our world is entirely populated by said imbeciles. The smart ones get basically evolved out. It was from the brain of the brilliant Mike Judge, the creator of the movie “Office Space” as well as shows such as “Beavis and Butthead.” Despite having Judge’s name behind it “Idiocracy” was immediately labeled as one of the worst movies of all time. It was lammmmmmmmbasted. I’m talking (“Gigli” x “Waterworld”) ^ “Jem And The Holograms.” So pretty bad.

Over the years however, Judge’s brilliance has been slowly credited. The blunt but logical way he explained the pure absurdity of what happened to society, much in the way Trey Parker and Matt Stone can with this one, is finally getting it’s due. Therefore, over the past few years, as “what the fuck” moments have increased tenfold, you may have heard someone refer to our current state of affairs as “Idiocracy” or something such as Dennis Rodman becoming biffles with Kim Jong Un as an “Idiocracy Moment.” Life, they say, imitates art.

I write that two paragraph prologue to illustrate my feelings on what this blog is really about: The revered, independent, Atlantic League of baseball experimenting with stealing first base. Let’s read that one more time:

Stealing. First. Base.

The new rules are simple: on any pass ball, wild pitch, or occurrence where the ball is dropped by the catcher in any capacity, the batter may choose to run to first to try and basically steal a single. I’m hazy on whether or not they can be forced out, as it kind of fucking is a force out by nature, but my guess would actually be no here.

To be clear this would change the fabric of the game entirely.

First of all the roster and who you have in the dugout warrants extra consideration. Imagine an important game. Bottom of the 9th no one out and you really want a base runner. Maybe the pitcher is a sinkerballer or a knuckleballer that is prone to not exactly being Brady-Gronk with his catcher. Well good thing you skipped that extra infielder so you could keep the guy who can barely hit .160 but runs a 4.3 40. BOOM, one in the dirt and you have a man on. See what I mean? On the other hand, forget a catcher who can hit, just get a guy with the hands of Torrie Holt. Who cares if he’s Chris Davis with a chest protector, he won’t allow any thefts of bag number one.

The pitching staff now warrants the same questions. Is it really worth having anyone in an important game that doesn’t just throw blazing 101mph non-moving heat? Do we really want to risk anything else?

I’m also curious how they are going to score this? Can you really call it a steal when it’s coming off an error, either on the pitcher or catcher’s part? I mean you have to call it SOMETHING for the base runner right? A “Proactive Walk” or “Aggressive Walk” perhaps? I don’t know.

Anyway, we are officially living in a Goddam sports society where the rules don’t matter anymore. We should have seen this coming when hockey started to softly condemn fighting. “Idiocracy” indeed.

-Joey B.