Tag: Red Sox

Addison Russell is Using Pokemon Cards to Flip the Autograph Game On Its Head

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ESPN – When Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell asked those two All-Stars — and many others around the league — to autograph the back of his Pokémon cards, he knew he would get some puzzled reactions. And he most certainly did. Yes, Russell is sending clubhouse attendants to opposing locker rooms armed with Pokémon cards for some of Russell’s favorite players to sign.

Did Addison Russell just become my new best friend? Yup. You see it all the time; professional athletes asking other pros to sign balls or even exchanging jerseys, but this, this is something. Busting out Pokemon cards and asking people to sign those instead is so awesome. Thats how you know Russell is a stud. He doesn’t need to front like he’s the baddest guy on the block and pretend Pokemon is only for kids. He loves Pokemon and he owns it.

If you’re in your 20’s and deny liking Pokemon then you are a walking, clinical definition of insecurity. We all loved the Pocket Monsters. Sure, maybe not all of us were illegally playing Pokemon Red emulators on our laptops in class back in college, but theres a reason Pokemon Go is one of the highest earning mobile apps of all time.

Did I spend hours upon hours playing Pokemon Go in traffic so I could snag the special edition Christmas Pikachu with a Santa hat? I mean, I didn’t not do that.

There is a method to his madness. He doesn’t just pick the cards randomly. He’s looking for a card that fits the player’s game or personality. “If there are flame balls on them, I’ll get a closer like Kenley Jansen to sign,” Russell said.

This isn’t just some gag from the 23-year-old, Russell is doing his research. You can’t just have anyone signing holographic or legendary cards. Thats bullshit. That would be stupid and childish. The autograph needs to fit the Pokemon.

So keep doing your thing Addison, hopefully you get Pablo Sandoval to sign that shiny Snorlax card. Get it? Because all he does is sleep and eat! Woof.

PS – Shoutout to my dude Kenley Jansen for dropping the Dragon Ball Z reference.

“I watched Pokémon a little bit. I was more of a Dragon Ball Z type of guy. I was watching more Dragon Ball Z growing up. So I get it,” Jansen said of Russell’s hobby. “Pokémon is his stuff, and everybody has their own unique way.

Now that is a goddamn show and if you’re not a fan, thats fine, but you’re wrong.

That Was Quick – Clay Buchholz Already Injured in Philly

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philly.com – Clay Buchholz flung a 70-mph pitch. It bounced before it reached home plate. The veteran starter shook his right arm. And that was it…

Buchholz suffered a right forearm strain, the team said. A gruesome night turned morbid when Buchholz, who allowed six runs to the Mets in 2 1/3 innings, walked to the dugout with a team athletic trainer during the third inning Tuesday.

The 32-year-old righthander, acquired last December in a $13.5 million dump by Boston, owns a 12.27 ERA after two starts with the Phillies.

It could be some time before his next appearance.

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It’s impossible to say that Buchholz would have gotten injured in Boston if the Red Sox hadn’t traded him. I wouldn’t have bet against it, though.

In ten years with the Red Sox, Buchholz only made more than 30 appearances once. That was in 2016 when he made 16 appearances out of the bullpen. He only made more than 20 starts in four of his ten seasons with the Red Sox.

Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t bet against Buchholz getting hurt, either. At the time of the Buchholz trade Dombrowski was lambasted for a “salary dump.” Scott Lauber wrote “Miss Buchholz yet? At some point, the Red Sox will.” Tony Massarotti called guys like me celebrating his exit “short-sighted fools.”

Sure thing, guys.

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Remember Theo Epstein, the Guy the Red Sox Forced Out? Yea, He Was Just Named the World’s Greatest Leader

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ESPN – Theo Epstein is the world’s greatest leader. So said Fortune magazine, which published its annual list on Thursday morning. The Chicago Cubs’ president of baseball operations finished in the top spot, ahead of Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Pope Francis at No. 3, Melinda Gates at No. 4 and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos rounded out the top five.

Thank GOD the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 because otherwise this shit would be straight up demoralizing. Not only has Theo Epstein taken a perennial dumpster fire of a team that used to routinely top 100 losses a season and turned them into the BEST team in baseball, but now he’s been crowned the World’s Greatest Leader by Fortune.

Dude beat out Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and the Pope. Theo Epstein beat out the motherfucking Pope. The Red Sox forced that guy out. All because Larry Lucchino, who has since been put out to pasture, wanted to have a dick measuring contest with the young blood. Because the guy who doesn’t even work here anymore wanted to feel important, we let legitimately the best baseball executive of our generation slip through our fingers.

Larry Lucchino calling all the shots because he helped build a cool ballpark down in Baltimore. Lucchino was a straight up real life version of Mugatu. “I INVENTED CAMDEN YARDS.”

Theo, a guy who grew up in BROOKLINE, who dreamed of working for the Red Sox did just that, then helped construct 2(!) championship teams and then was shown the door. How does that happen?

And now he’s the World’s. Greatest. Leader. Good. I hope that makes John Henry puke on his 50 fucking foot yacht.

The Red Sox did not immediately respond when asked to comment.

Holy shit imagine if the Sox did not have that miracle run to win the World Series in 2013? There was the absolutely epic collapse of 2011, the chicken and beer fiasco, the downright shameful smear campaign of Terry Francona, the Bobby Valentine abortion of an experiment, followed by 3 last place finishes in 4 years. That is a dark, dark period if not for that title they somehow shoehorned in there. And Theo is probably laughing like a bastard right now out in Wrigleyville counting his $10 million a year salary.

If one of the highest spending teams in baseball could only somehow get their hands on a young stud executive the Sox would be set for a generation.

God damnit.

 

Evan Drellich Says Chris Sale May Be Red Sox Most Electrifying Pitcher Since Pedro

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CSNNE – The newest lefty ace can succeed where David Price did not. Chris Sale might be the most electrifying pitcher the Red Sox have had since Pedro Martinez. Josh Beckett had his moments. Jon Lester was steadily excellent. But the stuff Sale brings is a step above.

I am HYPED for this season. Cannot wait to get it going. Despite my very real fear of 2/5 of the starters in our rotation going down with arm injuries, Chris Sale is gonna bring the juice. This guy is an incredibly talented pitcher and is hyper competitive, but he’s also a complete psycho. That is the full package for what it takes to be a legend in a town like Boston. You need a guy thats a little crazy to thrive in a pressure packed, often cynical market like this.  That was Pedro.

With Sale striking out 10 Yankees in a Spring Training game last night, it provided a glimpse into hopefully years of dominant performances against the Bombers. There was nothing better than the days where Pedro was so good he could legit toy with dudes or reach back and blow em away with his fastball.

David Price can be great, but he can also implode like he did in the playoffs last year. But either way, he’s a pretty laid back quiet guy. It’s hard to get fired up about a David Price start. Chris Sale seems to have that fire. He seems to be the guy who will bean a dude without hesitation. Sox haven’t had a guy like that really since Beckett and even Lackey, as short lived as that one was. But to describe a guy as the most anything since Pedro has me sweating for the season to start.

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…

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.

Ep 005 of The 300s Podcast Has Arrived!

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Episode 005 of The 300s Podcast is straight fire flames. We talk the early mayhem that is NFL Free Agency, Jimmy G on the trading block, Bruins surging after canning Claude Julien, the Celtics making zero moves at the trade deadline, Red Sox Spring Training and why the World Baseball Classic is a disaster.

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.