Tag: Dustin Pedroia

Red Sox Have Up and Down Memorial Day: Price Looks Good, Pedroia Gets Hurt

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Yesterday was a shitty loss for the Red Sox that can be pinned pretty much on anyone in the bullpen not named Craig Kimbrel. But the point of this post is to talk about the return of one David Price. In his first major league start of the season Price’s line looked like this: 5 IP, 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 Walks, and 4 K’s

After getting smacked around in Pawtucket and getting chirped by fans *in Pawtucket* I think we all weren’t expecting such a solid start. Now did Price look dominant? No. But for a guy who hasn’t pitched in a major league game in about 8 months, not too shabby.

Remember, Price missed all of spring training so this is basically still his version of that. And of course I have no idea what to expect out of his health, I still am pretty pessimistic about a guy in his 30s who opted to skip surgery and let it heal naturally because that rarely works in the long run.

But, for a guy with a shaky elbow, Price was juicing his fastball consistently at 94 mph and even hit 97 on the gun. Not bad at all. So while the Sox shit the bed in the last few frames…

And Price did serve up an absolute batting practice ball to x for a 3 run dinger. But with it being his first start of the year, all in all I’ll take it. Hey, at least he seems like he cares, which is more than some other guys.

Now onto the bad shit.

Dustin Pedroia got tabletopped by Jose Abreu who was sliding into first to try and beat Pedey to the bag. With the 6’3″ 255 pounder basically diving into Pedroia’s path, he banged into Abreu and flipped over landing awkwardly on his wrist.

Initially it looked like Abreu took the brunt of the hit, but Pedroia was slow to get up and left the game. Dustin’s headed back to Boston to get an MRI on his wrist, which concerns the shit out of me. As a 5’8″ second baseman, Pedroia is diving all over the place every single day, but now he lands on his wrist and can’t finish the game. I. am. concerned. These little bumps and bruises like the Machado knee injury are starting to stack up for him, so hopefully its nothing, but flying back to Boston mid-series to get an MRI is obviously a red flag.

But hey guys, don’t worry, with all the injuries piling up it might force the Red Sox hand and leave them no choice but to call up the $95 million disaster, the kung fu fucking panda.

Sandoval, who by the way is healthy now, is currently playing down in Pawtucket and went 1/4 with another error last night. So thats good. Him and Rusney Castillo are probably laughing their balls off at the money they’re making to play baseball in fucking Rhode Island.

Even Price was down in Pawtucket for like a week and a half before saying get me the fuck out of here.

At least Chris Sale takes the mound tonight.

Former Red Sox Reliever Manny Delcarmen Making a Comeback Attempt with the Sox

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12Up– Manny Delcarmen, 35, is looking to earn a chance with the Boston Red Sox, mentioning that he is willing to pitch in the minor leagues in order to work his way back to the majors. And he better be. Delcarmen worked out with the Red Sox earlier Tuesday, hoping to earn that second chance.

Nostalgia Alert! Former Red Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen is making a comeback attempt with none other than the Red Sox themselves. The pride of Jamaica Plain. What a throwback. I think the reason I love Delcarmen so much is because he was one of the first top Sox prospects to come along and flourish (and flame out) right when the team was at its best in the mid 2000’s alongside Pedroia, Papelbon, Lester etc. In 2007 when the Sox won it all Delcarmen had a 2.05 ERA in 44 IP with 8.4 K/9. And in 08 when they got to Game 7 of the ALCS (god damnit) he had a 3.27 ERA in 74.1 IP with an 8.7 K/9. Not too shabby.

Obviously Delcarmen didn’t have quite the same staying power as those other guys. But he was at one time the setup-man of the future to the Red Sox closer of the future in Craig Hansen. REMEMBER HIM?!

But hey scouts say he’s hitting 92 mph on the gun and he still lives a half hour away from Pawtucket so why not. This is also great for me because my go-to awkward silence icebreaker at parties is “Hey, whatever happened to Manny Delcarmen?” Now we shall see.

PS – I’ll never forget being at the McDonalds in Kenmore Square before a game and seeing a guy rocking a *stitched* Craig Hansen jersey A WEEK after the kid got called up. He was supposed to be can’t miss. Well guess what, he did miss. A friend of mine from high school swears to this day it’s because the seams are lower on MLB baseballs than in college…

Tom Brady Now Hawking TB12 Under Armour Pajamas and I Need Them Like I Need Air

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SI – “Tom Brady says he can only work has hard—or perform as well—as his ability to recover. And he considers sleep the best way to recover, exactly why he strives for eight to 10 hours of uninterrupted zzz’s every night….With such an importance placed on sleep and recovery, it follows that the NFL star’s next signature product from Under Armour comes in the form of tech-infused sleepwear.”

Do I want the TB12 PJ’s? No that would be silly. I don’t want them. I *need* them. Like I need oxygen. If Tom Brady says I’ll sleep like a lamb wearing these things, then I’ll take two pairs. It the guy started a new religion a la Scientology, I would at least attend a couple masses just to get the feel.

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First he made UGGs cool for guys. Then he blew everyones mind with the most monk-like diet I’ve ever heard of. Now? PJ’s. If thats what it takes to play at an MVP level nearing 40 years old, like no one has ever done before, then I’ll hear him out.

“The TB12 Sleepwear line includes full-length shirts and pants—and a short-sleeve and shorts version—with bioceramics printed on the inside. The print, sourced from natural minerals, activates the body’s natural heat and reflects it back as far infrared energy, a common tool used to reduce inflammation and help the body recover faster.”

It reminds me of the Phiten necklaces legit every baseball player in the MLB and every guy in college wore. They were alleged to “improve your balance.” Thing was literally a little nylon rope with rubber at the end. If it was a really good one thought it had some shiny stickers on it too. Complete scam. But guess what? I bought the shit outta those things.

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Tom Brady Loses His Shit After Dropping a Game of Ping Pong; Cements Reputation as Legendary Competitor

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Yahoo Sports – “He’s the best teammate,” Amendola said of Brady. “He’s so competitive and what-not. I remember one story. It was my first week in the building. He wanted to play some ping-pong. I didn’t really know how to go about it. I know I was better than him. I didn’t want to beat him too bad because I wanted him to throw me the ball. “I knew I was better. Needless to say, his competitive nature unleashed a broken paddle by the end of it. It the reason why we love him, and the reason why he’s the best quarterback.”

What a phenomenal story; Tom Brady losing in a game of ping pong and just losing his shit and smashing the paddle into 1,000 pieces. It only adds to the legend that is Tom Brady. Listen, anyone can win 4 Super Bowl titles, multiple MVPs and Super Bowl MVPs, but it comes down to the uber, ultra competitive guys that go down as legends. Like Michael Jordan doing anything necessary to win, playing mental warfare with guys like the time he wrecked Muggsy Bogues’ career by pulling up in a playoff game and telling him “Shoot it you fucking midget.”

Or how about Kobe Bryant now that he’s retired legit naming his new company “13.” Chris Sacca shared a story of how Kobe landed on that name on Bill Simmons’ podcast relaying,  “Can you believe they drafted 12 other motherfuckers before me? He still wears that, man.”

And then of course, the classic story of a young Dustin Pedroia training at the famed Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona playing ping pong and shit talking 6’4″ Brady Quinn: “I’m going to rip this ball right off your throat,” Pedroia told him.

I want guys on my teams that lose their minds about losing in anything. Not the JD Drew’s and Adrian Gonzalez’s of the world who could give a shit.

P.S. – I’d be remiss to not mention Rajon Rondo just hammering little kids in Connect Four. Savage.

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“Yoan Moncada is Going to Be a Freaking Superstar”

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Courtesy of NESN

Courtesy of NESN

NESN – “There was plenty of fanfare surrounding Moncada when he defected form Cuba in 2014, and the Red Sox went all out to get him, inking the switch-hitting second baseman to a $31.5 million contract in 2015. And in his short time in the states, Moncada is turning heads.”

I feel like Costanza after he ate one of Kramer’s mangoes from Joe’s fruit shop. You want to talk about excited? How about having a player waiting in the wings that many scouts say projects to be most similar to Mike Trout.
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Whether he sticks at 2B remains to be seen, Pedroia is signed through 2021 so that could be a logjam issue, but Moncada is also built like an absolute brickhouse so he may be better suited for the outfield in the long run. Of course I try and temper my expectations because it seems like the Red Sox are always overrating their prospects, but these reports are coming from national scouts. How soon is too soon to pre-order my Moncada jersey? Because I’ll never forget seeing this guy on Landsdowne with a stitched Craig Hansen jersey right after he got called up and we all know how that worked out. Let me just stick a copy of Baseball Prospectus under my pillow until then.

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