Monday, February 10, 2020

The new Redsock management may have just realized that it's not in Tampa anymore

For Boston fans, it's been an ice-dagger winter. After belly-flopping in the playoffs, the Patriots have been poor-mouthing the cost of Tom Brady, their generational icon. Meanwhile, the Redsocks just coldly traded their most popular player, Mookie Betts, in a deal that unfurled like a week-long colonoscopy. 

In both cases, they are simulating the ways of the Yankees over the last 10 years: 

A billionaire owner pretends to be a millionaire, so that we should feel sorry for him.

At a time when the global division of wealth now rivals climate change as an existential threat to society - (By the way, if you haven't seen Parasite, it's wonderful!) - the owners of professional sports teams have earned a special dung heap in Hell. They enjoy unprecedented growth in the values of their franchises, and then whine about having to pay the help. "Luxury tax? Unfair! Why, we can't afford this!" 

But let's get to the Betts trade, which was revamped over the weekend, after scans of Brusdar Graterol's arm raised flags with Redsock management. (Or maybe it was just the fierce reaction of the Boston fan base.) At the last minute, the Redsocks turned over the chessboard and seemed to collapse the deal, a Trumpian move, as outlined in his ghostwritten books on screwing people. Now, instead of the MLB-ready Graterol, Boston will receives two Double A batteries - a shortstop (named Jeter Downs, no less) and a catcher (Connor Wong.) Yes, the comedy team of Downs and Wong! Both are certifiable prospects, who should elevate the Redsocks farm system, which was vandalized by trades in 2017 and 2018 (and which should take another hit if MLB shows some spine over the recent cheating scandal. My guess, though, is that after seeing the angry backlash against Houston, MLB will soft-pedal the charges against Alex Cora in Boston.) 

Look, it's ridiculous to rate deals on the morning after. But one thing this trade does for Boston is extend the date on any evaluations. It will take two or three years before these prospects rise or fail, and unless they fizzle immediately, or are revealed as dwarfs standing piggyback, they will bring long term hope to Fenway Nation. The question, though, is whether the fans will wait.

Boston's new chief executive, Chaim Bloom, is credited with keeping the Tampa Rays competitive for the last 10 years, despite a payroll worthy of Walmart greeters. Bloom did this by trading stars before they reached their contract years, eventually so numbing the hearts of Tampa fans that they barely even support contending teams. Bloom is now doing the same thing in Boston. The Betts deal signals a clear message to every Redsock star: If you like it here, you'll take what we offer. 

But Bloom may have underestimated the passion of Boston fans. They don't take kindly to having their hearts kicked to the curb. They'll never fully accept seeing Brady or Betts play for other teams. It's the iciest winter they've endured since the Curse of the Bambino, and it might even signal the end of their golden era of Super Bowl and World Series rings. They won't go down easily. This is not Tampa, and it's cold outside.

20 comments:

  1. I feel so bad for them.

    Tehehee!



    Fuck you Hal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MR. DUQUE...

    THERE IS NO REASON MLB SHOULD GO "SOFT" ON ALEX CORA.

    IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE HE WAS THE SPEARHEAD OF THIS ENTIRE BOONDOGGLE.

    HE IS THE ONLY GUY, AS I SEE IT, THAT HAD A LARGE HAND IN THE 2017 ASTRO AND 2018 RED SOX CON JOBS.

    WHAT HE DID LOOKS MUCH WORSE THAN WHAT HINCH DID, MUCH WORSE.

    THEY SHOULD THROW THE BOOK AT HIM AND THE RED SOX.

    DON'T GIVE ME THE "PLAYERS ARE INNOCENT" ANGLE EITHER... BULLSHIT.

    ALTHOUGH OF COURSE MR. DUQUE, YOU MAY BE RIGHT ABOUT THIS.

    WHY IS PUNISHMENT TAKING SO LONG?

    ReplyDelete
  3. MLB will never take the action they should take on the sign stealing scandal. They're too busy trying to legitimize the championships won by Boston and Houston and mollifying the owners. Something bad happened? First say it happened, then obfuscate who's responsible, then offer a couple of sacrificial bodies who won't effect the gate or the player jersey sales, then sweep it all under the rug and act like nothing really happened at all.

    The usual travesty. And isn't that Altuve just a little sparkplug?

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  4. I don't believe MLB should go easy on Boston. I just expect them to.

    ReplyDelete
  5. YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT AGAIN, MR. DUQUE.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cora should have his testicles excised and crushed by a child on a mini steamroller in the middle of Yawkey Way. Then, the team should be banned from baseball for two years, upon which they can return, but only if they agree to play in pantyhose with nipple tassels. I'm not bitter.

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  7. Not only should they throw the book at Cora, they should throw the monitor, computer and buzzers at him too...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bitty, you're such a damned bleeding heart!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Can't wait for Red Sox fans to greet Jeter Downs—though he and Wong do seem like legitimate prospects.

    Hey, we won't care if we get seven good years from our new centerfielder of the future, Mookie Betts.

    ReplyDelete
  10. And I agree with the arbitrary nature of all of MLB's punishments and non-punishments.

    Juicing Barry Bonds was allowed to break Aaron's record—but not A-Rod?

    A-Rod, Bonds, Clemens, and Manny will be left out of the HOF—but not Big Papi, Piazza, and who knows how many others?

    Really, they should start determining the standings by personality. Team with the cheeriest guys most willing to suck up to sportswriters, wins.

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  11. Amen to all you say, Hoss.

    And Winnie - we need to come up with an appropriate psychic punishment for the ASStros and the Red SUX

    Those fuckers stole from the fans, from other players, and from the well well of trust that we had in baseball.

    All of their victories should be wiped out. Both teams should be forced to play each for 162 games straight on some remote island with a large population of snakes. They can get MREs air-dropped once a a week and I'm sure they can find fresh water in cisterns and ponds. What's a little whip worm among friends? We'll air drop some diarrhea meds once a month, but just enough for half of them. Let them duke it out to see who gets relief.

    Then, we put the wrecking ball to Fenway and build a Museum of Cheating and Deceit on the site, along with an educational center of Civics, Ethics and Responsibility. The gift shop could sell hidden buzzers and tiny trash can drums and the proceeds could go towards the construction of re-education camps for former Sox fans, who will be forced to choose their garb from either Mets or Yankees uniforms.

    EAT SHIT AND DIE, MLB. EAT SHIT AND DIE.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Snakes and spiders. Like those crazy fuckin' spiders in Australia.

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  13. Similar to the uproar David Cone caused when he was a Met and exposed himself to a pretty young girl near the bullpen, I can't wait for the headlines in the Boston Herald next year: "MLB investigates woman in bleachers claim that Chris Sale asked her if she' wanted to see his Wong' while warming up in the bullpen."

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  14. @Carl..."There's action in the Met bullpen..."

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  15. I can't wait to have TrashCan Lid Bobble Head nights for the first home games w the Sux and Asstros, the merch potential after this atrocity is astro-nomical.
    Seriously, didn't Houston go from something like second to last (?) w stikeouts/chasing to the best in the league over this same cheating period, WTF, how can you not put some kind of an asterisk next to their bogus season,,,,,,,,

    At least we can all rest assured that our dear dear Giancarlo was NOT cheating, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

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