boston-red-sox Page 5 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Don’t pull a muscle patting the Rays on the back
There’s obviously been a rush in the aftermath of the Tampa Bay Rays signing Wander Franco to a deal that could be worth as much as $223 million and keep him in Tampa for 12 years, according to reports. The 20-year-old star will get a serious upgrade on what he would have made the next three years w...

LaMonte Wade Jr. got an MVP vote? Explain yourself
Come here. Sit down. Let’s have a talk. I’m not angry, just disappointed....

The Rays keep on winning due to their financial situation, not despite it
The most fascinating aspect about the Tampa Bay Rays competing and winning in the AL East — Kevin Cash repeated as AL manager of the year, and Randy Arozarena took home rookie of the year honors this week — is how they do it not despite their financial shortfalls but almost with the help of them....

Will the knuckleball ever make a comeback?
The knuckleball might not be dead, but it’s certainly on life support. There are only two active players who’ve primarily used a knuckleball at the Major League level: Steven Wright, who is currently a free agent and hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2019 and Mickey Jannis, who is also a free agent...

If an athlete buys an ownership stake in a team and no one knows it, does it make a sound?
What’s the point of owning a sports franchise if you can’t make irresponsible trades, overpay role players, furtively watch from a dimly lit owner’s box or make Roger Goodell eat shit?...

An injury-prone flamethrower to the Angels — what could possibly go wrong?
The Los Angeles Angels had 12 different pitchers hit the IR in 2021 due to non-COVID-related injuries. That number was just six in 2020, but seeing as how the season was only 60 games, you could argue that 2020 was worse for the Angels in the pitcher injury department. In 2019, the Angels had 20 pit...

When’s the <i>30 for 30</i> on the 2014 Detroit Tigers?
Congrats to the Atlanta Braves on winning the World Series! Congrats to Freddie Freeman! That man deserves everything. Congrats to Ozzie Albies, Mike Fiers, Jeff Mathis, Austin Riley, Will Smith, and especially congratulations to Drew Smyly! ...

Dusty Baker is heading back to the World Series, as Astros beat Red Sox
The one good thing about the Astros returning to the World Series, which they’ll do after wrapping up the American League pennant with a 5-0 win over the Red Sox in Game 6 on Friday night, is that Dusty Baker will get his chance to finally manage his way to a World Series ring....

Carlton Fisk kept it fair, but Keith Olbermann’s attempt to sell historic ball is foul
This is not about ripping Keith Olbermann. If you want to do that, you can start with “Why I Think Trump Is Finished (And My Work Is Done),” from November 28, 2017, a time at which Trump was far from finished. You can go forward or backward from there, it doesn’t really matter, and he’d admit himsel...

You always want a Laz Diaz show in a League Championship Series, amirite?
I’ll put it right here at the top when discussing the Astros 9-2 win in Game 4 over the Red Sox, because I’ve spent the latter half of my life having Red Sox fans yell at me in some sort of fashion anyway. The non-strike call Laz Diaz came up with on Jason Castro from Nathan Eovaldi’s curve in the n...

Red Sox thumpin’ grand slams at a historic rate
Kyle Schwarber’s second-inning grand slam put the Astros into an early 6-0 deficit that they would never get the chance to overcome, as the Red Sox piled on the homers in Fenway Park during a rowdy ALCS Game 3 on Monday night. The early clout was a morale boost at home — on top of the four runs it d...

32 teams need to hear this: There is no pitching formula for the playoffs
Many years ago now, baseball pundits and fans tried to come up with a “secret sauce” for success in the playoffs. It can be pretty infuriating to simply accept that the sport’s biggest prize is handed out at the conclusion of a tournament that is essentially random. There had to be a reason these th...

100-win Rays come up short again, which is where this is all heading
The Red Sox kneecapped the Rays, 6-5, in the bottom of the ninth last night — another walkoff — and the ending of a series usually launches a 1,000 ships carrying annoying narratives. The big one from this one is that the Rays’ way of doing things, with their positionless pitching staff, essentially...

This was your human element moment
I’m not here to claim that anyone should feel sorry for the Tampa Bay Rays. While MLB would love to position them as the plucky underdog, what they really are is the model that almost every team owner has pointed to while yelling at their front office saying, “Why can’t we win that cheaply?!” while ...

This doesn’t feel like the first time the Dodgers and Giants have met in the playoffs
Tonight will be the first time in MLB history we see the Dodgers and Giants compete in the postseason. For such a storied rivalry, it’s crazy to think that in the year 2021, there’s still something new for these franchises to experience with one another. Sure, there are some discrepancies like the 1...

It’s not the Green Monster’s fault the Yanks lost
Believe it or not, it was actually the Yankees’ fault. Though, if you were on Bombers Twitter last night, you might’ve thought The Green Monster, that renowned 37-foot-high, left-field wall at Fenway, bribed the umpires, stole signs for the Sawx, and ran over Geritt Cole’s hamstring with a Honda Acc...

What <i>are</i> the Yankees now?
I suppose one of the things that makes me feel old, one of the many things, is how I would perceive the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry versus someone who is 30 or under. I lived long enough in the era of the Yankees pissing all over the Sox to still have some base inkling toward that whenever these two lin...

Aaron Judge finally lives up to expectations
For years, many believed that Aaron Judge had everything to be a real superstar, the face of MLB....

This year’s Wild-Card Game matchups are the best ever
“Get your popcorn ready,” ...