Tag: Boston

It’s Official: Truck Day Got Here Before the New Red Sox Manager Did

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It’s official! Truck Day has come and gone and we are now eight days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training without anyone in charge. The Red Sox were in a tough spot with the sign stealing hysteria when they decided they needed to fire Alex Cora. That was nearly three weeks ago and we still are no closer to learning if the Sox are going to get hammered by MLB or escape with a slap on the wrist. It seems like John Henry and co. are wary of promoting from within in case MLB does throw the book at the Sox and suspend more coaches than just Cora. Firing more than one manager in a single offseason would be an unmitigated PR disaster.

The team has been pretty tight lipped about who they’re looking at to take over, but it did come out the other day they were interviewing Luis Urueta, who’s been a coach in the Diamondbacks system for the past 10+ years. Oakland A’s “quality control coach” and former Sox first baseman Mark Kotsay has also been a rumored candidate. At this point I don’t even care who they hire, but you absolutely cannot show up to Fort Myers in a week without anyone in charge.

I feel like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross. Have you made your decision?

Jayson Tatum Has Officially Made His First NBA All-Star Team

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Boston.com – Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will join teammate Kemba Walker in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game next month in Chicago.

“I am extremely blessed and grateful,” Tatum said in a statement released by the team. “Third year to make the All-Star team it is a surreal feeling. I’m just very excited and it is a dream come true.” Tatum will be one of seven reserves representing the Eastern Conference, joining Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler also of the Heat, Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors, Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers.

I have been sky high on Jayson Tatum for a long time, which is not exactly a hot take for a No. 3 overall pick, but I do expect big things for the young man. If you were able to take a look at the most frequently used words on my twitter account, “Tatum” has to be up there.

For the last two and a half years I’ve been predicting that one day Tatum will be First Team All-NBA so being named to the All-Star team in year 3 is a great first step.

Some people are saying that Jaylen Brown should have made the team over Tatum as he has a better FG% and 3 point %. Although Tatum has a higher efficiency rating and is averaging more points, rebounds, and assists per game than Brown. So both were deserving, but I think Tatum should get the nod.

Tatum is the youngest All-Star the C’s have had since Antoine Walker and while he might not have a signature dance move (yet), Tatum has the potential to be the best homegrown player since Paul Pierce.

Now on to my favorite Tatum content on the internet.

The Red Sox Can Pay Mookie Betts $420 Million or Trade Him for Pennies on the Dollar. Clocks Ticking

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I love watching Mookie Betts play. He is one of the best homegrown talents the Red Sox have ever had. Betts has been insistent on reaching free agency, much to the chagrin of the Sox, but I don’t blame him one bit. Know your worth and go out there and get it. If I’m John Henry though, do I really want to pay Mookie $420 Million?? That is a lot of Schrute Bucks.

The answer seems more and more likely to be no he does not.

I don’t know if Mookie wants to be here or not and it’s not really fair to look at contract negotiations and decipher one way or another, especially with both sides so far apart in total dollars. Sure you’d prefer a guy who loves Boston over someone who hates the fishbowl mentality of playing at Fenway, but thats not even my concern. My concern is this contract becoming a disaster relatively quickly. 12 years is a long, long time. We laugh when we look back at the Albert Pujols Angels contract, the second A-Rod Yankees contract,the Giancarlo Stanton contract, the Miguel Cabrera contract etc. etc. Now of course you’re paying for the front half of that contract where guys are racking up MVPs, Triple Crowns, and ideally World Series rings, but a 12 year deal would have the Sox paying Mookie through his age 40 season. How many 40 year old baseball players do you know?

And Dennis Quaid doesn’t count.

Again, it’s not my money so if the Sox want to break the bank then have at it, but the team is already mired in a (self imposed) payroll mess because they can’t (read: won’t) foot the bill.

Betts is an absolute stud and although he had a bit of a down year last year, he is only 2 years removed from an MVP season. I just worry about a 5’9″ guy making $35M a year until I have kids old enough to be wearing their Sox jerseys to MIDDLE SCHOOL. The Sox are in a similar situation right now with another homegrown talent limping to the finish line in Dustin Pedroia. I don’t want to speak ill of a fellow short guy, but Pedroia’s body just could not hold up and the Sox are now on the hook for a player who sadly may never take the field again.

So should the Red Sox trade Mookie? Well if John Henry didn’t show his poker face worse than Teddy KGB with a box of Oreos then yea maybe.

But the entire league knows the Sox are looking to unload Mookie and shed salary so they are getting lowballed by everyone. Granted a lot of the best deals that get done are the ones you never hear of in the press, but the best offer we’ve heard, according to the San Diego Union Tribune, is with the Padres for Wil fucking Myers plus “two young major leaguers and at least one prospect.”

“Myers led the Padres with a 4.4 combined WAR (wins above replacement) in 2017 and ’18 but last season endured significant slumps and finished with a .239/.321/418 batting line and -0.3 WAR.

Betts posted a 33.8 WAR over the past four seasons, second in the major leagues to Mike Trout’s 35.5 in that span.” 

Oh and eating at least half of Myers’ contract to boot? PASS.

God damnit. Always look for the blue check mark kids.

Ken Rosenthal also reported something similar with names like Manuel Margot and Kirby Yates thrown in.

Margot is a 25 years old centerfielder who hit .238 with 12 HRs, 37 RBI, a 3.04 OBP and 1.8 WAR last year. Solid. Kirby Yates (who the Sox actually drafted in 2005) is a legit reliever, was an All-Star last year, and had 41 saves and a 1.19 ERA with a 15.0 SO9 (K’s per 9 innings). However, he’s also going to be 33 before the start of the season and had 15 career saves in the 5 seasons prior to last year. MLB relievers rise and fall like the ocean so I’m not exactly dying to have one be the linchpin of a Mookie trade.

I would rather ride out the season and take one last shot at a World Series with a still borderline elite Red Sox roster (if healthy) and risk losing Mookie for nothing rather than dumping him for 30 cents on the dollar.

Now all the Sox need is a manager…

“It’s Not Ideal” T-Shirts On Sale Now!

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What a dumpster fire of a press conference that was by the Red Sox. A lot of quotes that made me cringe and/or laugh out loud. This one by John Henry spoke to me though. So much so that we had to slap it on a t-shirt because laughing is the only thing we can do to keep from crying. Buy a shirt now!

The Astros Got SMOKED by MLB, Alex Cora Got Fired, Yet Owners Still Aren’t Happy

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ESPN – The kneecapping of the Houston Astros went off Monday in exquisite fashion. Big names were fired. Draft picks were revoked. A record fine was levied. Pounds of flesh were exacted from egregious cheaters. The optics worked. The Astros’ comeuppance was here, and it was severe. Major League Baseball was righting an obvious wrong.

As the day rolled on and people around baseball pondered exactly what had happened, a less obvious version of the story emerged. It was all so tidy, all so clean, so carefully orchestrated and meticulously calibrated — like something the Astros, ever lauded for their efficiency and ruthlessness, might concoct…As much as MLB played the big, bad monolith in delivering the ruinous news from on high, this was not some unilateral punishment for the Astros. It was a sneak peek inside the sausage factory of power and the anger that Crane’s relative acquittal caused across the league…Multiple ownership-level sources told ESPN that dissatisfaction with the penalties had emerged following a conference call with Manfred, in which he explained how the Astros would be disciplined, then told teams to keep their thoughts to themselves..”Crane won,” he said. “The entire thing was programmed to protect the future of the franchise. He got his championship. He keeps his team. His fine is nothing. The sport lost, but Crane won.”

It’s a long read, but I definitely recommend you check out Jeff Passan’s whole story because it is a pretty fascinating peak behind the curtain. My first reaction to the Astros news yesterday was that they got absolutely HAMMERED by the league. The other owners don’t seem to agree. While I completely understand owners around the league still being bullshit at the Astros, this Passan story just shows how out of touch these team owners have become. What the hell do you want Manfred to do? He fined the Astros the largest team penalty in league history at $5M (and the maximum allowed under MLB rules), banned the GM and the manager for a year and took 1st and 2nd round picks from the team for the next two years. I know, I know the Astros will recoup most of that $5M, if not more in money saved from not having to pay those four draft picks.

With all things considered, thats still pretty, pretty savage. Especially for an organization like MLB that is basically setup like a franchise model thats comprised of franchisees operating their own businesses. For all his faults, Manfred is working with what he’s got here and a lot of that is playing politics amongst 30 billionaires. These owners have no idea what it takes to appease a boss, let alone 30 bosses that make 100x what you make annually, so to bitch and moan about the punishment rings hollow.

“Manfred’s report named Beltran as one of the players involved in the scheme, though the league did not discipline him because it gave players immunity in exchange for their testimony.

That choice registered publicly as another curious part of Manfred’s ultimate decision. What sort of disciplinary action clears players for a “player-driven” scheme? The answer is a practical one. Between the well-defined lines that held GMs and managers responsible and the fear of the Major League Baseball Players Association defending any discipline against active players and sending the cases into grievance hell, Manfred’s pragmatism here, though not satisfying, is understandable.”

Have these guys never watched a cop movie in their lives? Or an episode of The Sopranos? You gotta let some of the small time guys off the hook if you want to get anyone to talk about the Capos. This ain’t the NBA in the 70s where David Stern could just tell some bum owners what was going to happen and they had to accept it.

Now its just a matter of time until Alex Cora gets absolutely roasted himself. Passan cited two sources saying “the end of Cora’s time in Boston could be coming” Alex Cora got the axe from John Henry on Tuesday night. During the middle of the Jeopardy GOAT Tournament no less, which is about as big of a news dump as I can remember.

This came as no surprise because of the optics of the situation. There was no way the Sox were going to take that heat for a guy who in all likelihood won’t be able to work for *at least* the next year. AJ Hinch already completely threw Cora under the bus in the statement he released

Although Shaugnessy did a nice job playing both sides of the fence on this one and reported on Tuesday that the Sox may not actually fire Cora.

I think any reasonable person understands sign stealing happens in baseball and the more technology you add the more sophisticated the sign stealing is going to become. Granted it’s my favorite baseball team that is embroiled in this, but as former Marlins slugger Logan Morrison has said, he knows first hand of several teams that do the same type of stuff.

Manfred’s report directly references how teams like the Yankees were fined for doing the same exact thing in 2017. I mean Cora even joked about Carlos Beltran and how much he’s “helped” the Yankees after the Sox got bludgeoned by them in the London Series last season.

So lets not all start acting like this is someone stealing a $20 out of the Sunday School collection basket. This is a bunch of guys getting bagged doing something they should not have been doing and they knew it. This is not the 1918 Black Sox throwing a game and ruining the integrity of baseball.

Just take a look at the response Passan got when he asked an unnamed team president if he would take that hit for a World Series title:

“I don’t know that I would,” one team president said, “but I don’t know that I wouldn’t.” It was an honest answer.”

So everybody just pump the breaks on the hysteria train before you hurt yourselves.

The Bruins Invented a Totally New Way to Lose, Fall to 0-7 This Year in Shootouts

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The Bruins have been pretty bad in shootouts for as long as I can remember. I used to attribute it to Claude Julien just using wacky shootout lineups with absolute scrubs going before guys like Bergeron. Well, this year they have been even worse. In fact after blowing a 3 goal lead and then losing in yet another shootout last night, the Bruins fell to 0-7 on the year in shootouts. Even worse was the fashion in which they dropped this one.

Holy hell. What’d Marchand spot a pretty blonde behind the net? The only reason I even knew it was possible to lose like this is because I accidentally did the same exact thing once in NHL 2009 on Xbox 360. I literally just laughed out loud as this unfolded.

So the Bruins continue their run of embarrassing shootout performances, which is odd considering they have two of the leading goal scorers in the league in Marchand and David Pastrnak. The Bruins may need to hire an outside consultant like Sparky Polastri to shake things up a bit.

Paul Pierce Smoked Kyrie Irving While Discussing Celtics Leadership

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Boston.com – Jackie MacMullan and Paul Pierce discussed the Celtics’ new leadership: After losing on opening night, the Celtics have embarked on an eight-game winning streak. The team appears to have a different “vibe” this season in comparison to the underachievement of last season.

During an episode of ESPN’s “The Jump” on Tuesday, former Celtic Paul Pierce and longtime NBA reporter Jackie MacMullan touched on the difference in the team’s leadership. Specifically, the departure of Kyrie Irving and the arrival of Kemba Walker.

“They got better leadership in there,” Pierce said. “Let’s just call it how it is.”

After ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols — the show’s host — offered a clarification that the leadership was simply “different,” Pierce jumped back in.

“It’s better,” reiterated Pierce. “Kemba, he’s known throughout the league as being a great leader. I mean, he played on losing teams, he stayed positive. He went out and played hard every night, and that can be infectious. That can be the difference between losing and winning and chemistry. That’s what he’s brought to the Celtics.”

If anyone knows the behind the scenes story of the Celtics, its Paul Pierce. The guy is a C’s legend, he’s tight with ownership, he’s someone the young players look up to, and is a media personality so he knows all the broadcasters. The man has an “in” in just about every area stories and rumors would pop up about his former team.

That exchange between Pierce and Rachel Nichols legit made me laugh out loud because Nichols is trying to smooth things over and say no no its not better its just different. To which Pierce channels his inner Stanley in response.

I don’t think its a personal thing because there has never been any story I can recall about Pierce and Kyrie not getting along. Its not like Shaq taking shots at a young Dwight Howard back in the day. This seems to be Pierce the Celtic or Pierce the fan genuinely psyched about how much better this team looks this year. Its quite literally the definition of addition by subtraction. Of course Hayward was playing great before his injury, but Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were playing more freely, the ball was moving all over the court, and the team just seemed more relaxed. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a mercurial boss who was your best friend one day and a powder keg waiting to explode the next day, but that grinds on you. No wonder the team chemistry was shit last year, no one knew what version of their team leader they were getting, not to mention when they might get chewed out on national TV for missing a shot.

I liked Kyrie when he first got here, and while I don’t necessarily hate him now, I don’t really want him on my team. Over time it became clear that he was basically the best player on your high school team or better yet your college intramural teams. Just a guy that is a complete dickhead to teammates because they aren’t doing exactly what he wants.

Needless to say the Kemba Walker experience is off to a flawless start though.

Who Was the Red Sox Prospect You Thought Couldn’t Miss But Flamed Out?

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The Globe raised this question and I immediately shouted CRAIG HANSEN at my computer. I’ll never forget seeing a guy walking around in a legit stitched Hansen jersey one summer weeks before the kid even got called up. People, including myself, were that confident in the St. John’s closer. Welp, he never really panned out. Him and Manny Delcarmen were supposed to lock down the 8th and the 9th at Fenway for a decade but it just didn’t happen. Craig Hansen only played four seasons and finished with an 6.34 ERA and now is literally an insurance salesman. One of my old buddies always theorized Hansen didn’t work out because of the stitches on the baseball. Supposedly he was so dominant in college because college baseballs have stitches that are more raised so it was easier to throw wicked breaking balls. Whether thats true or not I have no idea, but it was interesting to ponder. Well what about you? Who were you CONVINCED was going to be a stud but never made it? Cla Meredith? Anderson Espinoza?

The City of Boston Shut Down Roast Beast Last Week

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Boston.com –  On the night of Halloween, D.J. Lawton — owner of Roast Beast, a roast beef sandwich destination — changed the profile photo on his restaurant’s Facebook page to announce the shop’s sudden closure. The photo, which showed a message written on cardboard and taped to Roast Beast’s door, was pointed and succinct.

Perhaps the greatest memory from my past summer was being introduced to Roast Beast. Red and Papa G had been going there for years but I had never had the pleasure. It was more than worth the wait.

For those not in the know, the North Shore of Massachusetts is well known for hot roast beef sandwiches. The hot version is basically the same thing as the cold version of the meat but cooked on a griddle a la something like pastrami with cheese, etc. on it and usually served on an onion roll. It’s fucking delicious.

Now Allston is obviously not the North Shore which geographically speaking made Roast Beast that much more delicious. We didn’t have to drive north of the city to enjoy this incredible delicacy. It was legit the best of both worlds.

Now the city has decided that, after ten years in business, without a $150k alteration to the kitchen they have to shut down. And the owner has understandably said “well then fuck you.” I guess they’ve (the city inspection department as well as the fire department) fucked with him before, and he’s quite sick of it.

Listen, fires are no joke. Those of us who worked in the Boston bar scene in the past ten years lost someone we knew last year to such a disaster. But those orgs are also filled with people with giant egos and a need to swing them around. The bottom line is we’ve been eating delicious sandwiches for ten years and suddenly there’s a complication now. Which is bullshit.

So thank you DJ and his crew for ten good years. Maybe he’ll open up in NH soon or something. Long live Roast Beast.

The Gamblers Guide to Betting on the Celtics and the Atlantic Division This Year

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So we’re two weeks into the 2019-20 NBA season and the Celtics are a solid 4-1 with wins over the Knicks (twice), the Raptors, and an incredible comeback win over the Bucks. Their only loss came on opening night to the Sixers, made worse by the sight of Al Horford in a Philly jersey. The Celtics look like they’ll be a pretty good team made better possibly with addition by subtraction. Kemba Walker looks like a match made in heaven as a guy who can drop 30 a night, yet is more than happy to pass up a last shot to blossoming superstars like Jayson Tatum.

What made that Tatum game winner even better was that it was the exact same play that the Celtics ran in Orlando last year leading to Kyrie throwing a fit on the court for not getting the ball. Oh and Kyrie continues to be an absolute PILL in New Jersey, memorialized by Jackie MacMullan’s great piece last week. Enjoy the ride, Nets fans.

Now for the most important part: the gambling.  Its a little early to overreact one way or the other and the Celtics’ unlikely come from behind double digit win over the Bucks probably skews things a little bit. But pick your spots with this C’s team and you could make some decent cash as they continue to surprise people.

  • Philadelphia 76ers
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 57-27, 2nd in the East
    • Key Storylines: Addition of Al Horford, Finally Getting Over the Hump, Overcoming Lack of Depth
    • 5-0 Against the Spread

The Sixers took their biggest weakness last year, a lack of bench depth, and doubled down on it. They lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Reddick, but picked up big man Al Horford to pair with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The Sixers have arguably the best starting 5 in the league, but the end of the bench is pretty barren yet again. With that being said they are 5-0 and the current No. 1 seed in the East so while they don’t have much margin for error, they are one of the most talented squads in the league.

  • Boston Celtics
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 48-34, 3rd in the East
    • Key Storylines: Loss of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, Addition of Kemba Walker, Addition by Subtraction, Jayson Tatum the All-Star
    • 3-2 ATS

If the Celtics are going to go anywhere this year its going to largely be due to Jayson Tatum. Sure Kemba Walker is the latest max free agent in town and Jaylen Brown just got PAID, but this team needs Tatum to become an elite wing player this season if they want to do some damage. I’ve been predicting big things for Tatum despite a less than stellar second season. So far this season he looks excellent averaging 22 PPG while shooting 40% from the field, an impressive 48% from three and an abysmal 75% from the line. Along with Pascal Siakam, Tatum was voted by ESPN as the most likely player to make their first All-Star team in the East, both earning 68.2% of the votes. With Tatum and likely Kemba making the All-Star team, an improved Brown, a finally looking like a basketball player again Gordon Hayward, and All-World defense from Marcus Smart, this team could be in business. As we seem to say every year since KG and Perk left town, the Celtics will need someone to step up as a rim protector/rebounder/big man presence. Whether thats Enes Kanter, Daniel Theis or Robert Williams evolving into the role, the C’s will need someone to step up if they want to compete with the Sixers.

  • Brooklyn Nets
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 45-37, 5th in the East
    • Key Storylines: Addition of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, Kyrie Still a Pill
    • 2-4 ATS

This will be a much safer bet next season when Kevin Durant returns to the court, assuming he’s healthy, but in the meantime they will be a fun team to watch. Despite all his bizarre antics and issues with the media, Kyrie Irving remains one of the most electric one on one players in the league. While thats not necessarily the best path to winning a title, it definitely will steal the Nets some games they have no business winning.

  • Toronto Raptors
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 45-37, 6th in the East
    • Key Storylines: Defending Champs, Loss of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, Growth of Pascal Siakam
    • 4-2 ATS

Man what a roller coaster ride 2019 has been for Drizzy Drake’s favorite squad. Sorry let me clarify, I meant Drake’s hometown team the Raptors not his other favorite squad the Golden State Warriors. Winning their first title behind a Herculean effort from Kawhi Leonard solidifying his spot as the best player in the NBA…to Kawhi walking away and now defending their title with Pascal Siakam and not much else. Siakam was voted by ESPN as the co-favorite to earn their first time All-Star bid in the East. Its hard to be mad as the defending champs, but they went from the favorites (especially with a rapidly imploding Warriors team) to a team that will be scrapping for a bottom half seed in the East this year.

  • New York Knicks
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 26-56, 13th in the East
    • Key Storylines: ….lottery picks and 2020 Free Agency?
    • 1-6 ATS

If you bet real, actual, American dollars on the New York Knicks then you are on your own. Sure Marcus Morris is great to watch when he’s on, but you are banking on the latest iteration of James Dolan’s madness here. Maybe if you get them in a parlay, but other than that I cannot advise gambling on this dumpster fire.

So to wrap it up, who has the best shot at winning the division? Lets not get ahead of ourselves and ask who’s going to take down LeBron and the Lakers or Kawhi and the Clippers in the Finals quite yet. As of late October, the Sixers had become -200 favorites to win the Atlantic, improving from -160 on opening night. The Celtics remained the second-favorite, but were well back at +420, only a shade ahead of the new-look Raptors at +490 with all odds via Sports Betting Dime. Expect those odds to be a little closer together when they’re updated next. Boston’s impressive 116-105 win over the 60-win Bucks made a statement that Brad Stevens’ team is going to be a tough out this year.

I LOVE the Celtics at +420 to win the division. Sure that means catching the Sixers and winning 50+ games, who ESPN has them finishing 9 games behind, but those are odds to bet on. The Sixers at -160 is almost even money and forget it if Embiid misses time with the annual injury or load management concerns. The Raptors feel pretty unlikely to leapfrog both Boston and Philly so I’m not sold on them, and I think this season is a holding pattern for Brooklyn and yet another rebuilding year for the Knicks. So slap down some cash on the Celtics and enjoy the ride.