Tag: Boston.com

Red Sox Call Up Top Prospect Jarren Duran

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Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox have finally called up 24-year-old outfield prospect Jarren Duran and is set to make his major league debut against the Yankees Thursday night. The reason I say “finally” is because Duran has been absolutely dominating at Triple-A Worcester hitting 15 HR with 32 RBIs and a .946 OPS in just 46 games. Not to mention 12 swiped bags.

Technically Duran is the Red Sox’ No. 3 prospect, but with guns like these I’m willing to make an exception on the word play.

Duran was a 2018 7th round draft pick out of Long Beach State University so he’s not exactly a can’t miss prospect. Although he is another standout graduate of the Cape Cod Baseball League so the sticker on my cooler remains highly prescient. But my goodness does Duran have some tools. The kid can also fly so expect plenty of Jacoby Ellsbury comparisons early on. Check out the scouting report on his speed in the breakdown below via Boston.com

MLB.com’s scouting profile on Duran lists his speed at a 70 on a scale from 20 to 80. He puts that speed to good use on the base paths.

“Duran’s best offensive tool is his plus-plus speed,” the profile reads, “which helps him routinely beat out grounders and makes him a dangerous basestealing threat, as evidenced by his 70 swipes in 199 games during his first two pro seasons.

SoxProspects.com rates Duran as having “true plus plus speed” and here’s what they had to say about his power potential:

Power: Plus raw power after 2020 swing adjustments. Increased strength and added loft in swing allow him the drive the ball to all fields, but especially to the pull side. Showed improved power at 2020 alternate training site, and quickly showed that his swing changes work in real games in 2021, significantly changing his in-game power projection. Prior to 2020 change, had below-average raw power with a swing not geared for over-the-fence power. Speed also leads to more doubles and triples on hard-hit line drives, inflating his power numbers somewhat. Above-average power potential.

I think it’s safe to say the people are excited. It’s go time baby.

Celtics May Not Have Drafted 7’2″ Bol Bol, But They DID Sign 7’6″ Tacko Fall

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ESPN – Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6 center from UCF, will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics, a source told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Fall was not selected Thursday night during the NBA draft.

Fall averaged 10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and shot 74 percent from the field over his four-year collegiate career. During his senior season, he posted marks of 11.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and hit 74.8 percent of his attempts.

Fall has attracted attention because of his size and because he held his own against Zion Williamson in UCF’s one-point loss to Duke in the NCAA tournament.

Exhibit 10 contracts, introduced in the NBA’s most recent collective bargaining agreement, are one-year deals paying the minimum salary. They also can be used for two-way contracts.

So technically the Celtics signed Tacko Fall to some phony bologna deal called an Exhibit 10 contract, which I have never even heard before this week.

“[Its] a one-year, non-guaranteed deal that allows teams to carry up to 20 players on their roster before the start of the regular season. If a player is waived before the season begins, he is then eligible for a $50,000 bonus if he joins the team’s G-League affiliate.” – Boston.com

What that means is Tacko will be given a shot to play for the C’s Summer League team in Vegas and then Danny will assess if he’s worth a flyer. Unless he absolutely savages people in the summer league I would not expect to see Tacko in a uniform that has anything other than a red lobster on the front next season.

If the name Tacko Fall sounds familiar to you, and like me you aren’t a giant college basketball guy, its most likely because he made you cry watching SportsCenter over your morning cereal.

So while I would not expect much from Tacko just yet, its hard to not be intrigued by a 7’6″ center. Especially since everyone and their mother has been bitching about the Celtics’ lack of a “rim protector” for my entire adult life. No doubt, we will keep you guys updated on how he does in the summer league this season.

Boston Traffic Tips for Thanksgiving are Here and They are USELESS

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Boston.com – If your Thanksgiving plans include traveling by car, you can expect to join millions of drivers on the road this year. AAA projects that 48.5 million people will drive to their Thanksgiving destination, a 4.8 percent increase over 2017…For Boston, that means some of the “largest delays” in the country at nearly four times what’s considered typical, a distinction Boston shares with New York City and San Francisco.

According to Boston.com this Thanksgiving has the potential to be the worst traffic you’ve ever dreamt of because its “the highest anticipated travel volume since 2005.” Expect delays at nearly 4x whats considered typical! It takes me an hour to get home from work on a normal day and I live 10 miles from my office. Oh this should be fun.

The worst times to travel by car are during the early evening commuting hours, AAA officials said…For those taking I-90/the Massachusetts Turnpike, traffic in Newton was at its worst between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before the holiday and the same times the Monday afterward

Soo basically any time you could possibly be in your car is a bad time to be on the road. Got it.

For those who don’t mind getting up early, Google thinks 3 a.m. Wednesday is the best time to travel prior to the holiday, while 4 a.m. on Sunday is the best time afterward.

Imagine the balls on Google to suggest that you get up at 3 in the morning just to beat traffic? Get to your Aunt Suzie’s house at 7 am so you’ve only got like 5 hours to kill until kickoff when it becomes socially acceptable to start boozing. Pass. I’d rather just verbally assault people in traffic on the way.

Google, which put out traffic predictions for the country’s major cities, predicts the worst time to travel around Boston before the holiday is 3 p.m. Wednesday.

For anyone who plans to put in an honest day’s work on Wednesday before taking off a little early for some pre-Thanksgiving cocktails, you’ll get hosed the worst. This is essentially a permission slip from Google to just bang out of work on Wednesday.

MassDOT will pause road construction at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 21, but officials will also evaluate conditions on Tuesday, Nov. 20, and “make adjustments” to any project schedules based on traffic

And to top it all off, MassDot even promises to stop making driving in Boston the most inconvenient activity of all time…until they decide otherwise. MassDOT reserves the right to change their mind here with a vague, but deliberate middle finger to anyone trying to get in the way of those union overtime hours.

Basically just don’t leave your house at any time on any day to avoid the worst traffic in the whole goddamn country. Subway sells turkey sandwiches too ya know.

There is Now an L.L. Bean Beer in Case You Thought Leaves and Road Rage Were the Most New England Things Ever

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Boston.com – In quite possibly the most New England beer collaboration ever, Maine-based retailer L.L. Bean has teamed up with five Maine breweries to create a limited-edition craft beer collection in celebration of its new collection of Small Batch Bean Boots.

This takes the cake. The quintessential “comfy but style-less” New England clothing company teaming up with a number of Maine CRAFT BEER companies. This is the most new England thing of all time. It makes you wonder who is coming for this throne. Maybe Cuffy’s will team up with Dunks? Mary Lou’s and the Black Dog? A heroin dealer and Reebok? This honestly could create a sort of apparel/refreshment collab turf war that no one saw coming.

Now I don’t pretend to be a craft beer expert but I was a bit ahead of the curve thanks to an older brother in-law that looks upon Bud Light as a sin of the flesh. I also have a few friends who are either in or have been in the craft beer business. So if you do make it up to South Canada to try one of these (unless they all are making the same thing) I’d go Mast Landing or Thresher. Both make a solid pop.

Cheers.

-Joey B.

John Karalis of Reds Army Joins The 300s Podcast to Talk Celtics

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We had a huge guest this week as the co-founder of Reds Army, John Karalis, joined The 300s Podcast to discuss everything Boston Celtics, his entrepreneurial background, the state of digital media in 2018, and we even break down some of the best craft beers to enjoy during a game.

You’ve seen and heard John on FOX 5, 98.5 the Sports Hub, Boston.com, as well as the Locked On Celtics podcast. As one of the hardest working guys covering the NBA today, you can find John on twitter @RedsArmy_John as well as http://www.thesportsdaily.com/reds-army/ and his latest endeavor with Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/JohnKaralis

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