The 300s boys are back in the podcast studio! We’re talking Pats offseason, Red Sox preview, and WTF is wrong with the Celtics?
-Media Coverage of the Robert Kraft Story
-Patriots Offseason Preview
-Patriots Draft Needs
-Free Agency: Trey Flowers or Trent Brown?
-What is Wrong with the Consistently Inconsistent Celtics?
-The Defending World Series Champion Red Sox Are Back in Action
-Is MLB Free Agency Broken or Have Players Become Disillusioned?
After I heard about the massive $300 Million contract the Padres gave Manny Machado I tweeted that how you view it is all a matter of perspective. How you view this deal is a direct reflection on where you are in life.
Perspective is everything on the Manny Machado contract.
Me at 20: WHAT AN IDIOT, THE #PADRES ARE TERRIBLE!
Me at 30: I’d move to San Diego *tomorrow* if offered marginally better dental insurance, let alone $300M pic.twitter.com/bSEMuFH4lu
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) February 19, 2019
If you’re a young dumb college kid then you drag an athlete for going to a team that in all likelihood will struggle to even make the playoffs. Why would a competitor ever want to do that? Whereas a 30 year old me goes in a much different direction. You’re going to pay me more money than anybody in the history of the sport to go live in sunny San Diego?
BREAKING: Manny Machado has agreed to terms on a deal with the Padres. According to a league source, it’s for 10 years and $300 million – the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 19, 2019
Give me the goddamn pen right now. I would move to California tonight for even a moderate bump in compensation because I am an adult with real world problems and student loans to pay. Grow up, 20-year old me.
With that being said, Manny Machado ruined Dustin Pedroia’s career so I hope he goes the way of Robinson Cano and is never heard from again spending the next decade playing in front of half empty stadiums on a 70 win team.
“You’re always going to have critics and naysayers and people that are going to tell you that you won’t, that you can’t, that you shouldn’t. Most of those people are the people that didn’t, that wouldn’t, that couldn’t.”
Baseball aside, there’s no doubt he’s an inspirational guy pic.twitter.com/FDTwUuKXI2
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) February 16, 2019
Love him or hate him you can’t deny the guy can give one hell of a motivational speech. He’s right too. It doesn’t matter if people think he’s getting special treatment or if people think he sucks at baseball. What matters is it’s something he wants to do, believes he can do, so why the hell not at least try? There’s nothing worse in life than regret so don’t just sit there and let your life tick away because you’re afraid of failure or what others might say. It does not mater. Do your thing.
Let me just put this and Billy Bob Thornton’s Friday Night Lights speech on rotation and I could run through a brick wall.
The transcription of Tebow’s full quote is below, courtesy of Yahoo.
“It’s really about keeping perspective and not letting other people define you because they sure want to. Shoot, I try to encourage young people all the time to not let the world or outside sources define you because you are always going to have critics and naysayers and people that are going to tell you that you won’t, that you can’t, that you shouldn’t. Most of those people are the people that didn’t, that wouldn’t, that couldn’t.
“Don’t be defined by the outside sources. You go after your dreams. Succeeding or failing is not making it to the bigs or it’s not necessarily fulfilling that. It’s having to not live with regret because I didn’t try. I just feel for all the young people who don’t go after something because they are so afraid of failing that you are going to live with a lot more regret than if you would’ve and you failed. I’m very passionate about that.
“I think the reason people don’t go after things is because how much you will be criticized. What if I fall flat on my face? Fear and doubt and all these things creep in. I just don’t believe that is the healthiest way to live. I don’t want to have to live with fear or doubt every day, regardless of what everybody here says about me. It doesn’t define me.
“I’m grateful that doesn’t define me. There is one thing that defines me and that’s what God says about me. Besides that, I get to go live out my dreams and help as many people along the way as possible.”
As The 300s continues to grow its footprint in the sports entertainment world we’ve been creating more and more content so naturally I’ve been on the lookout for additional personalities. Guys that are funny and knowledgeable yet possess a healthy dose of sarcasm; guys you’d want to have discussions from the cheap seats with. With that being said we’ve brought on two new bloggers that will jump in and help us build out our writing, podcasting, and videos. More updates on the specifics coming soon, but without further ado lets meet the new guys!
Jimmy Lips
@Jimmy2Lips
Bringing you a New York state of mind from the Jersey side of the Hudson River. I moonlight as a researcher for MLB and NHL Network. In my spare time I like to perform “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)” for karaoke.
Dom
Will be moving to DC and then to some foreign country soon to live out my life as a Boston curmudgeon abroad. Went to QU for a film degree I used twice.
Announcement coming later today: #Rays Tropicana Field will be cashless. Credit cards, #Rays cards (which can be purchased), etc. But no cash accepted.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) January 25, 2019
Cash is out. Despite the fact that I carry around a money clip, debit cards and credit cards are king these days. Hell I even have a Venmo card in my wallet as I type this. I have five forms of financing in my pocket right now, six if you count the punch card with a free burrito on it, but zero dollars in cash. You know why? Because I will take cash out, then I will spend it immediately and it will be gone. Then I’m back to square one.
I will say carrying cash is a great way to shame yourself out of spending more money. Oh I already spent $40 on booze? Hmm should probably call it a night. Whereas with the magic plastic card covering everything, thats a problem for future Red.
So to go the complete opposite route of the bars that accept cash only, the Tampa Bay Rays will be accepting cards only. Love it. Take your dollar bills to the strip club. We’re here to spend some fake money. Swipe swipe.
PS – It was too easy to lead with a joke about the irony of the Tampa Bay Rays straight up refusing cash while they finish dead last in attendance every year.
Former #RedSox 3B Will Middlebrooks, who suffered a serious injury to his left leg in spring training with the #Phillies last season, is retiring. Played parts of six MLB seasons and had 17 HRs for the ’13 WS-champion Sox.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) January 11, 2019
Though in a much, much smaller sample size and not nearly as popular a player as No. 5 ever was, I could never shake the parallel between the two guy’s careers. Just like Nomar Garciaparra, Will Middlebrooks was a young, homegrown talent that raked when he got to Fenway as a rookie in 2012. Hit for power, hit for average, looked like a staple in your lineup for years to come. Until a fastball caught them both in the wrist, vastly altering the projection of their careers. Nomar rebounded and made a few more All-Star teams, but was never again the same player as the one who flirted with hitting .400 before the injury.
Middlebrooks effectively fell off a cliff after the broken wrist. Before the injury Middlebrooks was hitting .288 his rookie year with 15 home runs and 54 RBI in just 286 Plate Appearance. His emergence at third base was part of the reason the Red Sox traded fan favorite Kevin Youkilis just two months before.
Thankfully Middlebrooks locked down a ride or die woman in Jenny Dell because he was never the same player. In 2013 he hit 17 home runs, just 2 more than he had in his breakout rookie campaign with nearly 100 more Plate Appearances, and his average dropped 61 points. Unfortunately he never hit double digit home runs in a season again, plagued by injuries, as his Batting Average hovered around the Mendoza Line for the rest of his career.
It’s a damn shame because I remember watching him and seeing huge potential.
Either way, Will Middlebrooks will always be remembered as a key cog in the 2013 World Series winning team as well as party to one of the weirdest plays in World Series history.
Can’t take away that championship ring though. Congrats Will, enjoy retirement.
ProFootballTalk – The Oakland Athletics expect Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray to declare for the NFL Draft this weekend….The report cites a source saying Murray is leaning toward playing football.
You know how the old saying goes, “the NFL Draft gets real shaken up when the Heisman Trophy winner suddenly decides to declare.” And that is exactly what is apparently the case folks. Rather than go play pro baseball for the Oakland A’s, who drafted him 8th overall, Kyler Murray intends to to enter the NFL Draft and possibly play pro football instead. The general public has been begging him to do this, as you know, he’s a Heisman winner, so while this is surprising it’s a logical choice.
What might be a little surprising is that Murray seems to be seen by many teams as a 1st round prospect. While other smaller, mobile QBs such as Baker Mayfield were denounced until the day of the draft because of their stature, Murray seems to have a clear path to Round 1. I mean, in this weak QB class he may now be the top talent to some teams. It could be that due to the success of Mayfield and a couple others, maybe pure stature just isn’t being looked at as much as long as the signal caller can make all the throws. Makes sense to me. Unless you have a 6’7″ center. Then no bueno.
There is also the possibility that teams don’t just see Murray as a QB. Maybe some team will look at the modern NBA and realize not all positions and players have to be concrete and static. A smart team may look at Murray and see a guy they can give a package of plays to at QB, which defenses will have to respect due to his arm and ability, and otherwise use at RB and WR. Think of any of the duel threat RBs in the league now, but then give them an arm and a lifetime of playing QB. Scary right?
This also puts a lot of question marks over the heads of incumbent starters on teams that have a new Head Coach. For instance, I know Kliff Kingsbury sang Josh Rosen’s praises, but would it be out of the realm of possibility that he has a thing for Murray and his ability to both run and pass? I for one can’t say “no” for sure.
Editor’s note: Some are speculating that Kingsbury could even trade Rosen and take Kyler No. 1 overall.
Kliff Kingsbury back on October 28, 2018:
“Kyler is a freak…..I would take him with the first pick of the draft if I could.”
👀👀👀
(via @EricKellyTV) pic.twitter.com/N9m99DkTNr— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 10, 2019
The next hurdle for Murray is whether or not the A’s allow him to go to the combine, which is scheduled for when he should in camp with the team. This would also require the approval of the MLB, which just LOVES aberrations from the norm.
Let the drama begin.
-Joey B.
On Sunday night, it was announced that the Red Sox re-signed reliever Carson Smith to a minor-league contract – and it could truly end up being one of the league’s most underrated moves this offseason:
Red Sox have re-signed Carson Smith to a minor-league deal, source confirms.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) December 31, 2018
Some of you out there may not be too familiar with the 29-year-old righty, and for good reason – since being traded here from Seattle before the 2016 season, Smith has pitched in a total of just 31 games.
However, he is a very talented relief guy, who relies primarily on a nice slider/sinker combo that’s helped him compile a really impressive 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings over his career. He’s not necessarily a flame-thrower, but he has a slightly deceptive side-arm delivery that helps keep opposing hitters off balance. Also, his stat line from his last fully healthy season in 2015 reads like this: 70 innings, 2.31 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 11.8 K/9.
Smith gave up a total of just 18 earned runs in 78.1 innings while in Seattle from 2014-2015.
Those are some pretty lights-out numbers, but those are also from three years ago. As I said, some may be surprised to hear that Smith’s actually been on the team’s roster so long, but two injuries – one being due to chance and the other being due to his temper – have kept him on the shelf for most of his time in The Bean.
Smith missed all but three games in what was supposed to be his first season in a Sox uniform due to Tommy John surgery, and he did not return until late 2017, the following year. He then only played in eight games that season, but gave up just one run and struck out seven across 6.2 innings of work. He did also pitch 1.1 scoreless innings in the postseason that year, giving up just two hits.
Therefore, the team was pretty excited to have him in the bullpen at the beginning of 2018. However, it didn’t go as well as planned; after giving up four earned runs across his first four appearances, Smith was eventually able to settle down toward the end of April. But then, after a rough outing in mid-May, Smith suffered a subluxation in his shoulder after aggressively throwing his glove on the ground in the dugout (no, but really), which then ended up costing him the rest of the year. (Even worse was the fact he basically blamed Alex Cora for the injury due to “overuse,” an excuse for which Cora then called out his reliever publicly. Yeah, it wasn’t a great look for anyone involved.)
Regardless of what has happened in the past, it seems as though the Sox are willing to take the chance on him with a low-risk, prove-it deal, and I am totally on board. During an offseason in which the Sox are a bit cash-strapped and don’t really have the capital to bring in one of the bigger names left on the free-agent market, this was exactly what they should have done. They truly can’t lose here; in fact, they may just end up with one the biggest steals in the game by season’s end.
So here’s to letting bygones be bygones and hoping that Smith can rediscover his previous form. Fingers crossed, Sox Nation.
2018 was a banner year for The 300s as we saw our readership grow exponentially, we rolled out a ton of new swag, and we brought some new writers onto the staff. We appreciate everyone who takes a few minutes out of their day to read a blog or watch a video or listen to a podcast. With that being said, it’s the last day of the year so we had to break down the Top 10 Blogs of 2018.
1.) David Price Continues Good Will Tour, Rips 69-Year-Old Red Sox Reporter Jonny Miller
2.) Apparently Jon Gruden’s Son, Deuce Gruden, is the Goddamn Hulk
3.) RIP Mac Miller, Dead at 26
4.) Nike Deserves Applause for Choosing Colin Kaepernick as New Face of “Just Do It” Campaign
5.) Boston Celtics NBA 2K19 Ratings Predictions
6.) The Marlins Are Replacing the Ugly Home Run Statue With Irony
7.) Tough Break for Malden Men Who Recovered Red Sox Banner
8.) Terrible News: Ed Hochuli is Retiring. Better News: His Son is Replacing Him
9.) I LOVE This Quote From Rick Porcello
10.) Brock Lesnar Possibly Playing Ivan Drago’s Son In “Creed 2”
Before I’m accosted by all the pink hats and loyal-to-a-fault Sox fans out there, I’m not trying to bash JBJ here. That’s not my intention!
But there’s no denying that baseball, like any other sport, is a business. And, as in any business, one must constantly remain on the lookout for timely opportunities to sell on particular assets which, while it may be unpopular in the short term, can have immense benefits in the long run.
Such is the case with Jackie Bradley, Jr.
JBJ has become a fan favorite over the past few seasons, and rightfully so. Not only does he make highlight-reel catches in center field at least once or twice a week, but the guy was also the ALCS MVP this year and came up with a huge home run in Game 3 of the World Series. He also took home his first Gold Glove award in 2018.
The guy is pretty special to watch out there in center.
But otherwise? He’s a career .238-hitter with some decent pop who is capable of playing some pretty stellar defense.
He’s also incredibly streaky. At times, he can go on runs where he produces like one of the very best hitters in the game; one needs to look no further than his career-best 2016 season, during which he was an All-Star and finished the year with an impressive total (and extreme career outlier) of 26 home runs. But some forget that after a rip-roaring start to that season – which saw him go on a monstrous tear from mid-May through the end of June – Bradley Jr. finished the year by batting just over .230 in the second half. Every season before or since has also seen similar peaks and valleys.
Even if you look at his supposedly great postseason run this year, you start to realize that many out there might be looking at his “epic” performance with rose-colored glasses. Here’s a full breakdown of JBJ’s performance from each series this past October:
Yes, the very few hits he had this postseason were indeed big ones, but it’s still pretty amazing to see a guy who hit ONE-FREAKIN-FIFTY in a series win that particular round’s MVP award.
But again, my goal is not to tear down JBJ. I’m just pointing out that we need to SELL HIGH on the 28-year-old, because his value will never be better than it is right now. Moving him could be instrumental for both the team’s continued success and, more importantly, the long-term future of the franchise.
Just hear me out…
The Sox were one of two teams to be penalized this offseason due to being over the luxury tax (the other being the Nationals), which meant they had to pay $12 million to Major League Baseball a few weeks ago and move down 10 spots in the draft order next June. That may seem like a drop in the bucket to a team that is valued at over $3 billion, but it’s still $12 million that could’ve been used otherwise.
Bradley Jr. is expected to be one of the top-10 highest paid players on the Sox this year, probably coming in around $7 or $8 million once arbitration is all said and done. While moving JBJ alone won’t even come close to putting the Sox back below the limit, it’s at least a start. Moving his salary, combined with the decision to move on from Craig Kimbrel, would prove to be a step in the right direction for the team’s financial health moving forward – especially with guys like Xander Bogaerts, Chris Sale, and Mookie Betts all hitting free agency within the next two years.
These two are going to get PAID when they hit the market.
But, in truth, even if the money aspect doesn’t concern you – because, honestly, the team could continue to pay the tax penalty without being crippled – the team’s almost non-existent minor league talent should. Of the top -100 prospects in the game right now, according to MLB.com, the Red Sox have only ONE: Michael Chavis. That’s it.
I’m not mad at Dave Dombrowski for selling the farm (literally) in order to acquire some veterans that helped us bring home the title this year. But, at some point, he’s going to have start restocking. And while I doubt Bradley Jr. brings in any big-time blue chip prospects, a team in desperate need of a defensive upgrade might be willing to part with some decent young talent to bring him in. Bradley’s also arbitration-eligible for the next two years and doesn’t hit unrestricted free agency until 2021.
Hey Dave, it’s time to start thinking about the future maybeee just a tad more. Even just a little?
Finally, even if the Sox felt it was worth it to continue spending above the limit for 2019, I’d rather see that $7 or $8 million (or even less than that) spent on one of the free-agent relievers that remain on the market. While guys like Adam Ottavino and Zach Britton might be out of the Sox’s price range, someone like David Robertson or Jesse Chavez could be had on the cheap. So, the Sox could save a bit of money AND bring in some much-needed bullpen depth by making the move, too.
Look, while we would be without a few “oooh-ahhh” catches and some timely (but extremely streaky) hitting, the Sox could survive without JBJ next season. At 28 years old and coming off some big postseason swings, he will never look better in the eyes of others around the league than right now, and it just makes too much sense to let this opportunity slip by.
The 300s 