Tag: John Henry

Cash Strapped Red Sox Owners Plan to Build a New Music Venue Right Next to Fenway

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The Boston Red Sox are getting into the music business.

Fenway Sports Group and Live Nation are jointly exploring development of a 5,000-seat music venue, to be called the Fenway Theater, on the corner of Lansdowne and Ipswich streets near Fenway Park.“The success of Fenway Park as a year-round venue has paved the way for this project, which will ensure the Lansdowne Street area remains a true entertainment district in Boston,” said Tom Werner, chair of Fenway Sports Group, in a statement. “To have an intimate, indoor performing arts space for smaller-scale events will allow for a wider array of uses throughout the year.”

If the Red Sox team owners aren’t the most beautiful example of American capitalism then I don’t know who is. First they crammed 37,000 seats into a 100+ year old ballpark with some nifty renovations, then they sold everything from seat backs to BRICKS, and now they want to add a 5,000 person music venue to Fenway.

Awesome.

Listen, it’ll probably be sick, but I’m sure 5,000 more people on Landsdowne Street is exactly what everyone’s massive crowd induced anxiety attacks need.

Not to mention this would be directly across the street from the House of Blues, but it seems like the Sox would have plans to take that operation over as well.

“Fenway Music Co. would book, manage and operate the Fenway Theater, as well as the nearby House of Blues Boston at 15 Lansdowne St.”

For reference sake HOB’s capacity is about 2,500 so this Fenway theater would be legit double the size. You could bring in some bigger name artists that are too big for House of Blues, but not big enough for the Garden.

I suppose John Henry and Tom Werner have come to grips with the fact that they’re not going to be building a new stadium until Fenway literally collapses into itself. So they might as well double down and keep adding new ways to make money off the tax exempt city landmark (LOL). It’s probably not even legally allowed for them to add more seats to Fenway Park, so lets do the next best thing; add seats right outside for a different show.

As Boston’s “cram as much shit into as little space as possible” standards go, this venue should fit right in. As most Sox fans know, this little corner of Ipswich and Landsdowne currently is just a team parking lot of sorts. So why not build something on top of it?

I will get on board with the Fenway Theater if and only if John Henry meets this one demand. Bronson Arroyo has to christen the venue with an opening night performance. Hell, maybe 8 straight nights like when Jay-Z kicked off the opening of the Barclays Center.

Congratulations to My Good Friend Rusney Castillo On Making His Second Straight Triple-A All-Star Team

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Rusney Castillo, now 31-years-old, is sneaky having one of the best seasons a Pawtucket Worcester Red Sox player has ever had. He just earned his second straight All-Star nod down in Triple-A and is batting a league leading .323 and if he keeps that up he’d be the first PawSox player to win a batting title since Wade Boggs did it in 1981. May he rest in peace.

This is just another stark reminder of how badly the Red Sox have bungled their roster and their payroll over the past several years. It’s not even all payroll luxury taxes the Sox are afraid of either, its just old fashioned money that John Henry is probably sick of spending. According to Spotrac the Sox currently have $164 million in salaries on the Active Payroll, $36 million in salaries on the Disabled List, and $42 million in RETAINED Salary. Thats $1 million to Allen Craig, $22 million to Hanley Ramirez, and $18 million to Pablo Sandoval. All of whom are obviously no longer on the Red Sox. Woof.

Oh and Manny Ramirez is making $2 million from the Sox this year in Deferred Salary as well.

While Rusney is only a career .262 hitter in 337 plate appearances at the major league level, it’s a goddamn shame the Sox can’t won’t call up a guy hitting the cover off the ball in Triple-A solely because of his salary.

The contract they gave him based off an out of context And 1 Mixtape was absurd, which is why he currently makes $11 million to play at McCoy Stadium. BUT to refuse to bring up a guy who is challenging for the Batting Title in Triple-A because of money is an unthinkable move from a franchise as rich as the Boston Red Sox. He could bat .400 and they wouldn’t call him up because they don’t want to go into the luxury tax.

Yup, I would much rather have Tzu-Wei Lin (career .230 hitter), Tony Renda (career .183 hitter), and Sam Travis (career .250 hitter) coming off the bench in September and October.

Oh well, here’s to you Rusney Castillo, friend of The 300s, Triple-A All-Star, and the highest paid person in the history of Rhode Island.

Less Than a Week After Cutting Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox Place Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia on the DL

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Solid plan guys. I understand keeping Hanley Ramirez may have just been a fit issue with fellow 1B/DH Mitch Moreland absolutely crushing the ball lately (.305 and 10 HRs), but you couldn’t find a way to make it work?

As much as I don’t want to see JD Martinez in the outfield, you know he wants to play the field so rotate him out there and get Hanley at 1B or DH and just wait out his recent cold streak. He was only hitting .259 with 6 dingers, but he was still the Sox No. 3 hitter. The guy can rake like no one else when he gets going so to just dust him because the *Boston Red Sox* are worried about $22 Million next year is insane.

In a hilarious turn of events the move blows up in their faces not even a week later with both Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia going on the DL. So now we’re relying on Brock Holt and Blake Swihart. Oh and the Sox also called up Sam Travis who was hitting a cool .213 in Pawtucket. Forgive me if I’m not jumping at those options over Hanley.

The Sox also signed veteran 1B free agent Adam Lind too, which would have been awesome if it were 2009. He’ll be emergency depth as the Sox have stashed him at Pawtucket while paying him what I can only assume is the veteran minimum. So its peanuts for a guy, who in fairness, did hit .303 in 301 plate appearances for the Nationals last year. I guess if you’re the Sox you’d rather pay a guy $500,000 to hit just above the Mendoza line than risk locking yourself into $22 million next year.

But have the Sox been penny wise and pound foolish? I would expect Mookie to not miss much time, but its impossible to say what will happen with Pedroia. He’s coming off an invasive knee surgery and will soon be 35-years-old. When healthy he’s still very productive and a tough out, but he’s rarely been healthy recently. Pedroia has played in more than 105 games just once in the last 3 seasons so thats not exactly confidence inspiring. Ideally the Sox would have another bat that could play 2B to fill in for Pedroia rather than trying to mishmash Hanley into the lineup around two other guys that play the same position. However, the Sox don’t have that luxury this year as Eduardo Nunez has crashed back to Earth hitting .259 with just 17 extra base hits on the year.

So long story short? Don’t cut guys that can swing the stick for no other reason than to maybe save a few bucks next year. Not if you’re the Boston Red Sox. Unless of course John Henry and co. are stuffing cash under the mattress to go after a guy like Bryce Harper or Manny Machado this offseason. If thats the case then I’ll print this blog out and eat it with a nice lemon zest for flavor.

PS – Its possible the Sox got rid of Hanley because he was just a total cancer in the clubhouse. I don’t know whether thats true or not, but Ken Rosenthal strongly implies that was a big reason. If thats the case, then do what you gotta do.

“Some with the team believe the removal of Ramirez from the clubhouse will create more room for others to assert themselves and become leaders,” Rosenthal said in a video on FOXSports.com. “One player who is a top candidate to assume such a role? J.D. Martinez. Dustin Pedroia is the only other prominent veteran among the team’s position players and he is back on the DL.”

Red Sox Push to Rename Yawkey Way – Does Anyone Actually Care?

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I’ve never typed “4 Yawkey Way” into my phone for directions to Fenway Park. I’ve never texted a friend or tweeted “Heading to Yawkey Way!” before going to a Red Sox game. The Red Sox desire to change the name of Yawkey Way back to Jersey Street has zero impact on my life, and it will not affect how many Red Sox games I buy tickets to or watch on NESN.

I generally don’t get too worked up over people, places or things getting renamed, and this situation is no different. I think that the free market usually does a pretty good job of figuring these things out on its own. If the Red Sox believe this change will allow them to sell more tickets, more NESN subscriptions and more hats, more power to them. It feels a bit like virtue signaling from John Henry and Tom Werner, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad move.

Debates over Tom Yawkey’s racist image aside, from just a pure baseball standpoint he doesn’t deserve to have the street named after him. Yawkey owned the Red Sox for 43 years, from 1933 until his death in 1976. In that time the Red Sox won three pennants but not one World Series. His Hall of Fame plaque mentions the pennants his teams “narrowly missed” in 1948, 1949 and 1972. If the Hall of Fame has to mention your “narrow misses” on your plaque, it’s a good indication that you probably don’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Wayne Huizenga won more rings than Tom Yawkey.

The Yawkey Foundation is not taking this news well and issued its own scathing response. They point to the foundation’s philanthropic endeavors across the region over the last 40 years. Perhaps a compromise could have been to rededicate Yawkey Way to the Yawkey Foundation, as opposed to Tom. Nuance doesn’t do well, though, in the age of the internet.

I think my response to this whole situation can be summed up in one word. Deep down, I think most Red Sox fans will agree.

Image result for simpsons meh gif

John Henry Just Son’d Tom Werner Saying “We Don’t Need to Be Popular, We Need to Win.”

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ABC – As the Boston Red Sox stepped out into the sun Monday for their first full-squad workout of spring training, owner John Henry maintained that he’s more concerned about W’s and L’s than the team’s Q rating. “We really don’t need to be popular,” Henry said. “We need to win.” But despite winning 93 games and the American League East title for a second straight season in 2017, questions were raised about the Red Sox’s likability. Although attendance at Fenway Park remained almost unchanged, regional television ratings were down 15 percent on New England Sports Network, according to Nielsen Media data, while sports-talk airwaves were filled with the grievances of dissatisfied fans.

If you’ve ever read “Feeding the Monster” then you know exactly what I’m talking about here. In the behind the scenes book covering the inner workings of the Red Sox you read about a young Theo Epstein going to battle time and time again with Tom Werner and the entertainment side of the Sox over player personnel.

Theo wanted to build a farm system and sign smart, albeit boring, free agents to, ya know, win. Tom Werner isn’t against winning per se, but goddamnit the Red Sox needed to be sexy. He wanted more big names, more story lines.Winning be damned. The team had to be marketable to more demos with more attractive stars. Seriously. Read the book, Werner said that shit. You think hits like Roseanne just fall into place? No way. It takes years of creative genius steering the ship and shame on Theo for not listening to the Neilsen Rating System more when building his roster. Guy never stood a chance as a baseball executive going up against brainpower like Tom Werner.

Goddamnit. Can you tell I’m still bitter about the Red Sox running the best baseball mind of our generation out of town?

Anyways, if we’re going to take John Henry at his word, it seems like he may be smartening up. He’s not exactly George Steinbrenner so he’s not going to just punt on everything that doesn’t directly lead to winning. But, Henry is a smart dude, he knows that popularity follows winning, not the other way around. If the Red Sox are hammering opposing teams all summer on their way to a World Series then they’ll be pretty damn popular. However, if the team is focused on signing guys based solely on their marketability (i.e Pablo Sandoval the Panda) well thats how you find yourselves in a shit storm you’re still digging out of 3 years later.

Reports: Red Sox Are a “Lock” to Land One of These Three Superstars

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WEEI – So, as the meetings kick off Monday, with Dombrowski offering his first update at approximately 5 p.m., such rumors as the ones involving Giancarlo Stanton shouldn’t be pushed aside. Sure, some are saying the Red Sox are all hot and heavy for the outfielder, while others suggest St. Louis and San Francisco are the favorites. No matter. Pay attention to every minute of it. As we found out with Sale a year ago, the end-game might not be found during the GM meetings, at least there will be a legitimate road to conversation. It is almost a lock-solid certainty that at least one of the top names in this offseason’s rumor mill — J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Giancarlo Stanton — will be holding a Red Sox press conference in December.

So Rob Bradford just reported that he believes the Red Sox are “a lock” to land one of these three guys: JD Martinez, Eric Hosmer, or Giancarlo Stanton. Now obviously Stanton is hands down the best player of the three, he also is the only one thats not a free agent so he would require a boat load of players and prospects to acquire. Not to mention the nearly $300 Million left on his deal. While I think he’s hedging a bit by including Stanton with the other two guys mentioned, all three are power hitters. Bradfo is pretty in the know so if he’s saying it you can bet the Red Sox have at least privately acknowledged their desperate need of a power bat. Now lets break down each player and see what the fit would be.

JD Martinez – Hit 45 Home Runs while batting .303 so he would definitely fill the power vacuum the Sox have, but he’s also reportedly looking for a $200 Million contract. I don’t know if Dave wants to give out yet another 9 figure contract. Especially for a guy thats only topped 23 HRs one other time before this year over the previous 6 seasons. Plus he’s an outfielder so he’d have to DH and slide Hanley back to first base, who all but refused to play the field last year, or the Sox would have to make room in the OF by dealing someone.

 

Eric Hosmer – There’s something to be said about a player that knows how to win and Hosmer fits that bill. He’s played in two World Series (and won one) over the past 4 seasons. And the WS the Royals lost went 7 games, so Hosmer has some serious experience in the pressure cooker that is October. And thats what the Sox need; a guy that isn’t going to crumble under the pressure of the playoffs, which about half of the current Red Sox roster has done the past 2 postseasons. Not quite the power stroke of Martinez, but he still hits 20-25 HRs a year and he also plays first base, which is where the Red Sox happen to have a vacancy. He’s also a stud defender, having won the Gold Glove four out of the last five years. Plus he dates resident NESN royalty Kacie McDonnell so that shores up my confidence argument.

 

Giancarlo Stanton – I don’t know much about Stanton the person, aside from the fact that before he was Giancarlo he used to go by Mike.

So he’s got that going for him. But I don’t need to remind anyone here that the guy can MASH. He’s up for NL MVP, which will be announced on Thursday night after hitting 59 HRs with 132 RBIs and an OPS of 1.007! The guy had a WAR of 7.6 for christ’s sake. I’m sure he’s a great dude too, but hitting 60 fucking home runs will make up for a lot of shortcomings elsewhere. Manny Ramirez was a complete dickhead most of his time here, but the guy was mashing 40/140 every year so nobody gave a shit. But I just can’t see the Red Sox pulling the trigger on a deal with the amount of players and prospects they’d have to give up before even mentioning the $295 Million left on his contract. Buster Olney said earlier today that even baseball execs are saying the asking price from Jeets is “out of touch with reality.”

The fact of the matter is the Red Sox finished dead fucking last in the American League in Home Runs. Dead. Last. Thats a sentence I never thought I’d type. I grew up watching guys like Mo Vaughn, Nomar, Manny, Ortiz, and all the other power hitters that have come through Fenway. The Sox have always mashed and more or less pissed on the idea of bunting and playing small ball. So to see such an anemic offense (OBP was top 5 though!) was shocking to see. However John Henry, Dave Dombrowski and the crew decide to do it, just bring me the power. Bring the bats and the rest will fall into place.

If I had to guess? I’m saying Eric Hosmer. Positional fit at first base, character guy, tons of playoff experience, provides some power, gold glove defense, and a (comparatively) reasonable contract.

Red Sox Hire Tony La Russa to Be the Adult in the Room

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ESPN – Tony La Russa joined the Red Sox in a vice president’s role, and he will assist president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, the team announced Thursday..La Russa spent 33 seasons as a manager, beginning in 1979 with the White Sox when Dombrowski was an administrative assistant in the organization. La Russa won the World Series in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics and in 2006 and ’11 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He retired from managing after the 2011 season and worked in the commissioner’s office before joining Arizona’s front office.

How do I feel about the Red Sox bringing HOF baseball guy Tony La Russa into the fold?

Player personnel has been relatively good for the Sox, basically its been hit or miss over the years like any team. Chris Sale was a stud and was the front runner for the Cy Young until he faltered down the stretch. David Price has been disappointing for the most part. Eduardo Nunez? Excellent trade! Travis Shaw for Tyler Thornburg? Not so much. My point is the personnel moves have been, for the most part, pretty good. But the front office? Holy shit, thats been a soap opera for the past 15 fucking years. Ever since John Henry and co. took over the team. Lets run though some of the highlights.

  • Theo Epstein quits on Halloween night in 2005 and leaves the office in a gorilla costume.
  • Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington take over as co-GMs and immediately trade Theo’s most coveted prospect in Hanley Ramirez (worked out OK).
  • Theo returns, but ultimately quits again in 2011 after yet another pissing contest with Larry Lucchino. Lucchino retires 4 year later, while Epstein has not only resurrected the Cubs and won a World Series, but has turned them into a juggernaut.
  • Beloved manager Terry Francona gets absolutely TRASHED in the media on his way out of town in 2011.
  • Bobby Valentine is hired in 2012 and immediately makes a mockery of the franchise and is shit canned after just 1 season.
  • John Farrell is kept on as Red Sox manager after 2016 and the team lets his replacement in waiting, Torey Lovullo, leave for the Diamondbacks. Lovullo goes on to lead Arizona to a 93 win season (+24 from 2016) and the Red Sox promptly fire Farrell one year later anyways.

So now finally, after years of a reality TV show running the front office we finally get an adult in the room. La Russa is a legend in baseball so its a huge win for the Sox to bring him on board.

Apparently La Russa and Dombrowski are buds, so I would assume it was Dave’s idea to pluck him out of Arizona’s front office to help right the shaky ship that is the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox now have a respected, experienced, strategic guy in the front office to complement Dealer Dave. So when Dombrowski wants to trade Rafael Devers, Mookie Betters, Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi for Giancarlo Stanton and his $300 Million contract Tony La Russa can slap the phone out of his hand. Plus he’s the only one with the stones to tell David Price to pipe down if he tries to mess with his boy Dennis Eckersley again.

Win-win situation.

How Can Alex Cora Get the Red Sox Going in the Right Direction?

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Alex Cora is the new manager of the Boston Red Sox and once the Houston Astros win or lose the World Series he’ll walk into a talented, underachieving, promising, and fractured clubhouse. This team could easily make strides and be in the World Series next year or they could just as easily compound their current issues and be fighting for a Wild Card berth. So what can the new skipper do to get this team going in the right direction?

Cora and Dustin Pedroia were of course teammates on the Red Sox from 2006-2008 under Terry Francona. If Cora can get Pedroia on board out of the gate, which it would seem he should have no problem doing, then he’s off to a good start. For whatever reason Pedroia never seemed to be tight with John Farrell and then of course he hated Bobby V.

Pedroia’s like a scorned lover, never letting himself get close to another manager again after the way Francona was ripped away from him. So maybe Pedroia and Cora can bond over how badly the Sox management sandbagged Tito on his way out of town.

In addition to Pedroia, Cora should be well equipped to better connect with the Latino players because he, ya know, is from Puerto Rico and is obviously fluent in Spanish. That alone should do wonders for Latino players that Farrell may not have been able to connect with. Even if Farrell spoke some Spanish, there’s no substitute for a guy that can *conversate* in both languages.

Being just 42 years old, Cora will be the second youngest manager in the MLB and should be in a much better position to connect with the younger Sox players than his predecessor. Cora played in the era of social media and constant media attention in Boston so he understands how to handle it. Plus he was revered in his playing days as a veteran leader that helped mentor younger players. Including ones that would ultimately take his job in guys like Pedroia. So while he may not have managerial experience, he checks all the boxes that would seemingly make for a good manager.

After that all he has to do is get serial malcontent David Price on board. Other than that, jobs a piece of cake. Maybe some sessions on the manager’s couch to do nothing other than vent will help Price release a little steam before he blows another gasket on guys like Dennis Eckersley. I have no idea what Price’s relationship was with Farrell, but the whole “Manager John” thing sure didn’t make it seem like they were buddies. And Price knows that, he’s not stupid. So whether Cora walks in Day 1 and tells Price to sit down and shut up, or he massages the ego of a $217 Million enigma, I leave up to him. But, get a handle on those social circles within the roster and the rest will fall into place.

Time to Make the Donuts: Rafael Devers Goes Deep Twice Last Night

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So in what is becoming a recurring theme around here, Rafael Devers is still absolutely raking and has helped save this team from the crater sized hole the goddamn Panda left at third base. After taking a 103 mph Aroldis Chapman fastball yard in the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium the other night, Devers followed that up with a 2 HR performance last night.

The kid continues to display stupid power for a 20 year old as once again he hit what looked like a towering pop fly to left field that just carried and carried until it was over the Monster. John Henry must be thanking the gods that he didn’t let Dave Dombrowski trade this kid.

Its Official, David Price has Poisoned the Well for the Red Sox

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So in whats become one of the most lengthy Red Sox dramas that I can remember in a long time, David Price and the boys are morphing into a group of unlikeable assholes right before our eyes. It started of course with Shaugnessy’s story detailing how Price was berating Hall of Famer and NESN analyst Dennis Eckersley on the team plane in front of everyone, supposedly because of Eck’s “Yuck” comment about a recent E-Rod rehab start. Not because Eck was criticizing Price, not because Price also recently flipped the fuck out on Evan Drellich (also in front of a crowd of reporters), but because he’s a good teammate. If you think thats a pretty convenient excuse for Price to rip into a member of the media merely to defend a teammate, then you’re right – its bullshit.

Price is actually pitching well, but he seems to be falling apart mentally, lashing out at anyone and everyone for various reasons.

While you’re still an asshole for the way you went about it, you can rip into Evan Drellich and no one will care. But when you start talking shit to a national treasure like Eck and do it on the plane surrounded by your teammates like a schoolyard bully? Then thats where the problem starts. If there’s one thing fans in Boston do not like its entitlement. Now obviously thats a sliding scale with all professional athletes because they’re all entitled to some degree, but when the $30M per year pitcher starts grandstanding and bitching about every little slight because he can’t handle his Twitter notifications, then its a BIG problem.

To make matters worse, rather than suspend, fine or ya know TALK to Price about the incident and ask him “uhh you good big guy?” Instead of doing any of those things, the Red Sox ignored the problem and literally changed the plane boarding procedure. Rather than address the issue, lets just bury our heads in the sand and separate the kids like its recess.

Now we hear that other Red Sox players and even Pedroia (Bradfo disagrees) were cheering Price on while he was berating Eck? Like a bunch of assholes. Thats a goddamn shame. Talk about poisoning the fucking well.

If this galvanizes the team and they f-bomb everyone around them all the way to a World Series title then thats one thing. That’ll be their thing. 2013 was Boston Strong, 2004 was the Idiots, 2017 can be the miserable assholes who rail against the world. But if they don’t? If they stumble down the stretch and get bounced in the first round or somehow miss the playoffs? I wouldn’t put it past John Henry to say FUCK THIS and send a drastically different looking team to Fort Myers in 2018.

Now after weeks of this incident lingering, sports radio eviscerating the players, and just general fan backlash, the Red Sox return home from a long west coast road trip and send none other than David Price to the mound Friday night. This guy better take the hill and strike out the side right out of the gate because if he doesn’t he very well may get his balls booed off. There’s a lot of pressure on Price tonight, about as much as there can be for a game in the dead of July, but holy shit, if this guy comes out and takes a beating tonight? Forget it, the Fenway faithful might literally break this guy’s psyche. And I for one am excited as all hell to see this unfold.

Want to vocalize your distaste for all this bullshit going on with the Red Sox? Maybe get in David Price’s brain from the stands to rattle his cage a little bit? Buy a Yuck shirt.