Tag: Boston

Don’t Look Now, But the Celtics Are…Good?

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Watching the Celtics roll to 9-1 in their last 10 games (including a complete dismantling of the Sixers) with their only loss coming by one point, has me feeling like Austin in Not Another Teen Movie when he sees Janey Briggs’s “makeover.” Complete and utter shock. The makeover in this analogy being the Celtics’ renewed focus and tenacity on defense. After months of up and down play, has this team finally figured it out?

The Celtics are….good?

ESPN’s Zach Lowe seems to think so:

“Boston is about to overtake the Golden State Warriors for No. 1 in defensive efficiency. Their starting five has allowed a bonkers 88.8 points per 100 possessions — easily the stingiest mark among lineups that have logged 100-plus minutes…Smaller groups with Time Lord as the only traditional big have been impenetrable; Boston’s potential new closing lineup — Smart, White, Brown, Tatum, Robert Williams — might be a problem…They are a threat to beat any conference rival in the playoffs..”

Anybody can cherry pick specific stats and point to a winning streak as reasons to be optimistic, but the Celtics weren’t exactly playing the Warriors and Bucks every night. The Ringer says the Celtics recent success goes beyond that though:

Sure, a favorable recent schedule helps, but point differential is a stronger predictor of future success than record, and the streaking Celtics now boast the best point differential in the conference, at plus-4.8 per game.

Already a defensively oriented team—the Celtics are up to second in the league in defensive rating, per CtG—Boston doubled down at the trade deadline. Individual defensive stats are squishy, but trade acquisition Derrick White ranks fourth in the entire league in defensive impact this season, according to estimated plus-minus. Boston now employs two guards who rank in the top 10. Good luck scoring against the Celtics’ new closing five.

I know the NBA is worlds different than it was back in 2007-08, but seeing the Celtics return to one of the toughest defenses in the league to play against has me clutching my beer stained Kevin Garnett jersey.

This team needs more than just a hot streak to turn their season around because we’ve seen chemistry issues for a couple of years now. It’s put up or shut up time for this group or else Brad Stevens will have every justification he needs to shake this team up in the offseason. But, can we please put to bed the narrative that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown don’t want to play together? Can they improve their ability to consistently play well at the same time rather than just watching each other go off for 30+ in alternating games? 100 percent. But splitting them up? Unless you’re getting an elite elite level talent like KAT then splitting up the Jays makes this team worse, and not in one of those addition by subtraction kind of ways. Most players in the league leave their current team so they can link up with another All-Star. That’s exactly what Tatum and Brown have here in each other. Even Tatum scoffed at the notion on JJ Reddick’s podcast recently.

Speaking of the chemistry issues this team has seen bubble to the surface, Tatum, also on Reddick’s podcast, addressed the comments Marcus Smart made early in the season calling out him and Jaylen Brown.

While Tatum didn’t address the comments for several days in the aftermath, he said a meeting with Marcus Smart at the practice facility ended up getting everyone on the same page.

“I wasn’t angry or mad or anything,” Tatum said. “I just waited to the next day. I saw Marcus at the facility and we sat down and talked. It was a great talk actually. We had some time to sleep. The adrenaline was gone from the game. He apologized for what he said and that was something he shouldn’t have said in the media and that they got his words mixed up. I didn’t take offense.

“I started it off by saying, ‘Bro I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I still got a long way to go from where I’m trying to get to.’ I think we ended the conversation on, we are in this together, we are all on the same team and we are trying to figure it out. Trying to say things like that in the media doesn’t help anyone’s case because that’s all they talk about for the next week or so when referring to the Celtics. It wasn’t the end of the world. No harm, no foul, we are past it now. “ – via MassLive

Smart can be a loose cannon at times. The man still has glass in his hand from punching a picture frame a couple years ago, but if you tell me that you’ve never punched an inanimate object, then you’re a liar and we can’t be friends. So yes, he can be…let’s say…hot headed, and the words “Marcus Smart for three” keep me up at night, but this team is simply better when he’s engaged and playing his role. Easier said than done, but it’s true. And Tatum knows that.

With that said, I have been incredibly wary of truly investing in this team because the Celtics really have been like Lucy ripping the football away from Charlie Brown the last couple of years. Now I always take advanced analytics with a grain of salt because you can paint any picture you want with the right numbers, but when their core four are all healthy and playing together this team is GOOD.

This season Tatum has missed time, Brown has missed time, Williams has missed time so naturally Marcus Smart left the Sixers game the other night with a hobbling ankle injury. With the All-Star break though he’ll have had plenty of time to rest up. So hopefully, hopefully the Celtics can soon get their core four together on the court all at once and with the addition of Derrick White finally make the deep playoff run we all know they’re capable of making.

The Celtics are back in action on Thursday night to take on the new look Brooklyn Nets with James Harden getting swapped out for Ben Simmons at the deadline.

Tom Brady Announces His Retirement

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Update: Tom Brady has officially announced he is retiring from football.

Tom Brady is officially probably retiring from the NFL after 22 seasons, seven Super Bowl titles, three MVPs, and five Super Bowl MVPs. He is without a shred of doubt the greatest quarterback in NFL history, likely the greatest player in league history, and arguably the greatest athlete in American sports history. As we process the end of an era, only the most somber of songs will suffice. Hit it, acoustic Josie.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=HhwHXYaOJGk

That is if you believe the likes of Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington, two of the most tied-in guys in all of sports media. What started as rumors of Brady making a decision on his future sooner than later quickly turned into the breaking news alarm being sounded on Saturday afternoon. It was clearly not something ESPN was prepared for at that exact moment because they had wall to wall college basketball games airing and the regional sports networks like NESN and NBC Sports Boston are usually just airing infomercials when there’s not a game on. So kudos to the radio guys for doing the news justice all day while the snow piled up. But then there were conflicting reports that started coming in quoting sources like Brady’s agent Don Yee and even his own father saying he had not made a decision yet on his future. Mike Silver even reported that Tom Brady actually called Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht to tell him he had not made a decision yet. Welp, ESPN, the NFL Network, all of the internet, even TB12’s own Twitter account tweeted out notes of congratulations on a great career. Sports Center seemed to have taken Schefty at his reporting because they ran non-stop coverage and heart wrenching Tom Brady retirement packages. As they should because whether it was Giselle, Alex Guerrero or someone else that leaked the decision; I would bet my car that Brady is retiring. He’s just pissed he got scooped before he could announce it himself in his own way. (i.e. the mysteriously yet to be aired final episode of his ESPN+ show)

With all that being said, I am going to move forward with this blog assuming Brady is in fact retiring. I really hope this isn’t a Brett Favre situation and he hems and haws. Make a decision and stick with it. I personally don’t think he should walk away because he clearly is still one of the best QBs in the league, but hey if he is calling it a career I get it. He’s won seven Super Bowls, he has every significant NFL record for a QB, he’s got multiple budding businesses to tend to now, and most importantly he has his health. If this it for Tom Brady, what an incredible career it has been. Equally as impressive is the fact that he will be retiring at the height of his powers as he finishes his final season as a legit MVP candidate

So he calls it a career, rather than wait to get hurt or face an inevitable possible decline in skills, even as Brady once famously said “I’ll retire when I suck.” Suck, Tom Brady does not. There aren’t many guys that are able to walk away at the top of their game though. The only recent comp I can think of is David Ortiz, who retired after a 2016 All-Star season in which he hit .315 with 38 home runs and 127 RBIs. Absolutely mind boggling. As badly as Tom Brady wants to play until he’s in his fifties, there is something to be said about walking away before the wheels come off. Nobody wants to remember their idols stumbling around the field, clearly diminished and just chasing former greatness.

Speaking of David Ortiz, the fact that he gets elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame the same week that Tom Brady announces his retirement has me feeling straight up geriatric. My childhood idols now have their numbers retired, streets named after them, HOF inductions, and before long will have statues in their honor. We have truly lived through the greatest era in Boston sports history and to quote Henry Hill “and now it’s all over.”

Didn’t matter. It didn’t mean anything. When I was down, I’d go out and win some more. We won everything. We beat other teams, we battled the league, we even came back from 28-3. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it’s all over.

Sure Mac Jones looked pretty good, he helped bring the Patriots back to the playoffs as a rookie, and is technically a Pro Bowl level QB now as an alternate replacement. But it’ll never be the same, and I can already feel my future children rolling their eyes as I tell yet another story championing Tom Brady’s greatness.

In his final season, Tom Brady led the NFL in Passing Touchdowns, Yards, Completions, and Pass Attempts, all at the age of 44 and the oldest player in the league. That is otherworldly in a career of god level accomplishments. I’m not sure if this StatMuse graphic is completely up to date, but it paints the picture of just how utterly dominant Brady has been in his 40s compared to every other QB in league history. Sure he has way more games played, but that’s not a knock, in fact that’s a testament to his…pliability (sorry, I couldn’t help myself).

If this is in fact it, I have to give Brady props for not doing the whole gross Mariano Rivera Retirement Tour. Rivera was the greatest closer in baseball history and was a joy/terror to watch for all those years. But announcing you’re going to retire after one more season just opens the gates for distractions and gifts and media fawning every single week and it sounds exhausting if not outright off putting. Assuming the retirement takes, like a successful transplant operation, he will retire after his age-44 season, which is actually one season shy of the 45-years-old end date he had not so subtly hinted at for years. I’ve personally always thought the “45-years-old” timeline was thrown out there by Brady to throw us off the scent so he could play into his 40’s and then retire at some point before the media started asking him every single offseason about his plans. However, as he continued to play I was less sure of that because let’s face it, if he remained healthy Tom Brady could have played until he was registering for his AARP membership. I can even picture the Instagram promo video for TB12 introducing its most famous Medicare client.

Now in the interest of continuing to process my Tom Brady Leaving the Patriots grief, I’m only briefly going to go back to the Bargaining stage here for a second. Simply put, only playing two seasons in Tampa Bay makes his late career departure hurt a little bit less. A lot of Patriots fans will never forgive Brady for leaving, but I think the majority of fans recognized Brady was essentially forced out of town by Belichick and/or after 20 years it may have just been time to move on. So with that being said, I know a lot of Pats fans were rooting for Brady to play well and even win another ring down in Florida if not to stick it to Belichick, at least to incentivize the Patriots to get their shit together, and fast.

However, if Brady had continued to win in Tampa Bay for several years, it suddenly becomes a very real possibility that the lines of allegiance start to blur. Just think about it, do you look back at Peyton Manning as a Colt or a Bronco? It’s not as clear cut as you might think because although Manning had the bulk of his record breaking HOF career in Indy, he had an ugly breakup with the team that drafted him, then went on to set single season TD records in Denver, continued to have legendary battles against Tom Brady and the Pats, went to two Super Bowls, and won another ring with the Broncos. I think that was starting to become an unspoken fear of Patriots fans who don’t even want to entertain the discussion of who claims Tom Brady as their own.

Getting back on track with my stages of processing the post-Brady grief, I think the Week 4 game this season in Foxborough provided a lot of closure for fans who felt blindsided by his departure nearly two years prior. Not to mention an all-time promo from the Sunday Night Football team.

Speaking of closure, goddamnit am I glad I dragged my lazy ass off the couch in Boston and drove the five hours down to the Meadowlands just to see Tom Brady play in person (and witness him rip out the heart of the Jets) one last time. We even joked in the pre-game tailgate that we’d probably be back in the same parking lot four years from now seeing Tom light up another generation of Jets players, but in the back of our minds we knew this could be it. And it was.

We’ll continue to work through this news and process Tom Brady’s retirement when he finally makes it official. Or if he pulls a Wolf of Wall Street and declares he’s not leaving, we’ll cover that too. If this is it though, I can promise you one thing: Five years from now I will without a doubt be in Canton, OH to witness Tom Brady’s Hall of Fame induction speech. And I’m not a meterologist, but I already know it will be incredibly dusty that day.

Not a Silver Linings Guy, But Despite the Loss, Mac Jones Gives the Patriots a W

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I was texting with a few buddies during the Patriots game and despite the backbreaking Damien Harris fumble and absolutely brutal way to lose a game, the most common exchange was “Cam Newton is never completing that pass.” And that’s not meant to dump on Cam Newton, who was by all reports a great teammate and team ambassador despite his middling performance on the field. But man what a difference it makes having a young, competent, and promising QB like Mac Jones on the field operating the offense like a vet.

Mac Jones wasn’t lighting it up and throwing for 400+ yards like Dak Prescott or throwing 5 touchdowns like Jameis Winston, but man he looked good. He looked smooth, he was never rattled (aside from that near fumble/lateral play) and he generally moved the offense down the field with precision. His passes were accurate and he frequently put the ball in places where only his receiver could get it.

And my god that wheel route play where Mac dropped it in a bucket!

*Chef’s kiss*

So while it was a heartbreaking way to lose and one that could seriously come back to bite the Patriots in the ass with it being a divisional game, I still came away from this feeling pretty good about where the Patriots are headed for the first time in a long time. Although I imagine Bill Belichick will be taking more of a Winston Wolf approach when it comes to doling out compliments in team meetings this week…

But if you’re a Patriots fan you have to be encouraged by what you saw on Sunday. For the first time in 2 years the Patriots were able to run an NFL offense. Granted, their $80 million tight ends weren’t exactly balling out, but the Pats are already nearly halfway to their total receptions by tight ends all of last season (18 catches) after ONE game (8 catches) this season. Mac did not play favorites, moved the ball around and hit 8 different receivers to keep the chains moving. The Pats definitely eased Mac Jones into the game with plenty of runs in the first half, but by the 4th quarter he looked completely comfortable and best of all he was MONEY against pressure.

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We don’t want to crown the kid as the savior after one game because there will be struggles as there are with any rookie, but the fact that the Patriots threw the ball 40 times Sunday just a few months removed from Mac’s last game at Alabama shows you just confident they are in the kid.

And while I think I speak for us all when I say we were a little concerned with his swag level after that awkward walk on draft night:

But in his first career start what song does he come out to? Mike Jones! (Who?) Not exactly Tom Brady and Hova, but going with a Houston rapper who was popping when Mac Jones was all of 7 years old is grade A, top level SWAG.

So while it’s unfortunate to be 0-1 and not take advantage of the Bills and Jets losing, after watching the way Mac Jones played in his first career game it’s hard not to have a feeling that eluded Patriots fans all of last year: hope.

Ginger Ale/Sox Fans Rejoice, the Schwarber Tee Has Arrived

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The Red Sox ain’t dead yet, which Nate Eovaldi and Hunter Renfroe made sure of last night practically willing the team to a must have W against the Rays. This team is moving in the right direction and reinforcements are on the way, but lets not forget about the big trade deadline acquisition, the Ginger Ale Man himself, Kyle Schwarber. All he’s done since arriving in Boston is hit .321 with 4 Home Runs and an OPS of .999 so if there was ever a new guy in need of a t-shirt it’s him.

Buy yours now before the Sox go on a deep playoff run and you’re stuck without a crisp new tee.

Celtics Re-sign Robert Williams for 4 Years So Time Lord Shirts Are Now Essential

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The Celtics have been anything but idle this offseason so it’s hard to fault them for not at least trying to improve after last season’s flameout. Among those moves is the 4-year $54 million contract extension for Robert Williams III, which means Time Lord shirts are now essential. (Swipe swipe)

Time Lord really has become a cult figure amongst fans in Boston as you either stan for the freakishly athletic, rebound grabbing big man with silky smooth passing skills or you rail against the undersized, oft injured backup center.

I fall into the former category and so do a lot of our readers, evidenced by the fact that the Time Lord shirt is by far our best selling shirt.

While it may seem like splitting atoms to fans, the contract isn’t fully guaranteed with a portion of the deal based on incentives tied to playing time (something that has eluded Williams due to injuries).

Williams can earn just over a $1 million each season if he hits those incentives, which mostly hinge on his playing time. The big man can earn $446,000 per year if he plays 69 or more games, according to Brian Robb of MassLive. Should he hit that mark, Williams can earn even more if the Celtics make it to the conference semifinals and/or conference finals.

Hitting the 69 game mark is no guarantee for Williams, considering the 23-year-old has never played in more than 52 games over his three NBA seasons. Injuries have long been his nemesis, and he’ll have to shake that to earn the maximum value over the life of his extension with Boston. – via CBS Boston

I admit I was a bit surprised at the size of this deal when I first saw it, $10 million +/- a couple mil for a big man that can run the floor is not outrageous. If Williams can continue to improve, both his game and his 18.9 minutes per game, then this contract will end up being a solid deal for the Celtics.

Obviously if he continues getting hurt and playing less than 52 games a season then this deal could end up being a problem. The one thing I will say though is this is an easily tradable contract because of William’s potential as a player, but more importantly the relatively low average annual value. So while this does eat into the Celtics cap space, it does not preclude them from making a deal for someone like Bradley Beal should that opportunity present itself.

Not to mention the benefit of keeping your best player happy by re-signing guys he actually wants to play with.

As I’ve said here in the past, I am a huge jersey guy and as part of that I refuse to buy any player’s jersey unless they’ve recently signed a contract extension because I’ve been burned before. Robert Williams III is now locked into the C’s long terms plans so if you haven’t done so already, go get yourself a Time Lord shirt and get ready for the season.

Marcus Smart Isn’t Going Anywhere and That’s a Good Thing

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As Phil Jackson once told Toni Kukoc when the Bulls were trying to sign the Euro amidst a lot of waffling and hesitation, “shit or get off the pot kid.” Reports recently surfaced that the Celtics had offered Marcus Smart a contract extension earlier this month and the team had not heard back from the point guard’s agent. I’m sure there were some hurt feelings with all of the trade speculation being thrown around, but this deal solidifies Smart as a part of the Celtics plan for the (at least immediate) future.

The Celtics have had a rocky past year with a gigantic missed opportunity in the NBA bubble playoffs, followed up by a .500 season and getting dusted in the first round by Brooklyn, then their biggest offseason move being a salary dump of their oft injured point guard, Kemba Walker. So the C’s needed some good news, or at least some sense of stability, and thats what the Marcus Smart signing is right now.

There have been tons of reports over the last couple of years that Smart rubs some of his teammates the wrong way or that he even butts head with former head coach turned GM Brad Stevens, but it would appear much of that was overblown. Sure the Celtics could be thinking a bird in the hand is better as their reasoning for re-signing Smart, but I cannot fathom Stevens with all of his intimate knowledge of the Celtics roster and team dynamics would bring Smart back if he was such a problem. His teammates seem to be happy about the deal too so there’s that.

Does he jack up too many shots he has no business taking? Yup. Does he think he’s just as important as future MVP Jayson Tatum? Probably. And is he an emotional roller coaster of a player? 100% But sometimes a team needs that fiery, get in your face type guy, especially on a team who’s best player in Tatum is just not an emotional leader. Enter, Marcus Smart.

The money might seem like a lot at first glance (4 years at $77 million), but when you see the stupid money getting thrown around the NBA then this deal is practically frugal in comparison. Especially if Smart makes the majority of starts at PG or even ends up splitting duties with Dennis Schroder (who in an all-time mental lapse turned down said stupid money in the form of an $80+ million offer from LA and is now playing for the C’s on a 1-year midlevel exception).

The average annual value of Smart’s extension will range from $17-$21 million over the 4 years of the deal, which this past season wouldn’t have even cracked the Top 50 highest paid players in the NBA. Smart averaged a career high in points at 13.1 per game with 5.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds last year, not to mention is a 2x All-Defensive first team selection as arguably the best defender in the game at times. So this deal is far from outrageous.

Are this the fireworks that fans were hoping for? No of course not, but it’s a…smart…move that also allows the Celtics to keep their financial flexibility heading into the big ticket summer of 2022.

That is if you buy into the hype of a superstar signing in Boston, which I am less than certain on. I’m a little tired of always looking ahead to *next* summer for the real monster moves the Celtics never make. Sure they signed Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, and Kemba Walker to max contracts in the last handful of years, but 2/3rds of those relationships had ignominious endings. Hopefully Brad taking over for Danny Ainge in the front office and Horford returning helps, at the minimum, improve the Celtics’ public perception problem around the league.

The 2021-22 Celtics may not be better on paper, but I think this is a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You now have Smart, Tatum, and Jaylen Brown all signed long term for big money so in theory all should be comfortable in their roles. You have culture building locker room veterans in Horford and Enes Kanter, added scoring off the bench in Schroder, and brought in a new coach that seemingly will be better equipped to connect with players as a youngish black man in Ime Udoka with the credibility of being a former player and coming from the Gregg Popovich coaching tree (whom Tatum just played for at the Olympics). Could this team end up being nothing more than another likable, plucky, 7 seed based on talent alone? For sure. But if Tatum and Brown continue to improve and this team can actually have defined roles for guys with consistent scoring off the bench, then I think Celtics could surprise a lot of people next season.

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.

Fire Flames Jersey Alert: Red Sox Unveil Boston Marathon Jerseys

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I’m not going to overthink it and get too verbose. These are sick, plain and simple. Granted if you’re not from Boston these probably look like some failed Easter Peeps yellow cross promotion. But hey, if you know you know. What’s more, the Red Sox never do stuff like this, which is fair considering the logo and the team colors comprise one of the most recognizable and historic brands in the world. It is nice to switch it up every once in a while though and for better or for worse that’s exactly what a partnership with Nike will deliver.

Obviously these are an homage to the Boston Marathon, which is a legitimate holiday around here turned fierce display of local pride after the Marathon bombings back in 2013.

I was a huge fan of the BOSTON B-Strong jerseys the Sox wore, immortalized by David Ortiz’ “This is our fucking city” speech, when they returned to play after that tragedy.

So it’s cool to see the Sox tapping into a huge part of the Boston culture for a new alternate. A lot of these City Edition jerseys in the NBA have already become kind of forced, but I would say Nike hit the nail on the head with the first of its City Connect MLB jerseys.

The stenciled lettering on the chest is a slick callback to the Marathon finish line and I love the pinned bib on the sleeve too, real nice touch there.

Now the Boston Marathon may not be happening on Patriots Day again this year due to Covid, but the Sox are still playing at 11:05 am so we can all still down some Bud Lattes before noon as we slowly resume some semblance of normalcy.

Desperately Needing a Quick Start, Red Sox Go 0-3 Against Orioles

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Just like that the Red Sox fall to 0-3 and are already chasing a losing record less than a week into the 2021 season.

Nathan Eovaldi and Tanner Houck looked great in the Red Sox first two games of the season, which was super encouraging to see. Eovaldi struck out 4 in 5.1 innings giving up just 1 run and only got pulled because of the analytics (rather than his performance) and the fact that you don’t want your injury prone 1A starter throwing 120 pitches on Opening Day. Houck was also dynamite as he struck out 8 in 5 innings and surrendered just 2 earned runs. Obviously Eovaldi is an injury waiting to happen and Houck has thrown 22 innings in his entire career so the optimism here is fragile. Oh and in the last game of the opening series Garrett Richards did exactly what we all knew he would do and got shelled giving up 6 earned runs in just 2 innings.

I’m not about to freak out but getting off to a fast start is more important than you think. Just about every time the Sox have had a losing record in April over the past decade they’ve missed the playoffs. Do you realized that despite their massive achievements (two World Series titles since 2013) the Red Sox have missed the playoffs 7 out of the last 11 seasons?? This is no time to start slow because the Sox have shown they cannot dig themselves out down the stretch.

Now there is reason for some optimism here. If Eovaldi (injury prone) and Houck (young and unproven) can be a solid No. 2 and No. 3 and if Eduardo Rodriguez can come back and be the ace the Red Sox expect him to be, then the team’s pitching staff could be…I’m gonna say it…pretty good. At least in the sense that you only need 3 starters to get through a playoff series. Now, I say ace with a small “A” until E-Rod shows he can return to and improve upon his 2019 form (19-6, 3.81 ERA) after a year plus missed due to Covid and now dead arm etc.

That’s before you even start to think about Chris Sale coming back from Tommy John. The team has been very tight lipped about the time table for his return, but mid-late summer would make sense based on when he got the surgery. I’m not pinning my hopes on another guy coming off Tommy John, but if the Sox are in contention by late summer then the return of Sale could be a huge shot in the arm for this team.

The biggest disappointment of this young season though has without a doubt been the offense. Say what you will about the absolute disaster of historic proportions the 2020 Red Sox were, but they still finished 2nd in Hits, 5th in Total Bases, 3rd in batting average, and 8th in Slugging Percentage in all of baseball last season. So we know if nothing else this team can hit. So to get swept by the Orioles with little to no production from the lineup was ugly. Sure it was the first series of the year with temperatures just above freezing at times, but to score just 5 runs in 3 games against the Orioles and the corpse of Matt Harvey is concerning.

The Sox have no time to dwell as they’re right back at it tonight against the defending AL champs, Tampa Bay. With Nick Pivetta and Martin Perez starting the first two games of the series though the Sox will need to finally get the offense going if they want to avoid really falling into an early season hole.