Dombrowski: “We are going to add Nathan Eovaldi. For some reason, people seem to, not, like, grasp on to that. He’s a big addition for us coming and we feel he’ll be ready to go within about a week to join us on a full-time basis out there.”
So Dave Dombrowski threw a temper tantrum over the weekend because nobody lauded his ingenious “additions” to the bullpen. I mean, by all accounts, he’s not wrong. Nathan Eovaldi can be a very effective reliever when healthy. We saw him do just that in the playoffs last year so why aren’t people falling all over themselves to pat Dombrowski on the back?
Oh yea, thats right because this isn’t an addition you disingenuous dummy. This is a guy the Sox paid big bucks to anchor their rotation down who was IMMEDIATELY injured and has missed all but 4 games this season. So forgive me if I’m not super excited for an injured starter coming back being hailed as the savior of the bullpen.
For Dombrowski to get all pissy because “people seem to, not, like grasp” this is hilarious. This is exactly what I said would happen last year after the Sox won the World Series too. I know this will come off as peak whiny Boston fan, but that doesn’t mean its not true. Last year Dombrowksi punted on making real additions to the bullpen and pulled Nathan Eovaldi and Ryan Brasier out of his ass while David Price pitched out of the pen, and Joe Kelly went on an all-time postseason run.
All that did was embolden Dombrowski to again make no real additions to the bullpen, let Joe Kelly go to the Dodgers, AND let their closer walk all in one offseason. “Hey I did it last year, why can’t I patch this thing together on the fly again?” Because thats not how baseball usually works. Thats why they call it lightning in a bottle.
If Nathan Eovaldi goes on to record 20 saves in the second half of the season then please disregard this blog.
Granted I was on an island all week long so maybe I already missed the news cycle, but why is nobody talking about this?
Mookie, love ya mean, but what the hell are we doing here? This is a straight up fashion crime. He is the MVP of Major League Baseball, he is a professional bowler, he is an absurdly proficient jack of all trades, but a tastemaker in the fashion world he is not.
I gotta be honest, after seeing this outfit I am seriously, seriously hesitant to give a man with this judgement $400 Million dollars. I suppose you can attempt this look when you’re hitting .346 with 32 home runs, but not when you’re hitting .272 with 13 dingers.
All I’m saying is there has got to be someone at the Betts household that sees him on his way out the door wearing a tuxedo without a shirt like he’s Seal and says hold the phone Mook we need to make some tweaks here.
This poor schmuck made the mistake of having his car die within the city limits of Boston proper. If you’ve ever lived in Boston you know that these meter maids are worse than Joe Pesci when you owe him a few bucks. Oh your car battery died? Fuck you pay me.
If you haven’t been ticketed and towed to an undisclosed lot, which you have to call every lot in the area to figure out where it is, and then walk there on foot to pay the bill then have you really lived in the city?
PS – I just noticed that his registration sticker expired in January so this may or may not be a criminal on the lamb.
NESN – The Boston Red Sox spent an off-day trying to recover from a transatlantic flight and two losses to the New York Yankees. The bullpen again became a concern as the Yankees scored 22 runs in 12 2/3 innings of work by Red Sox relievers over the weekend. And now the team has decided to make a move to shore up that bullpen. Multiple sources have told NESN’s Tom Caron that Nathan Eovaldi will serve as the closer for the Red Sox when he returns from the injured list. They also told Caron that he will serve as a traditional closer, and not as part of a bullpen-by-committee. Last postseason Eovaldi made four appearances out of the bullpen, tossing 9 1/3 innings and giving up just one run — the Max Muncy home run in the 18th inning of Game 3 of the World Series after Eovaldi set a series record throwing 97 pitches in relief. In addition to helping the bullpen, the Red Sox believe bringing Eovaldi back as a reliever will get him back on the roster sooner, meaning they won’t have to wait for him to get stretched out in multiple starts over a long rehab stint.
We all saw what Nathan Eovaldi can do out of the bullpen in the playoffs last year, but that was out of necessity. Coming into this year the Red Sox resigned Eovaldi to a 4-year $67.5M contract to be a STARTER and now the Sox will once again turn to Nasty Nate to save the pen. I think we all had a feeling the Sox would mess around with this because with how good Eovaldi was in the postseason, how could you not think about him back in the pen?
This makes sense when you’re paying Eovaldi like a mid-season acquisition. When you’re paying him like a top starter though, and at the same time completely cheaping out on adding any bullpen help, then it starts to look like a piss poor management of resources.
Sweet Lou may have a stroke covering this year’s Sox team, but he seems to be in the same boat as me here.
He OK’d $240 million to be spent on his team. He hired someone to find the best way to allocate it. Dombo gave Eovaldi $17 to take over for Porcello. Ignored the bullpen and now what? Eovaldi goes to the bullpen. Could have got 2 relievers for the price he’s paying his closer. https://t.co/jy3P3vFiB8
Its not like anyone could have predicted this right?? This is why I was ecstatic the Sox won the World Series yet also a bit annoyed at how they got there because it only emboldened Dave Dombrowski. He punted on fixing the bullpen all last season and then fell ass backwards into a journeyman starter with a bum elbow that turned into a super reliever, along with Price, and Porcello acting as roamers. Winning the title last year had Dombrowski feeling himself a bit too much because hey we did it last year so we’ll figure it out again on the fly this year.
Thats how $240 Million teams end up 11 games out of first place in July.
Boston Herald – A few days before the Celtics hit Las Vegas, it’s fair to say Vegas isn’t big on the Celtics…Having placed the Celtics last fall at a low of 8-1 to win the 2019 championship, the wise people with the sharpened pencils and crystal balls at Westgate SuperBook now put them at 25-1 to be the last team standing next June.
And even that seems optimistic to some. One athletic accountant of our acquaintance believes the C’s are only rated that highly because of what could happen between now and then and because they’ll still draw some interest at that price.
The Celtic roster you see today will not be all that you see in the middle of October. The club is not done making moves, and according to teams around the league that we spoke to Monday, the C’s are very active in trying to see what free agents may still shake loose and what kinds of sign-and-trade deals could free up a better chunk of money to attract a large person.
New:
Celtics’ roster today isn’t on par with best in East… According to league sources, they know that and aren’t done dealing.https://t.co/hA2tAzMVLd
Granted this article is a bit vague and devoid of many specific details, the fact that its coming from Steve Bulpett is why is sticks out to me. Bulpett is one of the most connected and longest tenured NBA writers in the country so when he says something like this I take note.
I have no idea what this could really even mean because the Celtics are already strapped for cash after the Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter signings. You would need to trade Gordon Hayward and his max salary (which as I said on The 300s Podcast last week I don’t think the C’s will ever do) or some combination of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and another asset of your choosing (Yabusele, Timelord etc.) to get a big time deal done. A sign and trade with DeMarcus Cousins was the big one Mattes and I kept going back to as a swing for the fences possibility, but I have zero idea how to finagle the numbers to make that work.
After picking three times in the first round this year, the Celtics are just about out of the beaucoup assets they sat on for the last half a decade. The Memphis Grizzlies pick (top 6 protected in 2020 or unprotected in 2021) and a TBD Charlotte Hornets pick added in the Terry Rozier sign and trade are the only assets the Celtics now own aside from their own picks. No longer can Danny Ainge dangle a treasure chest of future lottery picks in front of rival GMs. Technically the Rozier sign and trade is intentionally unfinished as the C’s debated including a third team (which would have allowed for a Horford return before he signed with Philly) in the transaction.
Some clarity on the Rozier/Kemba sign-and-trade: The Cs did this to keep options open for potential three-team sign-and-trades. But even if it stays as a 2-team transaction, Boston is expected to receive some compensation from the Hornets.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 1, 2019
That opportunity is still there if the C’s want to try and squeeze a little more juice out of Rozier, which Charlotte will be more than willing to do because without the S&T they can’t afford Scary Terry. The C’s own Bird Rights on Rozier so they can pay him the big money he wants and then trade him to Charlotte in the Kemba S&T.
Man, the NBA salary cap rules are a trip huh?
At the very least, maybe Danny is trying to do Terry a solid for not napalming the team in the media like Kyrie did for months.
Don’t underestimate the power of a goodwill move. People get on Ainge for being heartless and all, but Terry Rozier got a TON of money from Charlotte and this was the only way to get him there. Agents notice this kind of thing.
TLDR; the Celtics will have to either get creative as all hell or yet again tear down their roster and rebuild on the fly by trading multiple starters if there is a big move still to be made .
Red and Mattes jump into The 300s Podcast studio to discuss all the swirling Celtics rumors that are out there. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the NBA Offseason is the best show on TV.
– Kemba Walker signing a max deal with the Celtics?
– Kyrie Irving is a PILL
– Al Horford is likely gone
– Are the Celtics’ young guys getting off too easy for their role in the drama around the team last season?
– Recapping the Celtics draft night and what it means for the 2019-20 roster
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.com – “We want a ballpark that really looks like Worcester, tastes like Worcester, smells like Worcester — a ballpark that is really representative of its home town,” Rea, the executive vice president of real estate development and business affairs for the Pawtucket Red Sox, recently told Boston.com in an interview.
Over the last month, PawSox officials have begun to reveal what that exactly could mean.
Rea says they’re currently “knee deep” in the planning efforts for the future home of the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate, who will begin playing in Worcester in 2021. The team announced the move last August, along with plans to build a 10,000-seat stadium in Worcester’s Canal District as part of a development project that includes restaurants, apartments, and a hotel overlooking the ballpark…
…has partnered with Worcester-based craft brewer Wormtown Brewery and beverage distributor Atlas to curate a locally inspired beer menu.
“We want people to be able to have Coors and Miller and Bud, but also have the local flare that I think the Worcester and Central Mass. area is becoming known for,” Rea said.
Welcome to Worcester. Dollar Twenty Five.
Larry Lucchino is most famous for three things: 1.) Designing the beautiful Camden Yards ballpark in Baltimore 2.) Leading the revival and renovations of the modern day Fenway Park and 3.) Running Theo Epstein out of town over a pissing contest. Obviously No. 3 is not ideal, but No. 1 and No. 2 are great legacies, which is why I have faith in Larry building something awesome in Worcester.
At first glance Polar Park seems like just another licensing rights sell out that means nothing. Whether intentional or not, it actually works really well because (at least for the Pawtucket Red Sox) the Triple-A team’s mascot currently is…
Yup, a polar bear. Or “Osos Polares de Pawtucket” if you happened to grab the fire flames hispanic themed hat like myself.
Larry’s even brought in the same architects to design the new park that have been leading the Fenway renovations for the last two decades.
It sounds like they’re being pretty creative with the entrances too, which is great not only for designing a unique experience but also helps with the bottle neck problem so many parks have.
Similar to Fenway, team officials are planning to have entrances all around Polar Park, so that fans can enter from different angles and the “full circumference of the venue is busy and activated,” Rea said. The park will also be built into a hill. So while fans entering the home-plate side on Madison Street would come in on street level, those coming from the direction of Worcester’s lively Green Street restaurant and bar scene would actually walk down into the stadium from center and right field (think Baltimore’s Camden Yards with a Jersey Street-type scene above the outfield seats).
I can’t tell you how many times theres been a massive line at Fenway right when you cross over the bridge to only just bomb down around to the Ted Williams statue and just double back to save a few minutes.
“I think there will be some unique outfield geometry and architecture,” he said. “We’re still putting those final pieces in place. But I think there will be some unique Fenway-esque architecture, if not identical dimensions and identical height walls. But some things will certainly have that sort of feel to it — not just some generic, perfectly symmetrical outfield.”
Fenway-esque architecture? Hell if I know what that means. I would think as the Triple-A team you would want players to get used to the same dimensions that the parent club is using in their home ballpark so that would make sense, but who knows.
Anddd its gonna be pricey!
According to the Worcester Business Journal, it will be the fourth-most expensive minor league park ever built when adjusted for inflation.
“We want a ballpark that has Fenway charm, but with the modern amenities that you expect from a 21st century ballpark,” Rea said.
The “flexible seating and social areas” are a great idea because sometimes you just want to grab a sausage and a couple beers and shoot the shit with your buds.
Around 7,200 to 7,500 of the park’s 10,000-person capacity will be traditional, fixed ballpark seats, Steinberg said at a fan preview night in Pawtucket last month. The rest will be flexible seating and social areas catering toward younger fans and families. Rea thinks such gathering spaces will be key for attracting students from the 13 colleges in the Worcester area, who have reportedly complained about not having anywhere to mingle with each other.
I’ve done this at plenty of Sox games when I stumble onto $10 tickets and its a blowout. The roof deck down the first base line is one of my favorite spots in Fenway. It also reminds me of the open local brewery and picnic table areas I raved about in our Portland SeaDogs ballpark review.
We’ll be heading back to Portland in August for another SeaDogs game and I’ll probably hit Pawtucket again for the seasons over. Needless to say I am a huge fan of minor league ballparks, whether its Pawtucket or Portland or the NH Fisher Cats or even some Brockton Rox games back in the day. Still need to make it to the Hartford Yard Goats who apparently have a sick brand new stadium downtown, but I will 100% be checking out the Worcester stadium once the PawSox move their in 2021.
Until then, please please just don’t ruin the team name with some gimmicky mascot. As Frank Lucas once said, “thats a brand name.”
I am all for players celebrating, jumping around, bat flipping, even flipping the bird to opponents if they feel the need. If you want to act like Kenny Powers on the mound then I encourage you to do just that. Take Max Muncy for example, who did not appreciate Madison Bumgarner telling him to “don’t watch the ball” after Muncy took him yard a couple weeks ago.
Madison Bumgarner: “Don’t watch the ball, you run.”
Max Muncy: “If you don’t want me to watch the ball, you can get it out of the ocean.” 😯
I love it. Baseball needs more of this stuff. Which brings us to Marcus Stroman, who I personally love. The guy gets under everyone’s skin, is a bonafide stud major league pitcher at 5’8″, and oh he can spit bars too.
Marcus Stroman likes to get fired up, yell on the mound, and generally make wild hand gestures like an Italian girlfriend, but Dennis Eckersley was NOT a fan of Stroman’s celebrations on the mound on Sunday.
That’s not Dennis Eckersley calling Stroman’s celebrations “tired,” is it?
“He was aggressive and animated on the mound, and he was known for his intimidating stare and pumping his fist after a strikeout. “https://t.co/Cu6cA6k49A
Does he sound like he’s trying to go Super Saiyan on the mound while up 5 runs in the 6th inning? Yes he does, but whatever. If I’m a player I just quietly bide my time until Stroman’s next start comes around and I hit one of his hanging curves onto Landsdowne.
And I love Eck, he’s one of my favorite people in America. I vehemently defended him in the David Price debacle, hell we even made YUCK t-shirts in his honor. However, Marcus Stroman clapped back on Twitter with the perfect response and unfortunately I think Eck has to just take the L and move on here.
We are entering a youth movement. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can go back to watching Celtics games without smashing the TV. Now tonight is the NBA Draft and the Celtics have three first round picks, 14, 20, and 22. AKA trash picks. Picking that late in the NBA Draft gets you bench players and home run swings on high ceiling guys with massive red flags. Enter Bol Bol. This has been the only guy I’ve wanted the Celtics to draft all year long (assuming they didn’t backdoor their way into another top 5 pick, which they didn’t). Son of the NBA shot blocking legend Manute Bol, Bol Bol is one of the few college basketball players that I’ve somewhat followed this season because the dude just fascinates me. He is 7’2″, runs like a deer, oh and did I mention he DRAINS threes?
Now it seems like the Celtics drafting Bol Bol is a legitimate possibility tonight. Granted he is 7’2″ coming off a foot surgery, but hey scared money don’t make no money.
Either way, just about everyone has the big man sliding to the 14-25 range in the first round, so if they want him the Celtics will likely have ample opportunity to grab him.
The Ringer had a great piece on just how dangerous the big man could be in the league:
“At 19, he already possesses an offensive arsenal that should make him a gamebreaker in the modern NBA…his shot is the skill which makes him an NBA player. He hit on 52 percent of his 25 attempts at Oregon and 48.9 percent on 45 attempts on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player of his height as fast or dexterous.And that’s scary. Momentum is mass times velocity, and Bol generates an awful lot of momentum on his skinny legs.”
He would have been a Top 5 pick if not for the injury or if he were able to go straight from high school to the draft, which cannot return to NBA rules soon enough. However the injury derailed his one and only college season and hurt his draft stock. Bol played in just 9 games at Oregon averaging 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 56.1 field goal %, and an eye popping 52.0% on 3 pointers.
While a foot injury to a 7 footer scares the shit out of me, this is EXACTLY why Danny Ainge has all these picks. In the absence of an Anthony Davis mega deal, you have three first rounders so you can take a flyer on a guy like Bol. While he could flame out and never make an impact in the league, he could also drink some more milk, solidify his bones and become one of the best players in the NBA. The last time Danny passed on an unproven, high ceiling player was in 2013 when he passed on Giannis Antetokounmpo in favor of Kelly Fucking Olynyk. While Olynyk has become a decent role player in the NBA, Giannis is arguably the best player in the league right now. This isn’t the NFL where you can build quality depth through the draft with mid round picks. No, the 14th pick in the NBA draft gets you bench players and home run swings. There are very few elite NBA players that come this late in the draft without some major red flags around them.
Barring a massive draft night trade (which allegedly is a possibility), the Celtics are staring a youth movement right in the face. Bring me Bol Bol and lets swing for the fences, Danny.
The 300s 