Tag: Boston Red Sox

Twitter crushed the Red Sox for trading Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in blockbuster deal

The Red Sox traded away their best player on Tuesday night.

The Boston Red Sox, who currently don’t even have a manager, put the finishing touches on a dreadful offseason Tuesday night when they agreed on a trade that will send Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This deal instantly makes the Dodgers one of the favorites to win the World Series while it makes the Red Sox the favorites to be looking up to the Yankees in the AL East for years to come.

Betts was the AL MVP in 2018, a year in which he helped lead Boston to a World Series win over the Dodgers.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale has more details on the deal:

The Dodgers, Red Sox and Minnesota Twins have agreed on a three-team trade that will send outfielder Mookie Betts and starter David Price to Los Angeles, according to an official with direct knowledge of the discussions.

The official spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet finalized.

Boston’s return package will include outfielder Alex Verdugo from Los Angeles as well as pitching prospect Brusdal Graterol from the Twins. Minnesota will get right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers.

Twitter and Red Sox fans crushed the Red Sox:

Is It Time For Former Longhorn Roger Clemens To Get HOF Nod?

Roger Clemens missed out on the Hall of Fame class in 2020 but is it time that the former Texas Longhorn get in?

Just a week ago the newest class for the National Baseball Hall of Fame was announced. The class of 2020 includes former New York Yankee Derek Jeter and former Colorado Rockies, Montreal Expos and St Louis Cardinals first baseman and right fielder Larry Walker. One name that just missed the class was former teammate of Jeter and former Texas Longhorns great Roger Clemens.

Clemens finished fourth among the candidates receiving 60.7% of the votes, the required threshold is 75%. Each year since 2014, Clemens has been gaining votes that started with just 35.4% and continued to grow until this past year at 60.7%. Under voting rules, Clemens has until 2022 to receive the necessary number for induction or he comes off the ballot for writers. It then moves to a committee that would meet in 2024.

The controversy surrounding Roger Clemens induction stems around the BALCO investigation that stated that Clemens received performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) from trainer Brian McNamee. Baseball purist believe that Clemens doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame based on this investigation. Clemens never admitted to taking steroids and had he admitted one would think the case against him in the Hall of Fame wouldn’t be as strong.

Given the era that Clemens played in, it seemed to be common place for players using steroids. While it is no excuse, given how Clemens performed before the accusations of PEDs, he deserves his opportunity to shine and be inducted. For the former Longhorn, 2021 just might be his best chance given how voters have been delivering their votes in recent years. It is hard to deny what Clemens accomplished on the mound and for that it is time to make it right.

Roger Clemens Accomplishments

  • 11-time All-Star
  • Two-Time World Series Champion
  • Seven-time Cy Young Award Winner (Most All-Time)
  • American League Most Valuable Player (1986)
  • Two-Time Triple Crown Winner (ERA, Wins and Strikeouts)
  • Led Major League Baseball in wins (four times)
  • Led Major League Baseball in ERA (seven times)
  • Led American League in strikeouts (five times)
  • MLB All-Century Team
  • Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
  • Career Wins-354 (9th All-Time)
  • 4,672 strikeouts (3rd All-Time)

 

Former Longhorn Brandon Workman Looks To Lock Down Closer Role

Former Texas Longhorn and current Boston Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman is looking to lockdown the closer role in 2020.

Another former Texas Longhorns pitcher is looking for a big year in 2020. For the Boston Red Sox they could have their next closer in Brandon Workman. For Workman his journey started in Bowie, Texas where he lettered all four years in high schooling. During those four years he earned All-State honors in two of the four years and Silver Slugger All-American recognition. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies but did not signed and joined the baseball team at the University of Texas in 2008.

After three seasons with the Longhorns, Workman was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 2010 MLB Draft with the 57th overall selection. In 2013 he would be promoted from Double A Portland to Triple A Pawtucket and eventually to the Majors in July. He would be part of the bullpen that propelled the team to a World Series Championship. He didn’t surrender a single run in seven postseason appearances.

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

His sophomore season in the majors wasn’t memorable as Workman went 1-10 with 5.17 ERA in 19 games. In 2015 he would require Tommy John surgery costing him the entire season. In 2016 Workman spent the year trying to get back to the big leagues. He would return to Boston in 2017 appearing in 33 games with a 3.18 ERA which was a career best at the time.

The former Longhorns pitcher would be up and down between Boston and minor league affiliate Pawtucket in 2018, although he recorded a 6-1 record and 3.27 ERA in 43 games. He was apart of the Red Sox ALDS and ALCS roster before being replaced for the World Series.

Last season saw Workman finish the season as the closer where he closed out 16 games for Boston. The team wouldn’t qualify for the postseason after finished third in the AL East division. During the season Workman posted a 10-1 record with a career best 1.81 ERA. Heading into Spring Training, Workman is looking to be the closer but he has some competition in Boston. Given how he finished out the season Brandon Workman should get the opportunity to be the man to lockdown the ninth inning in 2020.

Stephen A. Smith says Astros, Red Sox should return World Series trophies and rings

“A legitimate question exists as to whether or not you deserve it,” Stephen A. Smith argued.

Major League Baseball had itself quite the week after a league investigation determined that the Houston Astros, who won the World Series in 2017, had a sign-stealing system in place during the postseason that year. Basically, MLB found that the team used technology to cheat and fined the Astros $5 million, docked them draft picks for the next two years and suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, who the team then promptly fired.

The sign-stealing scandal also cost Alex Cora, who was the Astros bench coach in 2017, his managerial job with the Boston Red Sox, and the New York Mets parted ways with manager Carlos Beltran, who was hired in November, over his role in the scam as a player. It also led to a flurry of internet rumors over advanced sign-stealing operation — more so than just beating a garbage can.

The good news is that people are talking about baseball in the offseason more than they have in a while, but the obvious bad news is that it’s about a cheating scandal that could affect how people view the league moving forward.

As the story continues, players, fans and commentators have offered a wide variety of punishment suggestions for the Astros beyond what was already dished out. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on Outside The Lines and wants the 2017 Astros and 2018 Red Sox World Series trophies back, along with each player’s championship ring.

On Outside The Lines, Stephen A. pointed to the hot bats of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa specifically and said:

“If I’m looking at Altuve, who that particular year batted like .346, if I remember correctly. You look at Bregman, you look at Correa, you look at these guys and how they were playing, to know what pitches were coming. I’m just looking at it from this perspective: The players were clearly complicit. That is undeniable.

“The fact that the players themselves — particularly in the sport of Major League Baseball, at a time when we are so gung-ho about making sure basketball players are punished, football players are punished, once again — to see baseball players getting away with this stuff really bothers me. That is why I am of the mindset that they need to take that World Series trophy out of Houston, they need to take it out of Boston, and every single player on those teams in 2017 and 2018, respectively, need to hand back their championship rings, effective immediately.

“You gonna keep your money. You had the moment, we can’t take that back. But you can give back that ring, and you can give back that trophy because a legitimate question exists as to whether or not you deserve it.”

However, Smith acknowledged when it comes to cheating and stripping teams of trophies, it could be a slippery slope trying to draw a line between individual players’ actions and something orchestrated by an organization.

But he continued explaining his mindset and compared this scandal to college sports, where the NCAA regularly strips titles from teams caught breaking rules. He added:

“Here’s the deal: They do it to college athletes. These guys don’t get paid. You play football, you play basketball, and there’s something wrong with the program — Reggie Bush doesn’t have his Heisman Trophy. USC doesn’t have their national title.

“You know, you got a whole bunch of instances, don’t y’all find this a tad bit odd that so-called amateur athletes, who don’t get paid, all right, you can confiscate something from them, but millionaires paid to play professionally be upstanding and compete at the highest level are cheating with no punishment? I’m sorry, I’ve got a problem with that.”

What’s next for Red Sox after dumping Alex Cora?

What I’m Hearing: Bob Nightengale spoke with the Red Sox after they fired Alex Cora for his involvement in the Astros sign stealing scandal. He also found out the Red Sox could face serious discipline despite getting rid of Cora.

What I’m Hearing: Bob Nightengale spoke with the Red Sox after they fired Alex Cora for his involvement in the Astros sign stealing scandal. He also found out the Red Sox could face serious discipline despite getting rid of Cora.

MLB world reacts to the Boston Red Sox parting ways with Alex Cora amid scandal

Alex Cora is out as the manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Alex Cora led the Boston Red Sox to a World Series title in his first year as manager back in 2018.

Now, he is no longer employed by the team.

The Red Sox announced late Tuesday that they have parted ways with Cora due to MLB’s ongoing investigation into the sign-stealing cheating scandal.

This comes a day after MLB suspended Houston Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for a year. The team then fired both men later on Monday.

Many have speculated that Cora, who was the bench coach for the Astros in 2017, might face an even stiffer punishment for his role in the scandal with both the Astros and Red Sox.

Here’s the Red Sox statement, which includes a comment from Cora:

Twitter had reactions:

https://twitter.com/AnthonyPute/status/1217242261207109637

https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1217245726717153281

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Report: Red Sox extend Mookie Betts with record-breaking one-year deal

Mookie Betts is getting a record-breaking deal at the arbitration deadline, according to ESPN.

Mookie Betts is getting a record-breaking deal at the arbitration deadline, according to ESPN.

Jeff Passan tweeted the news Friday, reporting that the 27-year-old gets a $27 million contract from the Boston Red Sox, with that he, of course, avoids arbitration.

The one-year deal is the largest deal ever agreed to by a player in an arbitration-eligible season. Betts breaks the previous record of $26 million.

The 2018 American League MVP is a four-time all-star and finished eighth in MVP voting this season. He hit .295/.391/.524 with 29 homers and 16 stolen bases in 150 games in 2019.

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MLB investigating Red Sox for illegal use of replay room in 2018

Major League Baseball will investigate the Boston Red Sox following a report by The Athletic which detailed the team’s illegal use of its replay room to steal signs during the 2018 season.

Major League Baseball will investigate the Boston Red Sox following a report by The Athletic which detailed the team’s illegal use of its replay room to steal signs during the 2018 season.

Why the Red Sox’s alleged sign-stealing doesn’t compare to the Astros’ cheating scandal

The Astros were on a different level.

As the Houston Astros were embroiled in a multiyear cheating scandal, it seemed inevitable that other big-league clubs would get drawn into controversy. And on Tuesday, it happened.

According to a report from The Athletic, the Boston Red Sox utilized their replay room — the room meant to assist managers decide on in-game replay challenges — to steal signs from the opposing catcher during the 2018 World Series season. The report cites unnamed Red Sox sources who claimed that players would visit the room during games, watch the catcher’s sign sequence and decode those signs to be communicated to the dugout.

The Red Sox were reprimanded for a similar misuse of the replay room in 2017, but starting in 2018, MLB strictly prohibited the use of the replay room to steal signs.

But let’s not compare the Red Sox’s alleged sign-stealing tactics to the Astros’ cheating scandal. They aren’t even in the same ballpark.

As noted in the initial Athletic report, the Astros stole signs in realtime with the help of an employee watching a live feed in a back room. That employee would bang on a trashcan to signify an off-speed pitch to the Astros hitters, and the tactics likely fueled Houston’s unprecedented in-season improvement in batted-ball rate. It was brazen, clearly against the rules and worked even when the bases were empty.

This Red Sox report, though, paints a far different picture of a system that wasn’t even effective during the postseason. Via The Athletic:

Three people who were with the Red Sox during their 108-win 2018 season told The Athletic that during that regular season, at least some players visited the video replay room during games to learn the sign sequence opponents were using. The replay room is just steps from the home dugout at Fenway Park, through the same doors that lead to the batting cage. Every team’s replay staff travels to road games, making the system viable in other parks as well.

Red Sox sources said this system did not appear to be effective or even viable during the 2018 postseason, when the Red Sox went on to win the World Series. Opponents were leery enough of sign stealing — and knowledgeable enough about it — to constantly change their sign sequences. And, for the first time in the sport’s history, MLB instituted in-person monitors in the replay rooms, starting in the playoffs. For the entire regular season, those rooms had been left unguarded.

But really, for this tactic to even work to any degree, the Red Sox player would have to accurately decode the signal sequence, communicate that sequence to the dugout and only be able to utilize it when there’s a runner on second. Plus, teams have often used a runner on second to try to communicate signs to the batter — just as opposing teams are prepared to combat that tactic. These sequences can change by inning, too.

This isn’t to say that what the Red Sox reportedly did was fine: It’s still against the rules. But there’s a huge difference between decoding signs after the fact and relaying signs to the hitter off a live feed.

It’s not even a comparison.

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