Tag: Boston

It Would Be a Shame if JD Martinez Missed the Triple Crown Because of Mookie Betts

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How wild would it be if arguably the greatest free agent signing in Red Sox history, J.D. Martinez, doesn’t win the Triple Crown only because his teammate is also having a historic season?

That could very easily happen.

Currently Martinez leads the league in HR with 38 and RBI with 108 (the tweet above is from Tuesday) and is second in Batting Avg. at .333. The only guy he trails in Avg is his teammate and fellow outfielder Mookie Betts, who is batting an insane .340. Mookie has dropped 4 points since Tuesday, but it would take a legit slump from a guy who was hitting .350 most of the year for Martinez to catch him at this point.

Obviously the Triple Crown is just a weird stat that we all give credence to that doesn’t actually mean anything like hitting for the cycle, but it does provide a historic moment for any and all bar trivia for the rest of time. To put into perspective Mookie’s batting average lets take a look at the AL leaders over the past 10 years.

  • 2017 Jose Altuve .346
  • 2016 Jose Altuve .338
  • 2015 Miguel Cabrera .338
  • 2014 Jose Altuve .341
  • 2013 Miguel Cabrera .348
  • 2012 Miguel Cabrera .330
  • 2011 Miguel Cabrera .344
  • 2010 Josh Hamilton .359
  • 2009 Joe Mauer .365
  • 2008 Joe Mauer .328

First off, golf clap for Joe Mauer. Holy shit, I forgot how good he used to be. The dude hit .365 (!) in 2009 and nobody even talks about it because he’s in the frozen wasteland that is Minnesota. Still doesn’t touch Nomar’s .372 in 2000, but to be fair that is the greatest display of hitting I ever saw and is also why every guy in my softball league still taps their toes 35 times before stepping into the box.

Also, for all the Mike Trout apologists out there its time to pipe down. I don’t care that he has a 7.1 WAR or that he has a 1.083 OPS, the dude currently sits at 60 RBI. Does not matter how bad the team in front of him is. You cannot win the MVP with under 100 RBI. That may be me turning my back on sabermetrics, but so be it. Can’t have it.

It’s either Mookie Betts or potential Triple Crown winner J.D. Martinez for 2018 AL MVP. Goddamn it’s a good time to be a Red Sox fan.

 

PS – You can in fact win the RBI with under 100 RBI, but that didn’t fit my argument so I threw it here in the PS section that nobody reads. It happened last year in fact when Altuve won the MVP with 81 RBI, Mauer in ’09 with 96, Pedroia in ’08 with 83, and Ichiro won the MVP in 2001 with 69 RBIs!

David Price Continues Good Will Tour, Rips 69-Year-Old Red Sox Reporter Jonny Miller

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Just to set up this blog, I’m not going to bury the lede (thats a Big J Journalism term) so you can see what David Price has been up to lately.

I really don’t want to keep doing this, David. It brings me no joy. I don’t enjoy the, often deserved, reputation of Boston as an overly critical and negative town.

It drives away plenty of players before they even give the city a chance. But it also breaks people, which is why Boston is such a die-hard city. If you can make it in the media fishbowl that is Boston, then you are forever a folk hero in the city that founded America. Not a bad trade off I’d say.

So I can understand to a certain extent some of the resentment David Price harbors for the Boston media. When he doesn’t perform he gets raked over the coals. But hey, thats the tradeoff when you make $30 Million a year. I’d let people be mean to me on the radio if it meant I could clear $30,000,000 a year.

Where Price gets into trouble though is he goes looking for these problems, drumming shit up with the media. I can hold a good grudge so I get it. But, buddy you’re (potentially) here for four more years. You get more bees with honey than vinegar. Build bridges, don’t burn them. Etc. Etc. So just when he’s starting to pitch well the past several starts the talk around Price dies down and people start to wonder if hey maybe he’s turning a corner.

Then he tries to roast 69-year-old Jonny Miller, a guy who has been covering the Red Sox for 40 fucking years. Yuck.

Now for most guys in the media they can take it and probably deserve it. You wanna throw a tantrum and yell at Evan Drellich in the clubhouse? Have at it. You wanna grandstand and yell at MLB Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley because you don’t like what he says on TV? Sure. Does that make you a dickhead, yup, but sure. Do you really need to shit talk Jonny Miller? Especially after the guy asked why you were pitching so WELL?

Whatever, pitch lights out in October and you can be a glorious dickhead a la John Lackey or Josh Beckett. Until then, pipe down.

In the meantime though, buy a YUCK shirt.

Its Official, The PawSox Are Moving to Worcester.

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WORCESTER – It’s official. In just a few years, the Pawtucket Red Sox will relocated to Worcester and play in a newly constructed stadium in the city’s Canal District. According to multiple sources, the City will make an official announcement tomorrow. Members of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce will be present at the announcement. The Worcester Red Sox will begin play in 2021.

Specifically, the source told TWIW that Worcester’s offer will save the Pawtucket Red Sox owners “tens of millions” if they move to Worcester and build a stadium in the city’s Canal District. Another source told TWIW that it will save PawSox ownership around $23 million to move out of Pawtucket and into Worcester.

On one hand this is kind of sad to see as the PawSox have been in Pawtucket since the early 1970s, depending on how technical you want to get. We all grew up going to those games as it was just an hour down 95 and SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than my parents taking us to a game at Fenway.

The main reason for the move is a new stadium deal, which the state of Rhode Island had been negotiating, but ultimately were reluctant to foot the bill. A minor league team that charges $5 for tickets is piking for a new stadium? How? Why?

THATS LARRY LUCCHINO’S MUSIC!

Thats right, the guy most famous for driving the greatest baseball mind of our generation out of town over a pissing contest.

He’s why.

He’s also well known for being the driving force behind ballpark projects like the Orioles’ Camden Yards. Lucchino makes me laugh because when people don’t respect his ballpark building game I just imagine him flipping his shit like Mugatu. I INVENTED CAMDEN YARDS!

I have to admit though, all kidding aside, I am starting to soften on Lucchino over the years, but I think that has more to do with the fact that he looks like Jim Leahy than anything else.

Now I can’t blame Pawtucket for balking at building a new stadium for a minor league team that had to let me bring my dog to the game to actually get me to buy a ticket (and meet the legend that is Rusney Castillo).

Even more so when you see some of the details of how much this thing might have actually cost.

“Rhode Island approved an $83 million proposal to build a new Pawtucket riverfront stadium in June. As recently as last week, Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien told the Providence Journal he believed his city had a 50 percent chance to retain the PawSox.”

Not to mention, Rhode Island has a bad history with financing the passion projects of the Red Sox.

But the real question here is what do we call them? The PawSox is obviously out. WoSox? WoostahSox? The one I’ve seen in actual print I cannot get on board with; the Woo Sox is a TERRIBLE name.  Might as well call them Woo Girls.

So long PawSox, we hardly knew ye. I can’t promise I will visit you often, but it is my moral obligation to film The 300s Reviews: The Worcester Red Sox whenever you do open up shop.

In An Attempt To Actually Be On Time, Celtics Rookie Robert Williams Buys Apartment Next to Practice Facility

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Yahoo – Robert Williams’ NBA career did not get off to the best start. The day after he was selected by the Celtics with the 27th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Williams did not wake up on time for his conference call with the Celtics’ beat reporters.

After that, he missed a flight and was was absent for his first practice with the Celtics’ Summer League team. For a player with lottery-level talent who fell due to reported concerns with his maturity, he certainly confirmed those concerns early.

Now it seems he has taken a step in the right direction. During the rookie photoshoot Sunday, Williams said he bought an apartment right next to the Celtics’ brand new practice facility.

Welcome to Brighton, Bob! Can’t wait to get steaks with ya at the Stockyard, go on Dunkin’ runs down the street, maybe shop for some fresh New Balances, and if you’re interested my softball team plays across the street and could use a power hitting first baseman.

This is a smart move, whether it was self imposed or not who knows. Perhaps Danny Ainge gave him an ultimatum; either move to Brighton or move to Portland, ME and play for the Red Claws. You’re choice, Bob. Either way it’s a great idea as Williams will now be 100 yards from everything he needs, whether its getting in some extra shots, treatment, film etc. It has the fingerprints of the Bruins all over it too as they famously had top rookies move in with veterans right by the Garden rather than live on their own in booze fueled bachelor pads.

The 300s Power Rankings of America: Who’s Trending Up and Who’s Trending Down

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Another week, another chance to check in and see who’s doing great and who’s doing shit.

Trending Up:

Idris Elba

Talk has once again resumed of Elba taking on the role of James Bond once Daniel Craig wraps up his fifth and final turn of the character in next year’s untitled installment of the franchise. Elba is a perfect fit to play the part in a series that is approaching the 60 year mark. I’m sure there are a lot of neck beards out there that think giving the role to a black man is a problem, but when you boil the character down to his leading traits of be being suave, sophisticated, and downright handsome, Elba checks all the boxes. It’s time this sexy son of a bitch got a shot at being 007.

Rockstar Games

Yesterday, Rockstar debuted the first official gameplay trailer for the company’s second biggest franchise outside of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption. The only words I could use to describe what I saw are Holy and Shit. Rockstar always pushes the envelope in their game development, which is why we only get a game from them once every five years or so. They’re brilliant at crafting a world that feels lived in that’s also cinematic in nature. Aside from the various debauchery displayed across the 7 minute video, players will also have the opportunity to spend some time fishing. That’s right, everybody’s favorite in-game activity that wastes countless hours, virtual fishing. Can’t wait to spend an entire weekend catching trout and shooting prostitutes in the local saloon.

Space Force

Honestly, who’s having a better week than our official soon to be sixth branch of the military? If we’re going to actually do this nonsense, we better go all out. I’m talking lasers, Millennium Falcons, planetary shields to keep out the Cylons. Dominate space like we dominate earth. Now you may be saying “I need an affordable living wage! My healthcare is terrible!” Stop being selfish. Insurance and a few extra bucks in your pocket isn’t going to help when the Klingons come for our women and children. Think of the bigger picture.

Trending Down:

Luigi

Here lies Luigi. Murdered in cold blood on the official Nintendo presentation for the upcoming Super Smash Bros game. Best known for being a green, taller Mario. Had a mansion once. Decent option for Mario Kart 64. You will be missed.

New York Yankees

Getting absolutely smoked by the Red Sox in a four game series isn’t ideal right? Being eight games out of the division when you’re on pace for 103 wins is definitely not ideal. Playing in the one game winner-take-all wild card is even less ideal I think. Being a Mets fan writing this is probably the least ideal. Honestly though, Judge better get back soon or the Yankees are going to have a short stint in the playoffs, if they even make the cut based on the way the A’s have been playing as of late. What a shame!

My Wallet Because The 300s is Invading Boston Comic Con Tomorrow!

Stay tuned for all the nonsense we get into as we take on Boston Comic Con tomorrow. We’ll be bringing you reviews, interviews, and hopefully a picture of us with the Pink Power Ranger. Have a great weekend folks!

Jaylen Brown Predicts the Celtics Will “No Question” Make the NBA Finals

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Yahoo – Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown says there is “no question” that his team will be the Eastern Conference representatives in the NBA Finals next season. Brown made his feelings known on CJ McCollum’s “Pull Up” podcast, when asked about Boston’s championship chances.

“Oh, we’re getting to the Finals. No question about it,” Brown said.

The Celtics are the odds-on favorite in the East to reach their first finals since 2010 now that LeBron James has headed out west to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cockyyyyy. I normally wouldn’t love a dude from my team going into his third year proclaiming we’re going to the Finals. But this guy is Jaylen Brown and Jaylen Brown sounds pretty pissed that his toughest competition just skipped town.

“I hate how everybody is like, ‘Oh, LeBron’s gone in the East,'” Brown said. “I know he did have a strong hold on the East for the last seven years, but he barely got us out of there this year. And our mindset was like, ‘Man, he’s not beating us again.'”

Thats the sound of a guy who wants to destroy the competition not just survive the war of attrition that is the NBA playoffs. Thats a young guy brimming with confidence in not only his team but his own game, which only continues to improve. From his rookie to his sophomore season Brown improved his FG %, 3 Point %, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, and Blocks per game all while more than doubling his Points per Game from 6.6 and 14.5.

He probably won’t see the same 30 minutes per game he saw last year with Gordon Hayward out for the whole year, but that was a blessing in disguise for the Celtics. Brown was able to play a ton of minutes and develop his game, not to mention get some quality playoff experience, more than he ever would have been able to had Hayward played all year. So in theory his game should be a lot more efficient while now possessing the ability to put up 15-20 points on any given night when given the opportunity.

TLDR; Oct. 16th can’t come soon enough.

IT’S OFFICIAL! The 300s Will Be at Boston Comic Con Next Saturday!

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We’ve been talking about going to one of the northeast Comic Cons for years now, but its always either a tough date, the lineup is terrible, or we all just flake and bail on doing it. Not this year. The 300s will be headed to Boston Comic Con on Saturday, August 11th with Red and Papa G to nerd out, shoot some video, and hopefully get a wave from Amy Jo Johnson.

We’ll be looking for the best, worst, and weirdest cosplayers, interviewing anyone moderately funny, and hopefully getting a reaction out of the celebrity guests by bringing up their most obscure roles.

If there’s anything you think we need to do or see or you just wanna get in on the video tweet it at @The300sBoston and let us know!

 

MLB Trade Deadline Day: Red Sox Trade for Second Baseman Ian Kinsler

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In the midst of walking off with their 75th win of the season, the Red Sox and Dave Dombrowksi were working the phones and acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Angels while most of us were sleeping.

The Sox PR team wasted no time in announcing the trade as I got this email at 1:02 AM.

Now I know what you’re thinking, no, Ian Kinsler is not a relief pitcher. The Indians, Astros, and Yankees continue to load up on bullpen arms while the Sox are doubling down on whats gotten them this far; hitting the shit out of the ball. So while I would like to see the Sox acquire some arms for the pen, barring any deadline day deals it doesn’t seem to be a top priority for them.

I guess the thinking is you can just take whoever doesn’t make the playoff rotation and throw them in the pen with the rest of that motley crew. So take Nathan Eovaldi, Drew Pomeranz, and Hector Velazquez and have them handle some innings in the playoffs. It worked with David Price last year, but I’m also not crazy about throwing starting pitchers into high leverage relief situations in October and hoping for the best.

Anyways, Kinsler is a big name and a 4-time All-Star with more pop than your typical second baseman. Similar to my old favorite Dan Uggla, except Kinsler is actually a pretty slick fielder having won a Gold Glove in 2016. He’s not the same guy he used to be as he’s now 36-years-old, but I like the addition.

He’s batting a weak .239 on the year, but if you factor out a slow start to the season he’s been pretty good the past 2 months.

“In 51 games since May 29, the right-handed batter has hit .286 (57-for-199) with an .866 OPS, including .417 (20-for-48) with a 1.137 OPS in his last 13 games.”

Incredible irony in the move though as Kinsler is taking over for the injured Dustin Pedroia at second base, years after Pedroia took Kinsler’s job.

“Pedroia and Kinsler were teammates in college at Arizona State, where Pedroia took over Kinsler’s starting shortstop spot in 2002. Kinsler then transferred to Missouri the following year.”

For all the hype “Dealer Dave” gets he sure does love trading for the same players over and over again, having traded for Kinsler when he was with the Tigers in 2013.

Unfortunately this probably takes the Sox out of the running for old friend Adrian Beltre as the Kinsler move frees up Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez to platoon at third in Rafael Devers’ absence.

We’ve got just a few hours before the Trade Deadline so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for any additional moves the Red Sox make today.

Do People Realize Former Celtics Big Man Jared Sullinger is DOMINATING in China?

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So I saw an article the other day about how former Celtics first round pick Jared Sullinger is playing overseas in the hopes of making an NBA comeback. We all remember Sullinger as the guy who was always a little too large, especially for a dude with foot and back issues. Basically the definition of unfulfilled potential, and he readily admits it in the article.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the former C’s big man is absolutely DOMINATING over in China for the Shenzhen Leopards. I feel like this is something people need to be made aware of. Last year Sullinger AVERAGED 30.1 points per game. That is absurd. He is basically as effective in China as Michael Jordan was over the course of his career in the NBA. Not to mention Sullinger is also grabbing 16.6 boards per game.

The guy seems to have finally found his place in the basketball world, albeit backing down former NBA scrubs and Chinese guys he probably towers over, but still good to see. Sullinger went off in a few games specifically too, dropping 41, 46, and 55 in three individual games.

Whats more absurd is that Sullinger’s 30 PPG was only good for ninth in the league. The Chinese Basketball Association is like some wet dream envisioned by Mike “Seven Seconds or Less” D’Antoni with absolutely zero defense allowed.

Now China obviously isn’t the NBA, but it is where a lot of former NBA players go to rebuild their value, collect a paycheck, or in the case of Stephon Marbury build a fanatical following and a Chinese shoe empire.

I mean, as we’ve written about previously, even Jimmer Fredette is dominating over in China. The Beast from BYU averaged 36.9 points per game in the CBA last year, second in the league. Jimmer, like Starbury, is also building a Chinese shoe empire.

If nothing else, China represents an opportunity to watch read about on Twitter how former big name flameouts in the NBA are finding their way to success overseas.

I’ve now spent the better part of my afternoon scrolling through Chinese Basketball Association stats just to find gems like this: former No. 6 overall pick Yi Jianlian, better known as “The Chairman” as coined by Bill Simmons way back in the day, is even putting up 27 points a game. Soo I can feel your enthusiasm for Sullinger’s stats waning the longer you read this blog…Well, former Celtic Brandon Bass averages 21 points per game…..Tyler Hansborough averages 20.8…..even Starbury is putting up 14.9 at 41 years old…

OK so maybe the Nets want to rethink about bringing Jared Sullinger back stateside…

PS – Apparently the Yi Jianlian Chairman thing might have never actually happened? Whoops. Good thing he was in fact terrible and averaged less than 8 PPG in his NBA career, otherwise the guy might have a bone to pick with Bill Simmons.