Tag: Los Angeles

LeBron Does Know He Lost to the Warriors 3 Out of 4 Times in the NBA Finals Right? Right??

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I give LeBron credit for winning the NBA Finals in 2016 because the current era Golden State Warriors are one of the best teams of all time. But with that being said it took a Draymond Green suspension and one of the most cold blooded dagger threes of all-time from Kyrie Irving to get him there. He also lost to that same Warriors team in 2015, 2017, and 2018. So maybe releasing footage of yourself harping on how the Warriors fuck up all the time is not the best look. Self awareness has never been LeBron’s strong suit though.

This all comes just a couple of days after footage came out of LeBron crowning himself the greatest of all-time for winning the ’16 finals. Despite losing to that same team 3 out of 4 times.

I don’t want to always harp on LeBron, I really don’t, but he just sets himself up for it. Listen, LeBron has done a lot of great things:

He brought the city of Cleveland its first title in 50 years.

He was excellent in Trainwreck.

And he is one of the best players of all time, but despite an impressive 8 straight appearances in the championship round he is still 3-6 in the NBA Finals. So maybe, just maybe, one pretty impressive comeback against a really good team doesn’t propel you to GOAT status. If that were the case then Ray Allen could say the same thing for his Game 6 dagger 3 against the Spurs.

Come to think of it, if it weren’t for ice cold blood in the veins of Jesus Shuttlesworth and Kyrie, LeBron James would be 1-8 in the NBA Finals.

Unrelated note: Stumbled upon this incredible LeBron impersonation…

The 300s 2018 Fantasy Football All Cock Tease Team

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Welcome, welcome to our awards. Before we begin I’m going to briefly kick it to our team on tonight’s red carpet…

Thank Joey! Here we see Founder Red wearing a Lakers jersey with camo cargo shorts. I’m really digging his ironic choice that is clearly a protest to our recent cooperation with North Korea. Back to the studio…

Thanks guys! Now before we proceed I should probably explain what these awards actually are about since nobody fucking knows.

We have all picked a bust or 12 throughout our fantasy football seasons, however most are of either the “reach” or “hard on” variety. A “reach”, as is well known, is a player you pick a bit too high, possibly motivated by the fear of someone else picking him. A “hard on” pick, for lack of a more enlightened term, would refer to players that we just personally really like without a ton evidence as to why and that simply don’t work out.

These awards, however, celebrate the “cock teases” – players who are picked at a good time given their value, normally put up good numbers relative to that selection point, yet completely fuck us. They don’t buy us dinner first either, just bend us over the analogous  10, 12, or 16 team table and fuck us.

So without further ado, as composed by and contributed to by our talented staff, I give you The 300s 2018 All Cock Tease Team:

QB: Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Red: I was ready for Jimmy G to rise like a phoenix out of the ashes that was my 2017 fantasy season, but in his third game the most handsome ACL in the league exploded and I was stuck with Matt Stafford at QB the rest of the way.

 

RB1: Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
Mattes: Now, a lot of people might give me crap for drafting Howard in the second round of a PPR draft. First, I’d like to respond by saying it’s only a half-point league, and, second, the guy also had two-straight 1,200-plus-yard seasons and nine touchdowns last year on a bad team. I – like many – expected the Bears to be much-improved this year (which they certainly are), and I also believed new head coach Matt Nagy when he said he’d finally get Howard more involved in the passing game. Then came along Tarik Cohen, and there were also five games this year in which Howard averaged under 2.6 yards a carry. In fact, Cohen actually ended up finishing over FOURTY spots ahead of Howard in the overall rankings this year. Picked the wrong guy, I guess, huh?

 


RB2: Le’veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
GUEST CONTRIBUTION! Patty Blackouts: I mean what is there to say besides he’s a seflish fuck who passed up 850k a week to sit out and try and protect his body to try and get a long term deal. Took him 4th overall thinking he’d show up sometime around end of September or October and nope just sat out all season sending cryptic tweets so you’d think he was going to report and next ya know he’s playing pickup basketball games at the local Y. I hope no one pays him what he wants and he regrets passing up the 14.5 mill he would have been paid this season by signing the franchise tag. But yes I’m bitter because  I used my first overall pick on him in fantasy got the same amount of points out of him as he did paychecks this season….0!

I hope he gets hurt in the next preseason.

Douchebag.

WR1: Quincy Enunwa, Goddam Jets
Red: No one, and I mean no one in my fantasy league watches more Jets games than me as the Mrs. is a huge fan. So watching a team that bad I was determined to derive some value out of it, which is exactly what Quincy Enunwa was going to do for me. Enunwa was going to be the steal of the draft as he put up 15, 12 and 10 points in 3 of the first 4 games, but then his season was derailed by various injuries. He cracked 6 points just once after September…

 

WR2: Golden Tate, Detroit Lions/Philadelphia Eagles
Joey B: Tate started the season as Matthew Stafford’s #1 option in what is normally a high flying Detroit offense. To that end, he kicked off the season with games of  17, 15, 10 and TWENTY FUCKING NINE. After that he completely shit the bed, probably became an asshole in the locker room because he realized his name is fucking Golden, and then got traded to Philly where he had one game of 20, coincidentally the only other time he’s seen the end zone since September, and seemingly is hated by all 12 of Philly’s playoff-ready QBs.

 

TE: Gronk
Joey B: I always pick Gronk wayyyy too high because he plays a position where all of 4-5 guys give you tremendous amounts of points and even among those guys he usually stands out. But this year, as the world knows, was different. He’s just broken and I’m just sad.

 

Flex1: Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns
Mattes: Landry wasn’t without a few big games of his own this year. Also like Cousins, Landry was a guy whom I expected to make a huge splash with a new team this season, but instead was super inconsistent. Yes, he had to deal with learning how to play with two different QBs this year, but remember that Baker Mayfield has been playing since Week 3. In the 13 games he’s played with Mayfield, Landry has put up single-digit totals in seven of them. For a guy who averaged 99 catches per season before this year, his mark of 72 through 16 games this year is incredibly disappointing.

 

Flex2: Chris Hogan, New England Patriots
Big Z: With Brandin Cooks in LA and Julian Edelman sidelined for the first four games of the season, I was certain Chris Hogan was a steal in the fifth round. He would be one of Tom Brady’s top targets the first month of the season, and hopefully stay in the mix even after Edelman returned.

Hogan scored two touchdowns in Week 2, but he wouldn’t find the end zone again for three months. By that time I had already dropped him and moved on. Just another cautionary tale of putting too much stock in to a Patriots WR/RB for fantasy football purposes.

 

D/ST: San Diego Los Angeles Chargers
Joey B: With Joey Bosa and company up front and some decent pieces in the secondary, I thought the “pressure creates turnovers” rule would get me some points on D. Instead Bosa got hurt and the Chargers are last in return yards allowed.

 

Kicker: Dan Bailey, Minnesota Vikings
Big Z: Drafting and picking up kickers in fantasy football is a bit of a crap shoot. You just try to pick up a guy who kicks for a team with a good, but not great, offense. If he plays in warm weather or a dome, even better. That’s why I love NFC South kickers and why I will never draft the Bills kicker.

Dan Bailey had a rough 2017 and got released by Dallas. But he was at one time the most accurate kicker in NFL history. When he got picked up by Minnesota, I thought he would be a good guy to take a flier on. Accurate kicker on a good, not great, team that plays its home games in a dome.

Bailey is 20/27 on field goals for the Vikes this year and his 2018 may be worse than his 2017. Yikes. God help the Vikings special teams coach

 

*BONUS: Mid-Season Pick Up Fist Fucker of the Year*

WR: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers

Red: MVS was one of the few guys I was first to the punch on in my league and he looked like a STUD. 6’4″ with 4.3 speed and Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball? Yes please. After a quiet start to the season MVS blew onto the scene with a 4 week stretch of 13+ points. He would post 6+ points just once the rest of the way…

 

 

 

Should the Celtics Bring Back Kendrick Perkins? Time for a Hit of Nostalgia!

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So apparently Kendrick Perkins called Danny Ainge just to check in and see if the Celtics had any interest in signing him. Imagine that? Just call up a company that you want to work for and ask hey do you want to pay me? No resumes, no interviews, just straight cash homie.

Normally I would sigh at the thought of a beloved, yet aging Boston athlete looking for one more shot at glory. I LOVE Perk, but we all saw him last year with Cleveland in a suit. The guy would make a phenomenal coach or more likely a corrections officer, but we all understand his playing days are over.

Except my 14-year-old brother was asking me about Perk wondering when was he really good, what he did well, and it dawned on me. 1.) How fucking old I really am and 2.) It’s easy to forget just how great Perk was for the Celtics back in the day. So lets dive in.

If Kendrick Perkins was born 20 years earlier he might be in the Hall of Fame today. I’m not joking. The guy was straight out of the 1980’s NBA. Bill Laimbeer would have been throwing hands with Perk twice a season. He was just an absolute force in the paint; a real old school bully. And that was exactly what the Celtics needed in 2007. A bodyguard for Rondo, a No. 2 to KG’s crazy, a guy willing to do the dirty work while the Big 3 handled all the scoring. He was the perfect fit for that team and both teammates and fans alike adored him.

I mean just look at this clip from the recent Celtics documentary that aired on NBC Sports Boston.

Never change, Perk.

Except Perk was actually born in 1984 and is really still only 34-years-old. Think about that for a second. He is literally just 40 days older than LeBron James. He’s 6 months younger than Carmelo Anthony. He’s two years younger than Dwyane Wade.

But, the sad fact is that the NBA game just passed Perk by. It passed a lot of guys by as the evolution of the game exploded so fast that the old school big man became a dinosaur in less than five years.

Perk’s last season with the Celtics was 2010-11 when Danny Ainge traded him to the OKC Thunder for Jeff goddamn Green in a move that I will still argue cost the C’s a legitimate shot at the title that year. I think if you got a couple warm milks in him, Danny would likely agree. But less than 5 years later the Golden State Warriors kicked off potentially the greatest dynasty we’ve ever seen built entirely on three point shooters, including the big men.

If you’re a big man who can’t shoot in 2018 you almost certainly are in the unemployment line these days. The Celtics have, and actively encourage, Aron Baynes to jack up multiple 3’s per game for fucks sake (averaging 6x 3PA per game than his previous career high last year). That was never Perk’s game so as the NBA turned into a video game with everyone pulling up from half court his role diminished a lot faster than anyone ever expected.

Did you know Kendrick Perkins has never made a 3 pointer in the NBA? Hell he’s only taken 14 attempts in 14 seasons!

To put that into context, from Perk’s last year with the C’s in 2010-11 the average 3 point attempts per game around the league have nearly doubled from 18 attempts per game to 31.3 per game this season. In the previous 8 seasons before that, average 3 point attempts per game had only increased about three from a low of 14.7 in 2002-03. So no one could have predicted the game completely changing the way it has.

As every Celtics fan my age will tell you, the C’s *never* lost a playoff series when their championship starting 5 was healthy and playing together. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins. Never. Lost. A. Series. Incredible. If Perk doesn’t blow out his knee in the 2009-10 NBA Finals there isn’t a doubt in my mind the Celtics beat the Lakers and win their second title in three years cementing their legacy as one of the greatest teams of all time. Instead we’re left with one championship and a bunch of what ifs, but goddamnit I don’t want to go down this dark road again because I could blog 10,000 words about the 2007-2011 Celtics.

So it sounds like despite all the great times they had together in green, Danny is gonna pass on the former big man.

The 300s Podcast Grab Bag – Kirk Minihane, NFL in Mexico City, Olympic Melo, and Fantasy Football Follies

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It’s the week before Thanksgiving, you’re just punching the clock until it’s time to take that 5 day weekend, so we’ve got a Grab Bag of random topics here on this episode. LETS GO!

-As we pretend to be members of the local sports media I think it’d be crazy to start the show without touching on breaking news from one of the biggest names in town with Kirk Minihane officially headed to Radio.com

-The NFL took a hard gulp and swallowed their pride moving the Mexico City game back to the states.

Did you see this quote from Kyrie Irving all but putting out a job offer in Carmelo Anthony’s locker?

The disaster that is the Miami Marlins Park. I even had a Marlins fan chirping me on Twitter about it — “They’re not seats, they’re standing room”

Fantasy football update – Big Z held onto the hand grenade that was Le’Veon Bell which has now exploded in his palm.

All that and more on this episode of The 300s Podcast!

Jared Goff Audibles into Romance With Next Level Peacocking

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Goff using @halleberry as an audible in the #Seahawks #Rams game is incredible 😂

(SOUND ON)pic.twitter.com/IPo5I7Qf65

Everybody knows the famous audible calls like Peyton Mannings “Omaha,” which got old around the time it started. Rams coach Sean McVay actually has a well known flair for absurd audible names.

Big Ben busted out the Dilly Dilly call before Bud Light dumped a billion dollars into creating an entire mythological universe around the catchphrase.

DILLY DILLY! Phenomenal audible from Big Ben and the #Steelers #NFL #TNF #ThursdayNightFootball #Titans #TENvsPIT #ColorRush pic.twitter.com/Pt3ywAUfaa

— The 300s (@The300sBoston) November 17, 2017

And then there was the completely out of left field reference to milk products in the Patriots Texans game in September.

“Cold Dairy” may be the weirdest audible I’ve ever heard. #Patriots #Texans #HOUvsNE

🥛 🥛 🥛 🥛 🥛 🥛

— The 300s (@The300sBoston) September 9, 2018

But for Jared Goff to shoot his shot while playing on national TV for the Los Angeles Rams, just a stone’s throw away from Hollywood, is next level peacocking. The Pickup Artist himself would be proud.

AND IT WORKED! Halle Berry is smitten already

 

Hold up. @JaredGoff16 @RamsNFL – What is a “Halle Berry”?? 🤔😂 https://t.co/nQyaWHQRrn

— Halle Berry (@halleberry) November 11, 2018

Jared Goff played it cooler than the other side of the pillow too.

It’s my favorite play ever https://t.co/YLWi7c3DNE

— Jared Goff (@JaredGoff16) November 12, 2018

This guy might not know which way the sun rises and sets, but goddamnit he knows what women want.

These Are the Best Red Sox World Series Videos (So Far)

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These videos will be rolling in for awhile, and thats before we even get to Wednesday’s Duckboats parade, but as of right now these are the best Red Sox World Series videos (so far).

Top 5 Takeaways from Game 2 of the World Series

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The Red Sox took a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series last night as the series shifts back to LA for the weekend. The Sox will look to do exactly what they did in 2004 and 2007 with a World Series sweep of the Dodgers. Last night was David Price’s night though as he proved his impressive start in the ALCS was not an anomaly. Lets breakdown the Top 5 Takeaways from Game 2 of the World Series.

David Price Learned How to Putt

Similar to Happy Gilmore at the Tour Championship, David Price has seemingly learned how to fix his biggest weakness and now the competition is shook. Admittedly a sentence I wasn’t sure I’d ever type, but numbers don’t lie. Price gave up 2 runs over 6 innings and struck out 5 while looking dominant at times. After going more than a decade without getting a postseason win as a starter, Price now has 2 in less than a week. Incredible.

The real question is, what did David Price figure out in that ALCS Game 4 bullpen session?

It was while going through his warm-ups that Price discovered a new trick — one he wasn’t divulging — that he believed helped his start Thursday.

“I threw 40 pitches in the bullpen [Wednesday],” Price said. “I figured something out warming up in the bullpen, and it kind of just carried over into the game.”

Who taught David Price how to putt? Who was his Chubbs?

The 2018 Boston Red Sox are Lethal With Two Outs

This is a very good Red Sox team led by statistically the best offense in baseball, but get 2 outs on them? They’re even better. After getting 2 quick outs in the 5th inning it looked like the Dodgers would be able to hold onto a mid-game 2-1 lead. You didn’t think it would be that easy did you? It’s like any horror movie you’ve ever seen. Always make sure the killer is dead because if you’re not sure, if you don’t see his cold dead body then he will come back to haunt you. The Red Sox have become Jason Voorhees this postseason.

So with two outs Christian Vazquez singled, then Mookie Betts singled, then Andrew Benintendi walked, then Steve Pearce walked, then JD Martinez singled to drive in 2 runs and put the Sox up 4-2. Bingo. Bango. Game over.

Joe Kelly Has Morphed into 2007 Jonathan Papelbon 

For the second night in a row, Joe Kelly was just blowing guys away. It wasn’t just his triple digits fastball either though, Kelly had impeccable control on his breaking balls. He was just dropping pitches in wherever he wanted and the Dodgers couldn’t touch him. Kelly finished the night with 2 K’s in his lone inning pitched.

Andrew Benintendi May Have Been the Smart Bet for World Series MVP

After racking up 4 hits in his first career World Season game, Benintendi came back and flashed the leather in Game 2 to continue building his case against my bankroll.

I’m still holding out hope for my guy Nathan Eovaldi who came in at +5000 to win MVP. He looked excellent yet again last night striking out one in a 13 pitch 1-2-3 8th inning, but with the way this series is going I worry he just might not get into enough games. Especially with Rick Porcello getting the nod for Game 3, it looks like Eovaldi has gone from Rover to setup man for Boston.

The Dodgers Are Softer Than Charmin

First we had the Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycut complaining that the Boston bullpen is too close to the fans. Dude it literally has not moved in over 50 years. Then last night we saw Ryan Madson come into a 2 outs bases loaded jam and proceed to immediately walk in a run and then give up a 2-run single before recording the 3rd out.

The final blow was this shot of Yasiel Puig:

This came after any and every Dodgers player went out of their way to say the chilly New England temperatures don’t make a difference to them. Picture’s worth a thousand words.

PS – The Red Sox bullpen retired 16 straight Dodgers hitters to end the game. Duct tape and bubblegum aside, this bullpen is money right now.

Top 5 Takeaways from Game 1 of the World Series

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The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the World Series after a thrilling Game 1 last night. After jumping on Clayton Kershaw early it seemed like the Sox were going to throttle the guy who had never pitched in a game below 50 degrees before. With 1 out and 2 runs already in, JD Martinez got picked off at first and Xander Bogaerts popped out to end the inning though and Kershaw settled in. The Sox were able to pull out the W with contributions from pretty much everyone, so lets look at the Top 5 Takeaways from Game 1 of the World Series.

1.) Alex Cora Practices the Dark Arts

Big Z and I joked on The 300s Podcast preview of the World Series that Alex Cora has a horseshoe firmly shoved where the sun doesn’t shine. This guy can do no wrong. It seems every move he makes, despite all evidence to the contrary, is the right one and he proved it again last night. Like most of Red Sox Nation I groaned at my TV when I saw Cora pinch hit for Rafael Devers with Eduardo Nunez. Devers was second on the team in batting average this postseason heading into last night, already had an RBI on the night, and Nunez had been struggling mightily. What does Nunez do? Proceeds to SMOKE a three run home run to put the Red Sox up 8-4. Incredible.

2.) Chris Sale Still Isn’t Right 

Don’t get me wrong, the guy was throwing gas to start the game and actually ended up with 7 K’s in 4 innings. But it took him 91 pitches, only 54 of which were strikes, to get through 4. His K/9 IP remain elite, but he doesn’t have the stamina or the health or whatever you want to call it to go deep into games. Perhaps the Sox can use Sale out of the bullpen in this series and just squeeze whatever magic they can out of him, but I am still concerned about his ability to bounce back considering everything he’s dealing with.

3.) The Red Sox Bullpen Continues to Feel Its Way Through the Dark 

As we all know, the Boston bullpen was a huge concern heading into the playoffs and Cora has made it work relying primarily on Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, and Craig Kimbrel. Last night it was those four guys once again leading the way. Joe Kelly was throwing freakin wiffleballs last night as he had arguably his best outing since he’s been in Boston. Oh and Craig Kimbrel was absolutely filthy with 2 K’s to shut it down (thanks Eric Gagne).

4.) We Officially Have a Name for the Swingman Starter/Reliever

Before Game 1, Cora officially gave a name to what I had been referring to as a swingman/super utility bullpen arm all month. The Rover. For guys like Nathan Eovaldi and Rick Porcello who have started games, pitched in long relief, emergency relief, as setup men; basically doing whatever it takes despite the role. Henceforth, this shall be known as The Rover.

5.) The Red Sox Remain Undefeated Against Instant Replay

Steve Pearce grounded into an inning ending double play and it was a real rally killer. Bummer. Only to come back from the commercial break to find out that Cora was challenging the play at first. And wouldn’t you know it, Pearce beat the throw by a hair and was safe at first to extend the inning. What happens next? JD Martinez absolutely smokes a ball to center field to score Pearce and put the Sox back on top 3-2.

Looking Ahead to Game 2

Tonight we get David Price back on the mound for his first start since his excellent outing in the ALCS. Has he truly exorcised those playoff demons and is he ready to give the Sox a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series? Or will he revert back to the shaky guy we’ve seen all too much?

Either way, jump on the train now and buy a YUCK sticker before they’re all gone.

The Dodgers will counter with Hyun-Jin Ryu who is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA this postseason. First pitch is tonight at 8:09 pm. Make sure to grab a coffee on your way home after work because it’s gonna be another long night!

PS – Don’t forget about your free lunch today.

The 300s Red Sox vs Dodgers World Series Preview

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It’s been a grueling five year drought, but the Red Sox are finally back in the World Series and they’re taking on the Brooklyn LA Dodgers. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series was 2013 in one of the most unlikely championship runs I’ve ever seen. With the rallying cry of Boston Strong as their mantra, a group of journeymen having career years led the way. This year was just a little bit different as the Sox set a franchise record with 108 wins in the regular season and won the division running away. Now they’re just four wins away from their 4th championship in the past 15 years.

You can also listen to Big Z and I preview the World Series on The 300s Podcast here.

Game Times:

  • Game 1 (at BOS): Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox
  • Game 2 (at BOS): Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox
  • Game 3 (at LAD): Friday, Oct. 26 at 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox
  • Game 4 (at LAD): Saturday, Oct. 27 at 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox
  • *Game 5 (at LAD): Sunday, Oct. 28 at 8:15 p.m. ET on Fox
  • *Game 6 (at BOS): Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox
  • *Game 7 (at BOS): Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox

*If necessary

Betting Lines:

  • Opening odds from the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook
    • Red Sox at -135 and the Dodgers at +115.
  • Gambling.com World Series MVP prop bets
    • Mookie Betts +550
    • Chris Sale +600
    • JD Martinez +650

Top Storylines:

ESPN noted in its preview that if the Red Sox win the World Series it may be one of the most impressive runs of all time. After winning 108 games to set a franchise record, they went through TWO other 100 win teams to reach the World Series.

Only five teams since 1961 have won at least 108 games and won the World Series:

1998 New York Yankees: 114-48
1961 New York Yankees: 109-53
1970 Baltimore Orioles: 108-54
1975 Cincinnati Reds: 108-54
1986 New York Mets: 108-54

The Red Sox, arguably, will have had the toughest trek through the postseason of any of these teams. Only the ’98 Yankees had to go through three rounds, but the Red Sox had to knock off the 100-win Yankees and 103-win Astros just to reach the World Series — and did so by winning seven of nine games.

Mookie at Second Base?

He’s actually played there more than I thought in his career with 15 games played at 2B, but only about half of one game since 2014. So besides the almost non-existant experience at the major league level, this is moronic for one reason; he is an ELITE outfielder. As Big Z said on The 300s Podcast, you literally hit the instant replay jackpot and stole an out with this play in Houston.

Mookie is such a great outfielder that Cowboy Joe West ruled, from 50 yards away, that he was definitively going to make one of the greatest catches in postseason history were it not for fan interference. Not to mention his canon of an arm that led to him hosing down Jose Altuve at second base, his other leaping catch to rob a HR etc. etc. Yea, lets not get cute boys.

Who Plays and Who Sits in Los Angeles?

With the NL stripping us of the DH, who are you sitting? JD Martinez and Mookie obviously aren’t sitting so are you benching the .185 hitter in Jackie Bradley Jr. and putting Andrew Benintendi in center or are you riding JBJ’s hot streak? I mean when that guy gets hot he gets HOT, he’ll hit .150 for 4 months then hit .500 for a month straight so maybe he’s in the middle of one of those heaters? Lets play it by ear and see how JBJ and Benintendi play at Fenway in Games 1 and 2, but I’m leaning towards benching Bradley in LA and using him as a defensive replacement late in games. 

Chris Sale’s Health

He already was dealing with the shoulder issue and now he was out with this bizarre stomach issue. The beat guys were saying that he was walking around with a bottle of pedialyte and that he even lost weight somehow. I don’t know how you can’t be concerned. We saw in his first start off the DL against the Orioles were he struck out 13 guys…before relapsing and only throwing about 15 innings the rest of the season, and then again in his first postseason start where he started off lights out against the Yankees before faltering. I think with the extended time off Chris Sale will look pretty good in Game 1, but to expect much more than that afterwards is asking a lot considering all the ailments he’s been dealing with. 

Has David Price Actually Exorcised His Playoff Demons?

I hope so. I hope whatever mechanical adjustment he figured out before his Game 5 start gives him the confidence and the momentum he needs to repeat the success of his last start. However, he is currently sporting a 5.11 ERA this postseason, which is actually even worse than his career 5.04 ERA in the postseason. Soo I think its a shaky bridge that I am cautiously optimistic about, but far from confident.

YUCK Stickers are now available just in case.

Manny Machado, Still a Dirtbag

Matt Barnes still wants Machado dead for possibly ending Dustin Pedroia’s career last year with a dirty slide.

“You’re talking about a play in which Pedey still hasn’t played since then, really,” Barnes said per The Eagle-Tribune. “When you take out a captain, a leader of a team, that’s not going to sit well with anybody. It kind of is what it is. You move on. I don’t see anything happening, I really don’t, but it doesn’t mean that we’ve forgotten about it.”

Big Z and I wondered aloud if the Sox get up big in a clinching game, do they send out Joe Kelly to just bean Machado in the ass to take care of some family business? Whether Pedroia wants it or not, justice will be served (again).

Yasiel Puig is GOOD for Baseball

In a sport full of late starts, long games, and older fans, Yasiel Puig is exactly what baseball needs. He is the anti-Mike Trout. He is fun as all hell to watch. While Peter Gammons might not exactly enjoy Puig rounding the bases after a HR telling everyone to suck it like he’s a member of DX, I sure as shit do.

Will We See Regular Season Kershaw or Postseason Kershaw?

Kershaw is essentially the west coast version of David Price. While he’s been pretty good in the playoffs this year with a 2-1 record and a 2.37 ERA , overall for his career he is 9-8 with 4.09 ERA in 141 postseason IP. His career postseason stats are about a full seasons worth with 28 starts, which is a good sample size. While a 4.09 ERA is far from disastrous, it’s definitely not the quote unquote best pitcher of our generation. Kershaw seems to be on a roll this year, but I would not be surprised if a guy from Texas who’s played his entire career in LA suddenly pitching in 30 degree weather in Fenway in October rattles him.

Lets All Just Appreciate Justin Turner

As a fellow redhead with a Wildling-esque beard, I am a huge Justin Turner guy. Really putting redheads on the map the past couple of years.

MVP

I’m going with Nathan Eovaldi because he has been an absolute saving grace for this Red Sox team and he is a guy that will pitch Game 3 and a potential Game 7, not to mention any random relief appearances Cora utilizes him for. I know only 3 pitchers have won the World Series MVP in the past 15 years, but if you win Game 3 and Game 7 it would be hard to not give that guy the award. It also doesn’t hurt that Gambling.com has Eovaldi at +2200 to win series MVP!

Unsung Hero

I’m going with Rafael Devers. Cora played the matchups with Devers in the ALCS, which had Devers on the bench to start the series before giving way to the young gun in Game 5 and he took Verlander deep. So I know Cora has been leaning on the analytics but Devers has looked great in his limited playing time. Granted he only has 20 AB’s, Devers is actually second on the team in Batting Avg at .350 so I think he’s a pretty good bet to make an impact in this series.

 

Official Prediction

I’m picking the Red Sox in 7 games. They just have the IT factor this year, they have the juice, whatever you want to call it. The bullpen is cobbled together with bubble gum and duct tape, they have a guy in Ryan Brasier who was pitching in JAPAN last year holding it down as the setup man. Whatever they’re doing, it’s working AND apparently Eric Gagne has fixed Craig Kimbrel. Not to mention every decision Alex Cora makes just seems to be the right one. So if the Red Sox can get decent starts from their rotation then I think the offense carries this team the rest of the way. 

Sox in 7.

The 300s Podcast: Red Sox vs Dodgers World Series Mega Preview

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It’s a very special episode of The 300s Podcast because after FIVE looong years the Boston Red Sox are back in the World Series.

-With 108 wins, and beating two other 100+ win teams along the way, this would be one of the most impressive World Series runs in MLB history.

-Mookie Betts at second base?

-Do Chris Sale’s on again, off again health concerns worry you?

-Has David Price exorcised his playoff demons?

-Manny Machado, still a dirtbag

-Puig, Kershaw and the rest of the LA Dodgers

-MVP Picks

-Red and Big Z make their official predictions