Tag: MLB

Red Sox Rotation Hanging by a Thread and Its Not Even April

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With injury scares already to David Price and now Drew Pomeranz I ask: Can the Red Sox trade a pitcher from their rotation without it blowing up in their face just once?

The last time the Sox traded a prominent starter due to overflowing depth was when they dealt Bronson Arroyo for Willy Mo Pena right before the 2006 season. And almost immediately there were injuries to the pitching staff that ended up screwing them. The Red Sox had FOURTEEN guys make starts that year including the immortal David Pauley. Remember him? How about Team Italy’s very own Lenny DiNardo? Yea he made 6 fucking starts that year. If you recall David Wells battled injuries that season, starting the year on the DL, before ultimately getting dealt to the Padres in August after the Sox were all but out of the playoff hunt. Only 2 guys topped 140 innings that season (Schilling and Beckett) as the Sox failed to make the playoffs.

But hey at least we had a 4th outfielder who couldn’t hit a curveball! So back to present day; after the Sox dealt Clay Buchholz we get a currently (read: publicly) minor, but possibly major injury to the $30 million dollar man David Price and now the same with Pomeranz. Price allegedly has no structural damage to his elbow because apparently he is the Donald of MLB:

Pomeranz has me even more concerned. This is the same guy that got a stem-cell injection just last winter for elbow/forearm stiffness. And now he’s got tricep stiffness a couple of months later? That doesn’t just happen to totally healthy guys.

And just so no one forgets, the Padres essentially tried to hose the Sox by not properly disclosing medical records. So much so that MLB stepped in and offered to RESCIND THE TRADE. That is bananas. Not to mention the guy has SUCKED. And what does Dave Dombrowski do? Politely declines. Top prospect shown the door for a guy who has essentially been reduced to a 5th starter/bullpen guy with injury issues. Fucking great. I swear to god Dave, if you turned down that Get Out of Jail Free card out of pride…

This season is starting to very much feel like one hanging by a thread and its not even goddamn April yet. One starter going down for an extended period of time would be bad. Two would be disastrous.

Where art thou Bronson Arroyo?

PS – Every single time Bronson Arroyo is brought up, it is required by law for any Red Sox fan to mention the time he beaned A-Rod and set off one of the greatest baseball fights of all time. Legend says as A-Rod is bitching to Arroyo for hitting him Varitek simply goes, “We don’t throw at .260 players.”

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…

Adrian Gonzalez Flips Out on the WBC and I Cannot Blame Him

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Yahoo – “A few days later, Adrian Gonzalez obviously has not gotten over his anger at the way Mexico was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic — via a tiebreaker scenario based on runs allowed per defensive inning.”

Adrian Gonzalez is historically a top notch whiner, but I cannot get on him for this. The World Baseball Classic is a fake ass tournament contrived to try and replicate the World Cup. Hell even basketball’s FIBA cup is more exciting than this. And to get knocked out on a fucking COIN FLIP? What is this the Friday Night Lights playoff tie breaker between Midland High, Lee and Permian? Holy shit what a screw job. Vent away Adrian, vent away. Still doesn’t really matter though because its the WBC.

But getting screwed, regardless of how minor, is what develops life long grudges. You ever get hosed on a call from the refs in Madden? My God, I still have memories of those incidents in college. The amount of $50 clickers we went through as broke college kids is truly amazing. Saved just enough money to buy a 30 of Busch Light and replace the clicker my roommate Gronk spiked into a million pieces after I took a pick 6 back to the house to beat him in OT. So get your grudge on Adrian, rip that shit tournament to shreds.

Red Sox Finally Announce Porcello As Opening Day Starter

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ESPN – “For starters, the Boston Red Sox will go with Rick Porcello. Porcello is the choice to be the Red Sox’s Opening Day starting pitcher April 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park, manager John Farrell said Wednesday. The decision was made at the beginning of spring training, according to Farrell”

And thats a good thing. I say finally because the guy became your de facto ace last year when Price was imploding and was the AL Cy Young winner. Add in the fact they both melted in the playoffs and that measuring stick is a wash. Plus as much as I think Chris Sale is going to be an excellent addition to both the rotation and the clubhouse, he’s the new guy in town. You just cannot insert him as your Opening Day starter. John Farrell is lying through his teeth saying this decision was made weeks ago, not simply because the decision was made for him with Price’s elbow injury. As much as we all want him to be that alpha snarling ace, that just ain’t Price. Porcello might be that guy though.

And while you obviously don’t want to pay your No. 2 (or No. 3) guy in Price $30+ million a year, thats what you get for letting your ace Jon Lester walk out the door because you lowballed the shit out of him. You pay through the nose trying to replace him. But thats fine, we don’t need Price to be Josh Beckett or John Lackeys threatening to kill people’s families. We just need him to be an elite pitcher, which I think he’s probably more apt to be as a behind the scenes guy with less pressure. Don’t force it. Let the guy be a supporting character and maybe then he actually pitches well in the playoffs. They’re pro athletes John, manage them.

How Many of the 7 Deadly Sins Can the Mets Commit Against Tim Tebow?

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How many of the Seven Deadly Sins can the Mets commit against St. Tebow? Seems like a lot. Greed is right up there, selling Tebow Mets jerseys when he’s not even on the roster. Sloth maybe for running the guy out there, not caring he probably won’t make the team. Hell this NJ.com article has 5 non-roster invitees more likely to make the squad. Maybe Envy of other teams with successful project players? I can say for sure there is a shit load of Wrath from the fans for the Wilpons.

At this point I almost feel bad for Tebow. I mean if the guy wasn’t chiseled out of marble, world famous, Heisman winner and working a cushy gig on ESPN as a college football analyst, I would feel bad for him. Almost. This is starting to, everyone feign surprise, feel a lot like a publicity grab by the Mets.

Now I think it would be 1.) hilarious for Tebow to somehow actually crack the major league roster and become a contributing MLB player, but 2.) legendary as the only guy since Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson to play in both leagues. But from everything you hear out of the scouts, it seems like he’s a guy without a position who can’t hit a curve. Not a good combo in the MLB.

It’s a goddamn shame because the guy would have made a great H-back or Fullback in the NFL when QB didn’t pan out. But I can’t fault the guy for not wanting to develop CTE before he turns 30. At least we’ll always have the 2013 preseason when you were lighting it up for the Patriots, Tim. Never forget.

Once Dominant Red Sox Reliever Daniel Bard is On the Comeback Tour

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Yahoo! Sports – For a time, Daniel Bard was one of baseball’s most effective and feared relievers. Now the 31-year-old right-hander is scratching and clawing for one more opportunity in the big leagues, which he hopes will come this season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

I admit I had completely forgotten about Daniel Bard. The once heir apparent to the best closer in Red Sox history, Jonathan Papelbon. Guy was absolutely lights out as a setup man and then the Red Sox fucked everything up. Seriously, don’t mess with success.

Remember when the Yankees had the same EXACT situation on their hands with Joba Chamberlain? Guy was an absolutely dominant reliever who was in line to take over as closer for Mariano Rivera. Nope, Yankees tried to move him into the starting rotation and the guy folded. Admittedly he had some sparks of dominance as a starter. I was at a game at Fenway he started and the guy went 7-8 innings and struck out 10. But for whatever reason, his build, his control, his endurance the guy unraveled and was ruined as a pitcher. They had a specific set of rules called the Joba Rules to keep this guy in tact for christ’s sake. Probably not the ideal guy to be messing with his whole workload and mindset. But I digress…

This is the latest team in a long list of teams kicking the tires on Bard. Theo was the first to try and resurrect Bard’s career unsurprisingly, picking him off the scrap heap in 2013 after the Sox placed him on waivers. He signed with the Rangers next season before actually re-signing with the Cubs organization in 2015, signed with the Pirates organization in January 2016 and didn’t even make it to April before getting released. Bard ultimately signed with the Cardinals last year and that’s where the comeback tour rolls on.

Reports say Bard seems to have his control back and is still throwing 96 mph. And this isn’t from some scrub St. Louis reporter, by “reports” I mean that this is coming from Peter Gammons, the human Britannica of baseball himself. So that’s gotta count for something.

With guys like Bard who were absolutely filthy for a short stint and then flamed out just as fast, it always reminds me of the Stellan Skarsgard quote from Good Will Hunting.

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Best of luck, Dan.

MLB Can Fuck Right Off With Putting a Team in Las Vegas

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CBS Sports – MLB commissioner Rob Manfred seems increasingly to have expansion on his mind. While the general sense of things is that Manfred and MLB will look to expand their international footprint in the next round of expansion, you should also consider Las Vegas to be in the mix of potential locations. In fact, Manfred himself said as much to Michael Kay on Tuesday.

MLB can fuck right off with putting a team in Las Vegas after sandbagging Pete Rose for all these years. The most sanctimonious, anti-gambling league in all of sports is now considering putting a team in the gambling capital of the world.

I applaud the Knights and potentially the Raiders for finally putting a team in Vegas, but holy hell MLB be more hypocritical. The guy with the most hits in the history of your sport isn’t even recognized by baseball because he was placing bets on his *own* team.

And now they’re gonna waltz into town and drop a team in the same spot that Pete Rose has basically been banished to. The guy signs autographs in Vegas every day for a living. Did you know he’s signed so many autographs that its basically worthless on the resale market now?

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That would be some fucked up irony if I ever saw it. One of the best players of all time banned by his sport for gambling, ironically takes up residence in a city that is known solely for gambling, and then years later that same sport puts a team in said gambling city, right in his backyard? Holy shit, Pete Rose might legitimately drop dead.

So put a pitching clock in, speed up the game, put a goddamn guy on second base to start extra innings, I don’t care, but get the hell outta my face with putting a team in Sin City.

Everyone’s Favorite Crazy Closer Brian Wilson Planning Comeback as a Knuckleballer

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ESPN – Former reliever Brian Wilson is planning a comeback — as a knuckleballer. Wilson hasn’t pitched professionally since 2014 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he recently has thrown for at least two teams, Yahoo Sports reports.

If there is anyone who deserves to have a second career as a knuckleballer it’s Brian Wilson. That guy is batshit crazy in the mold of someone like Bill the Spaceman Lee. Coming off his second Tommy John surgery, the days of Wilson throwing triple digits are in the rear view mirror. So we need Wilson to get good at knuckleballs and fast. Knuckleballers are notoriously a little odd, probably just because its one of those positions that so few people can relate to. You’re basically on your own trying to figure out how to make this whiffle ball pitch good enough to strike out major league hitters while throwing 60 mph meatballs.

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There’s so few pitchers that have been good at consistently throwing knuckleballs that its almost impossible to groom in a player. I mean the Red Sox had one of the best knuckleball pitchers ever in Tim Wakefield so a guy like Steven Wright definitely had a huge advantage.

As a knuckleballer, Wilson likely would attempt to move from relief to a starting role. “I can already see myself out there,” he told Yahoo, “throwing up some waffles.”

But can you imagine a former flamethrower in Wilson, a guy who used to throw up some sort of UFC/MMA “X” with his arms after nailing down a save, a guy who legit painted his beard with shoe polish so it would be jet black, that guy coming back as a slow pitch softball player on the mound? Just lofting knuckles hoping they don’t get hit to the goddamn moon? Would be A+ viewing material. Plus he’s a New Hampshire guy, so he’s definitely already a little bit off. He was born for this.

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Red Sox Re-Sign Jackie Bradley Jr. for $3.6 Million to Avoid Arbitration

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ESPN – “The Boston Red Sox have avoided salary arbitration with Jackie Bradley Jr., agreeing to a $3.6 million deal with the All-Star outfielder, a source told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Bradley made $546,500 last season and will be eligible for arbitration in each of the next three years. Bradley, 26, enjoyed a breakout season in 2016, batting .267 with career highs of 26 home runs, 87 RBIs and 94 runs scored. He was voted a starter for the American League in the All-Star Game and helped Boston win the AL East with a 93-69 record.”

Its a good thing the Red Sox stuck with it when guys like Jackie Bradley Jr were struggling because with all the $20 million pitchers on the roster, theres not really much money left for expensive outfielders. Now the Sox have one of the best outfielders in all of baseball and all 3 guys are on rookie contracts. As anti-Theo as Dombrowski is, that is exactly what Theo preaches. Build up your farm system to be the core of your team and then add in a few high priced vets to fill out the roster, especially pitching.

I’m sure JBJ’s number will continue to rise, but if he puts up numbers similar to last year then $3.6 million is an absolute bargain. Not a bad bump for him either, essentially getting paid 6x what he made last year. I’d take that deal every day of the week.

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