Category: Sports

The Big Story: There were dueling big stories. There was the vocal grumbling over the Red Sox doing virtually nothing at the trade deadline, and there the abrupt elimination of USA soccer in the Women’s World Cup amid national hostility over their tedious mixing of politics into everything they did.

Sports 101: Ten Red Sox players have won the MVP award. How many can you name?

News Item – Better Start for Patriots Offense: The reporting from 2023 pre-season camp is in stark contrast to the hysteria that (correctly) started from Day 1 last year over troubles with the installation of a new offense under new Offensive Coordinator Matt Patricia. Luckily both are now history. And while not everything has been perfectly sharp so far, the vibe, especially at QB, is miles beyond the offensive discombobulation of 2022. We’ll get our first glimpse tonight (Thursday) in pre-season Game 1 to see how real that is. But the result so far is the changes seem to have settled things down.

News Item – U.S. Out in Women’s World Cup: Let’s just say it’s a long way from the ecstasy of 2019 for the U.S. women’s national soccer team. They followed up that glorious ride with a dismal 2023 tournament ending in their earliest exit ever. The end came in Game 1 of the Round of 16, losing 5-4 on penalty kicks to Sweden.

The Numbers:

74 – major-league-leading errors by the Red Sox, leading to 40 unearned runs.

… Of the Week Awards:

Athlete –FramberValdez – For the dazzling 93-pitch, no-hit gem the Astros hurler threw in a 2-0 win over Cleveland.

Dumbest Move – Justin Verlander Trade – Last winter Houston passed on re-signing Verlander in lieu of a giant contract offer from the Mets. But in trading for him last week they not only took on the contract they originally thought was too rich for them, but they also had to give up two of their top five prospects to do it.

Thumbs Up – Dusty Baker: To the Astros’ septuagenarian manager for not bowing to the almighty pitch count and the stat geeks to let Valdez complete the no-hitter he started and earned.

Random Thoughts:

Enough with whining from people like Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy about what the Red Sox owe their fans because they have the highest ticket prices in baseball. There’s a simple solution: Don’t go if you don’t like the product.

It happens every year in pre-season camp. The media drools over an unheralded rookie three days into camp like he’s headed to Canton before he disappears to the Taxi Squad and is rarely heard from again. This year the nominee is diminutive wideout Demario Douglas, taken by the Pats in the sixth round pick out of Liberty.

Sports 101 Answer: The 10 Red Sox MVPs are Jimmy Foxx, Ted Williams, Jackie Jensen, Yaz, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn, Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts.

Final Thought: Despite the ill-timed weekend sweep by Toronto, Chaim Bloom was right not selling off top farm prospects just to silence yacking from the cheap seats at the trade deadline. Especially since the team is a long shot to go anywhere if they do make the playoffs.

First, health admittedly is a major X factor here, especially with Chris Sale, but with Sale, Trevor Story, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck about to come off the IL that seems like a lot more than they could have gotten in any trade without emptying the farm system.

That’s two starters, another for the bullpen and it fills the offensive abyss that’s plagued them at shortstop all season. That’s a lot to add to a team that until last weekend had the best record in baseball since June 30.

Second, the plan all along was to build a farm system they could rely on year in and year out. That takes time. But with Triston Casas, Brayan Bello and Jarren Duran looking like the real deals they have an emerging young, inexpensive and under their contractual control core to build around. One that can be better served long-term by keeping their top farm hands to fortify them next year than by giving up two of their top five prospects as Houston did to get the 39-year-old Verlander. And while I never believe the hype around young players until they show they can do it, it’s encouraging that the brass appears to be right in their assessment of the three kids just mentioned.

Given all that, I’m willing to give the plan a little more time, no matter how the rest of 2023 plays out.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story: Four months into the 2022 season the Red Sox are f-i-n-a-l-l-y the big story in town. They’ve won 15 of 22 in July to climb to within 2.5 games back of Toronto for the final wild card spot to start the week, something that seemed quite unlikely even a month ago.

Better yet, the schedule is in their favor as they have three with those Blue Jays this weekend followed by 10 straight with bottom-dwelling KC, Detroit and Washington.

So if they held their own vs. the three, with wild card competitor Seattle earlier in the week, they’ll have a chance to pass both current WC place-holders Toronto and Houston this week.

All of which makes for an exciting time for baseball in these parts over the next month at least.

Sports 101: The Red Sox have had 15 different guys pitch for them who have won the Cy Young Award. Four did it for them while the other 11 did it elsewhere. How many can you name?

News Item – AL Pennant Race Update: With Baltimore and Tampa Bay on top, the Yanks in last place and the Sox a game ahead of them, the AL East seems like Bizarro World. But with a 1.5-game lead on the faltering D-Rays, the Orioles are the surprise of baseball, while even with their struggles TB still looks like a lock for the first wild card. That leaves a free-for-all for the last two wild card slots between current leaders Houston and Toronto followed by the Sox, Yanks, Mariners and, after smartly committing to not trading Shohei Ohtani, the Angels bunched a few games back.

News Item – Patriots With Most On The Line: With pre-season camp underway, one interesting story line is guys who have a lot on the line. Here are the top three: Mac Jones – No surprise. He needs to show the brass he’s the guy to build the team’s future around. Bill O’Brien – After last year’s offensive disaster, he’s back in the mix to be a head coach this winter if Mac gets back to where he appeared headed as a rookie and the offense becomes reliable. Bill Belichick – He’s 19 wins behind Don Shula to become the all-time winningest coach in history. So he needs at least 10 wins to be in position to do it in 2024.

Random Thoughts

What does it say about Bruce Bochy that after the three-time world champion came out of retirement to manage Texas, they’re on pace to win 94 games after losing 94 in 2022 with mostly the same players?

Got to think dumping a considerable chunk of Max Scherzer’s (probable) $57 million contract for 2024 via his weekend trade to Texas signals the Mets will be all in on the Ohtani free agent sweepstakes this winter.

… Of the Week Awards

Player: Speaking of Ohtani, he’s not going into free agency quietly. He did something last week only five others in history have: pitched a shutout on the same day he hit two home runs. The shutout was a one-hit, 6-0 Game 1 win over Detroit, and the bombs came when the Angels routed them 11-4 in the nightcap. It was also his first career complete game, and the homers boosted his league-leading total to 38.

Weirdest No-Hitter: First, Portland using three pitchers is a reminder of how the powers that be don’t get that a single pitcher throwing a no-no is the most suspenseful one-game moment in the game and relentless micro-management of pitchers is eliminating that.

Second, the trio of Sox prospects, all-name teamer Wikelman Gonzalez and relievers Brendan Cellucci and Luis Guerrero, managed to give up one run without a hit, not once, but twice, in separate innings during the 6-2 Portland win.

Triple Play: The Red Sox ran themselves into a rare triple play after Adam Duvall inexplicably ran to second on a routine pop-up to center, to become the second out when CF Michael Harris II threw to first baseman Matt Olson, who then threw out Masataka Yoshida trying to go to third. It was the first 8-3-5 triple play since the Boston Beaneaters last pulled one off in 1884!

Sports 101 Answer: The Sox’ four Cy Young winners were Jim Lonborg, Roger Clemens. Pedro Martinez and Rick Porcello.The other 11 are Sparky Lyle, Fergie Jenkins, Tom Seaver, Bret Saberhagen, The Eck, Frank Viola, Jake Peavy, Bartolo Colón, Eric Gagne, David Price and Corey Kluber.

Final Thought – Thumbs Up, Patrice Bergeron:Tip of the cap to a great Boston sports all-timer upon his retirement after 19 years of excellence. Reliable, tough, clutch and, most of all, classy.

Bravo and thanks for the memories.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story: Amid unending talk about Bill Belichick’s job security, the Patriots got back to work on Wednesday in what is a big year for many, including the coach and his hand-picked QB. They begin camp without much fanfare nationally, where almost everyone is picking them for last in the AFC East. And after trading for Aaron Rodgers, New Yawkas are sensing blood in the water after having it shoved down their throats since Belichick resigned as HC of the NYJ’s over 20 years ago. So buckle up, because it should be interesting, if not as enjoyable as it was in these parts for so long.

Football 101: Name the two men who hold the NFL record for most losses by a head coach at 165.

News Item – 3 Biggest Patriots Question Marks: You would think they’d have addressed the first two in free agency and the draft, but incredibly, by going defense with their three draft picks they didn’t. This leaves the focus on the offense.

The Receivers: They were below average last year and besides a slight upgrade in JuJu Smith-Schuster over the departed Jakobi Meyers the GM didn’t give Mac Jones much new help, though putting all out of their misery by sending mistake-prone Jonnu Smith elsewhere was addition by subtraction.

The O-Line: The big question is, was Trent Brown hurt, out of shape or deep into the back nine? Because he was a procedure penalty or sack give-up waiting to happen. Determining his status is a major key, because the protection for Jones last year was uneven at best and terrible at worst.

Mac Jones: The Pats need to find out if 2022 was just a bad year brought on by a combination of factors, not the least of which was having an inexperienced and completely over his head offensive coordinator in charge of his development, or if he’s just not good enough to build around. I think it was the former, but only time will tell, making this the make-or-break year for Mac.

Numbers:

2 – times the Patriots will wear their Pat the Patriot throwback uniforms in 2023. They’ll do it against old-time AFL day foes Miami in Week 2 and in Week 13 vs. the Chargers.

12 – teams scoring in double digits Tuesday night, which was the first time that has happened since 1994, with the highlight being the Cubs’ 16-13 over Atlanta.

Injured List: Trevor Story – There appeared to be no setbacks in his rehab weekend in AA Portland. He played shortstop three times while going 2-8 with a homer and 3 RBI.

Of the Week Awards:

Who’s Hot: Triston Casas –The batting average of the Sox rookie continued to climb. After an 8 for 17 week he’s hitting .348 in July. That’s taken the average to .247 after being .131 on May 1.

Hippo Jinx – Right after I lauded the recent performance of Sox rookie hurler Brayan Bello, he got lit up by the lowly A’s for six runs in four innings before the column even came out.

In Case You Missed It – The Stolen Base: Thanks to the pitch clock and other new rules, the stolen base is back. After eight years without anyone stealing 50+, at least two players are going to 50, including Braves star Ronald Acuna, who with 45 is on pace to swipe 80 and he could be joined by four more.

Football 101 Answer: The late Dan Reeves (190 wins) and longtime Oilers/Titans coach Jeff Fisher (176 wins) hold the record for most losses by an NFL coach at 165.

Final Thought – Prediction: While an avalanche of media types can’t talk about anything else, count me as one who doesn’t buy that Coach B is on a category 4 hot seat. The detractors are broken into two camps: (1) national media, many of whom are speculating without any real evidence and looking for payback on the cantankerous Coach B, and (2) the local gaggle all hitting on the same follow-the-leader conspiracy theories. Now the latter are closer to things than me, but I’m better at logic and reading people. And the reason I don’t think he’s in real trouble (outside of a two-win season) is the needy owner’s unending desire to sit at the cool kids’ table. Like his forays to hang with 20-something rappers at star-studded parties in the Hamptons each summer. Or showing up at the Academy Awards despite not being in the movie business. So while everyone wants another Super Bowl, with six his dynasty already has two more than anyone else in one run. Thus a bigger prize (besides him getting in the Hall of Fame) is him being able to bask in the glow of the coach he picked becoming the winningest coach in NFL history.

So no matter what, Belichick the coach stays because Bob Kraft doesn’t want to see Coach B pass Don Shula while on the sideline for someone else. Simple as that.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story: Things are looking up for the Red Sox, who’ve cut five games off the Tampa Bay lead that peaked at 13.5 games in late June.

And with Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Corey Kluber spending extended time on the DL they’ve done it with just three healthy starters. The good news is divided into two categories:

Young Guys: While young hurlers like WhitlockandHouckhave had bright moments amid inconsistency, the biggest bright spot is 24-year-old Brayan Bello. Thanks to being 4-1 in his last five starts he’s climbed to 7-5 with a 3.14 ERA and is inching toward being the guy the brass always thought he’d be, a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Right behind him is the maturation of speedster Jarren Duran, who’s now hitting .318 with 28 doubles and 17 steals. And while the RBI’s still lag, Triston Casas has found his stroke. As after his three-homer weekend at Wrigley Field the average is now up to .233 (with 12 homers) from the .131 it was on May 1.

Chaim Was Right And I Was Wrong: Well, I wasn’t wrong per se, but I was skeptical in wondering if Masataka Yoshida could be a Japanese version of Rusney Castillo. He put that to rest with a solid WBC, and after Sunday’s six-RBI party at Wrigley, he’s hitting .317 with 31 extra-base hits and 50 RBI, and it’s been more apparent he’s no Rusney. Ditto for Justin Turner, who’s been solid offensively and versatile defensively.

They start the week at 50-44 and two games behind Houston for the final play-in game slot. With six games ahead vs. the epically struggling A’s and epically under-achieving Mets they can make up more ground this week.

Sports 101: Who leads MLB in complete games pitched in 2023?

News Item – Jaylen Brown’s Contract: Word on the street is JB’s (semi) contract drama will end this week. But in the latest example the world has gone mad, it will make the (arguably) 15th best player in the NBA its highest paid player, as well as pay him an astonishing $70 million in the final season of the five-year deal. Hate to see what ticket prices will be.

News Item – DeAndre Hopkins Loss: Not to let Coach B off the hook, because he still doesn’t seem to get the importance of an A+ wide receiving threat in the 2023 NFL. But as the Hopkins saga dragged on it became obvious either he didn’t want to be here (probably OC Bill O’Brien) or he was only about getting every last nickel. Which means the fit probably wasn’t right.

The Numbers:

6 –bet you’d never have guessed it was Shohei Ohtani with this MLB-leading number of triples.

59 – strikeouts in just 39 innings with the Phillies for still-has-his-fastball Sox alum Craig Kimbrel.

… Of the Week Award: Predictable Occurrence – Hardly surprising Fox Sports is having difficulty finding anyone who wants to work with Skip Bayless after the abrupt departure of Shannon Sharpe on the Undisputed show. Sports Illustrated reports it’s now on hiatus while they’re searching for their next sucker.

Random Thought: Asante Samuel – give it a rest. If he hadn’t Bucknered the pick that would’ve iced the undefeated season maybe I’d listen. But he did, and now just seems bitter and a looney Antonio Brown wannabe.

Sports 101 Answer: Withtwo, baseball’s complete game leader is none other than ex-Sox hurler Nate Eovaldi.

A Little History – Complete Games: While Eovaldi’s two are downright herculean by today’s standard, it’s doubtful he’ll match the 30 complete games Steve Carlton had in his magical 27-10 season of 1972, or the 48 Yankees (then Highlanders) hurler Jack Chesboro had when he won 41 in 1904. Let alone the all-time record 75 Will White had in 1871.

Final Thought: While you have to be encouraged by recent trends, with baseball’s trade deadline fast approaching, if I’m the Red Sox brass, I take a page out of 2015. That would be if the right deal comes along for vets like Adam Duvall I’d do it and compete for the play-in spot with players for the future. So I’d hand Duran the center field job and stick with Casas defensively at first and all the young pitchers to let them learn on the job under pressure to find out what they are, or are not, as they did with Betts, Bradley Jr., Castillo and Blake Swihart. So they’ll be more ready next year.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story: With the All-Star Game history, the Red Sox are on the clock to decide whether they’ll be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, which is 18 days away. Their task is made more complicated by their going into the break at 48-43 and on a five-game winning streak, though they’re still last in the AL East with several teams to climb past to get into the play-in game. The clock is ticking.

Sports 101: Which pitcher in All-Star Game history has (a) given up the most hits, (b) given up the most earned runs, (c) pitched the most total innings, and (d) pitched in the most games?

News Item – Shohei Ohtani: After having the best hitting month of June since Lou Gehrig’s 1.470 OPS in 1936, Ohtani is the top story in baseball. The resume will include being the first in 10 years to hit 30 homers before July 1 after a June when he hit 15 homers and 29 RBI while hitting .394 with a third best ever (behind only Babe Ruth’s 1920 and ’21) .952 slugging percentage. And, oh by the way, he’s also 7-4, with a 3.32 ERA, third in baseball 132 strikeouts and the lowest batting average against at .180.

Thumbs Up – LPGA Golfer Amy Olson: In going 79-77 on Thursday and Friday she didn’t make it into the weekend, but let’s give Olson a standing O for having the grit and toughness to compete in the women’s U.S. Open while seven months pregnant. Bravo.

Thumbs Down – ESPN: When the parent company is cutting 7,000 jobs, somebody has to go. But for ESPN to let go its single best analyst overall, Jeff Van Gundy, is nuts. Especially given the number of slugs who survived.

The Numbers:

1 – Red Sox players invited to play for the AL in the All Star game.

80 – age Greg Popovich will be at the end of the $80 million deal he signed last week to remain head coach of the San Antonio Spurs for the next five years.

Of the Week Awards:

Player –TheCincinnati rookie sensation Ely De La Cruz became the first Reds player since 1919 to steal second, third and home in the same plate appearance. It came vs. Milwaukee on Saturday right after he knocked in the lead run and then provided the insurance run with his antics in an 8-5 Reds win on Saturday.

Most Idiotic Idea (If Not in the History of Mankind) –From supposed CBS-NBA Insider Sam Quinn, who proposed (before Grant Williams was traded to Dallas) the Celtics do the following to give them a “true” Big Three with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown: send Williams, Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon, Peyton Pritchard and multiple first-round picks to the 76er’s for, no, not Joel Embiid, but (are you ready for this?) 33-year-old no-defense James Harden, last seen stinking up the joint in five of the seven games against the C’s in the 2023 playoffs.

Laugh Out Loud Moment: It was the hilarity of hearing Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo whining he’d been unfairly snubbed by the AL All-Star team while hitting a 17th best in the AL .284, with a 94th best six homers and 113th best 35 RBI totals.

Sports 101 Answer: Most hits and earned runs allowed: WhiteyFord(19 and 11). Don Drysdale’s 19.1 innings pitched is the most ever and Roger Clemens with 9 has pitched in the most ASG’s.

Final Thought: Sorry to see Mike Trout get injured ( broken wrist), but it brings to mind something I’ve been meaning to mention for a while. And this comment is aimed at the yackers, not Trout himself. I don’t get how anyone (besides stat geeks) can say he fits among the all-time baseball greats like Aaron, Mays and Ruth. Very good player, yes. But he’s in his 13th year, and while he’s got 368 homers, he’s got just three 100-RBI seasons, with a high of 111. By contrast Junior Griffey did it eight times, with highs of 147 and 146 before he turned 30. A–Rod (I know he has issues) did it 14 times with a high of 156 and for Albert Pujols it’s 13 and three 130-plus seasons.

Then there are his three MVP’s. I’m fine with 2014 when the Angels won the AL West. But being picked over Mookie Betts in 2016 was a joke. Mookie led the AL in total bases, was second in hits and doubles with 31 homers and 113 as his team won the AL East, while Trout’s Angels finished 21 games back and he wasn’t in the Top 10 in homers or RBI. And 2019, when three Red Sox players alone had more total bases, was an even bigger joke. How can a guy be the most valuable player in any league when his team finished dead last 35 games out in their division? It speaks to the ridiculous ways stats are looked at today, where the contrived WAR somehow trumps the only thing that matters, winning.

Trout an all-time all-timer? Sorry, but no.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story: Baseball passed the 81-game mid-year point last week. Here’s a snapshot of where it all stood for the Red Sox and for some of the bigger stories in progress all around baseball.

Sports 101: Who hit the first pinch-hit homer in World Series play?

News Item – Red Sox: They were 40-41 overall, 14 games out of first with five teams ahead of them to grab the last play-in slot.

Chaim Got It Right: Not on much, but he did with Masataka Yoshida, who was hitting .297 with eight bombs and 39 RBI in his first season in America.

Who’s Hot – Triston Casas: He might have gotten a tongue-lashing recently for his statistically worst in the majors D. But the highly touted rookie has finally started to hit. After hitting .137 in April, it was .257 in May and .288 in June, which has him up to .227 overall with nine homers and 27 RBI in 225 at-bats. That projects to 18 and 54.

Reason for Optimism: Though the numbers may not quite show it, it’s their young starters Bryan Bello, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck showing promise, though not consistently, for the future.

Best Sign for Immediate Future: Probably if a sell-off does come, disposable veterans Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and James Paxton could have enough value to bring back some minor-leaguers with promise.

Reason for Pessimism: They were undone by a second-most-in-baseball 53 errors, led by not-up-to-it fill-in shortstop Kiké Hernandez’s most in baseball 14, a number in stark contrast to the 10 Xander Bogaerts committed last year.

Biggest Disappointment: Chris Sale going down with another injury after it appeared he might have gotten over the hump after four injury-plagued seasons. After a terrific eight-game stretch where he struck out 52 in 47 innings with a 2.64 ERA and a 5-2 record, he’s out again until at least early August.

Alumni News

Xander Bogaerts: The grass isn’t always greener (even though the money is) on the other side of the fence. At .259 with eight homers, 28 RBI’s and a paltry (for him) 13 doubles, he’s not exactly ragging it away from the Fenway Park doubles factory, while the high-spending Pads are an underachieving 37-44.

Kyle Schwarber: He may have the weirdest season in progress. With a sixth-best-in-baseball 20 homers he’s on pace to top 40 again, and his 55 walks is second best overall. But those homers aren’t all that productive, as he has knocked in a 56th-best 40 runs. If you take away the homers, he’s got just 30 other hits in 257 at-bats. Good for a .113 average when he doesn’t hit a homer and .181 overall.

The Numbers

4 – sold-out crowds the once sellout-crazed Red Sox have so far in 2023.

108 – projected wins by the franchise often mocked by Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy in calling the Red Sox “Tampa Bay North” even though the Rays are doing it with a payroll $100 million less than Boston’s.

Notable Seasons

At 20-60 Oakland is going for the record set by the 40-120 Mets of 1962 for ineptitude.

Miami’s Luis Arraez was still threatening hitting .400 when he and the Marlins left Fenway last week at .397.

A Little History – 1968 The Sequel: It was known as Year of the Pitcher, because pitching so dominated the game, particularly in the AL, where the only .300 hitter was batting champ Carl Yastrzemski, who hit just .301. The NL was a little better, where Pete Rose led it at .335, but only four others topped .300. It led to big changes to shrink the strike zone and restrict how high the pitcher’s mound could be.

With only eight guys hitting .300, 2023 is like 1968 except this time the lowly totals came after rule changes like banning the shift happened.

Sports 101 Answer: Yogi Berra took Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca deep for the first ever World Series pinch-hit homer in the 252nd Series game, hitting a two-run seventh-inning bomb in Game 3 for the eventual 1947 world champs.

Ironically it wasn’t Branca’s last brush with history. Four years later he threw the pitch Bobby Thomson hit for baseball’s most famous homer, the bottom-of-the-ninth “shot heard round the world” that let the Giants literally walk off with the NL pennant.

Final Thoughts: With the spend-crazy Mets and Padres massively under-achieving with first- and third-highest payrolls and the Rays and D-Backs leading the AL East and NL West respectively with the third- and eighth-lowest payrolls it’s a reminder that it’s not how much you spend, it’s how you spend it. So hats off to Tampa Bay for superior work in those areas.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].