Tag: Peter Gammons

Mookie Betts Close to MASSIVE Deal With Dodgers. Here’s 5 Reasons Why I’m Still OK With It

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  1. I am kind of shocked of the size of this deal if the reports saying it’ll be $350-$400 million are true. That number, while absurd, sounded completely likely 6 months ago, but then when COVID cancelled sports for half the year a lot of people like baseball Hall of Famer Peter Gammons speculated this could tank the Free Agent market. A lot of teams are eating a lot of money and with no fans in attendance for the foreseeable future they will be eating a lot more. So a $400m deal seemed unlikely even for a free agent of Mookie’s stature. But then again it’s the Dodgers so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The Dodgers don’t know the meaning of fiscal responsibility. They are the Yankees of the mid 2000s without the actual success.
  2. I am still OK with the Mookie trade. I saw a ton of sad Sox fans on Twitter this morning as the rumors of the deal spread like wildfire, going so far as to compare it to losing Jon Lester. The Lester comparison is lazy and not even close to the same thing. Lester was an excellent, home grown, fan favorite and a reasonable guy by all accounts yet the Sox still lowballed the shit out of him with a $70m contract offer. He would rightfully so be insulted by the offer, get traded to Oakland, and then sign a 6-year $155 million deal with the Cubs. Thats the definition of misreading the market. With Mookie he is looking to reset the market and become the top 2 or 3 highest paid player of all-time. And the Sox have been offering him deals north of $200m for years, but the former MVP doesn’t want to take a penny less than top dollar. And thats fine! Get your money dude, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense for the Sox to just give Mookie a blank check.
  3. I seem to be in the minority around here, but I don’t think there is a shot in hell a $400m Mookie deal ages well. I love Mookie, I own a Mookie shirt, and he’s arguably the best homegrown prospect the Sox have produced since Roger Clemens. But, he’s also a 5’9″ 180 pound guy with massive up and down seasons on his resume. Over the last four seasons Mookie’s batting avg has been .318, .264, .346, .295. I know batting avg is an old guard stat, but even his WAR has been all over the place (9.5, 6.3, 10.6, 6.9). Those are still great numbers (Betts finished No. 8 in WAR for position players in 2019), but those variances would give me concern if I’m writing the check.
  4. For $400m you need to produce power consistently and to be honest you need to be built like a linebacker so I won’t worry about your body breaking down. Obviously you can never predict injuries and big guys are just as likely to break down (Mo Vaughn, A-Rod), but I have more faith in a big guy continuing to hit for power than I do in a 180 pounder hitting 30+ home runs a year into his late 30s. Mookie’s true value is in being a five tool player. He hits for average, power, steals bases, throws well, and plays elite defense, but 5 tool players rarely age well so while I love Mookie I’m not banking $400m on him being the same player in 2032 (!) that he is today.
  5. I’m not going to give John Henry and the Sox credit for this because they fell ass backwards into it, but with a 60 game season this year the Mookie trade looks even better. You’re essentially trading 2 months of a guy who was not going to resign here for promising big leaguer Alex Verdugo and a top prospect in Jeter Downs.

    I know Big Z accuses me of being a prospect hoarder, but I’m playing the odds here and with arguably the worst pitching staff of my lifetime I don’t think the Sox were a threat to win it all this year anyways. Theo Epstein stepped on a hornets nest when he coined the term “bridge year,” but its true you can’t just pay everyone all the time without taking a step back every one in a while to retool and reload.

Introducing The 300s Sports Journalist Power Rankings

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Sports Journalist Power Rankings? This needs to happen plain and simple. I’m sure pro athletes, for all the money and fame they have, are sick of a lot of shit. Primarily dumpy white dudes in their fifties deciding which players are the best and the worst.

 

YES, give it to me CJ. But in the meantime, lets take a crack ourselves. I present, The 300s Sports Journalist Power Rankings.

No. 1 – Adam Schefter: The perennial GOAT at the position, has remained at the height of his powers for several seasons now and we see no slowing down in sight. What he lacks in pure height, Schefter makes up for in tenacity and tweeting speed.

No. 2 – Adrian Wojnarowksi: How many writers can claim to have truly added their mark to the English language? Wojnarowski has done just that with the creation of “Woj Bombs” to categorize his breaking news tweets. While currently residing at No. 2 in our annual power rankings, we predict a battle for the top spot with Schefter as early as next season.

No. 3 – Jay Glazer: His stock has only been on the rise since a recurring role on HBO’s Ballers. Glazer lacks the lateral quickness to cover multiple sports, but is an alpha dog where the NFL is concerned.

No. 4 – Buster Olney: The thinking man’s ideal player. Olney is always one step ahead of his competition and has used that skill set to reach the top of the profession.

No. 5 – Stephen A. Smith: One of the bad boys of the league, Smith excels in his instigator role. But as a well rounded player Screamin Stephen A. is still well tapped in around NBA circles, landing him the No. 5 spot on our Power Rankings.

No. 6 – Al Michaels: A fan favorite for not only his well versed play by play, but his late game not-so-subtle references to gambling odds, spreads and over/unders being blown.

No. 7 – Bill Simmons: While leaving the worldwide leader forced him to make the Sophie’s Choice of axing his baby in Grantland, Simmons is still one of the most powerful names in sports journalism. With a heavy hitter umbrella of podcasts, Simmons is looking to bring The Ringer to a similar prominence. Bonus points: Getting Ben Affleck to go apeshit defending Tom Brady on his HBO show.

No. 8 – Peter Gammons: Gammons is still a productive player, a savvy veteran leaning on reputation alone to get the job done, but as an aging former all-star his days atop the power rankings are likely limited.

No. 9 – Matthew Berry: The definition of a role player on a championship winning team. Berry sticks to Fantasy Football, but he does it better than anyone else in the league. As a role player or a 6th man off the bench Berry provides immense value.

No. 10 – Skip Bayless: The closest thing to Lance Stephenson in the realm of sports writers. A player who’s sole job is to irritate the competition, Bayless is unmatched, which is why he closes out our Top 10.

 

How’d we do? Tweet us who you think should’ve made the list @The300sBoston

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

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danielbard

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.

goodwillhunting_wishinevermetyou

Best of luck, Dan.