Category: Sports

Kyrie Irving Out for the Year

NBA: Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers

source– In the aftermath of left knee surgery, All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics will miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs, the team announced.

Irving will undergo another procedure on Saturday to remove two screws from his patella that were inserted in 2015 to repair a fracture he suffered in that year’s NBA Finals. The team said a bacterial infection was discovered at the site of the screws when Irving had his most recent surgery, on March 24, to remove tension wire in the knee and that Saturday’s procedure will ensure no infection remains in the knee. The wire had been placed in his knee during the same surgery in which the screws were inserted in 2015.

R.I.P. 2017-18 Boston Celtics. Gone, but not forgotten.

In all honesty, I’m not upset about this at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. I don’t have any personal experience, but I’ve heard having screws in your knees is not ideal. As long as this doesn’t become a Derrick Rose saga (and there’s absolutely nothing to suggest it will), Kyrie should take all the time he needs to come back 100%.

Listen, Kyrie is the franchise. The Celtics can only go as far as he takes them. So, yes, him going down effectively kills any and all playoff hopes they had. I hate to break it to the more optimistic Celtics fans out there, but the C’s were never winning the title this year. Even if they miraculously win the East, they’re winning max one game in the Finals. Once Gordon Hayward went down a millisecond into the season, it was always about next season. Barring a shock LeBron-to-Philadelphia move, the Celtics should be the early favorite to win the East next year. I’m totally fine just focusing on that.

Use these playoffs to get Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum some high-pressure experience. Let Terry Rozier keep developing, rendering Marcus Smart redundant (depending on his price tag). Now that Kyrie’s gone, there’s really no non-injury related worst case scenario for the playoffs. It’ll stink if they lose first round, but they didn’t have their best player, what were they supposed to do? If they win a series, it’s just a nice bonus shot of confidence going into next season. Not that he could possibly improve his standing after everything he’s done this year, but if the Celtics have any success it’s time to ask whether Brad Stevens is legitimately the best coach in the league. Maybe the best coach of all time. If he can get Abdel Nader into the second round of the playoffs, it’s time to put him in the Hall of Fame.

So next year the Celtics have Kyrie, Hayward, Horford, another summer of development for Jaylen, Tatum, and Rozier, and the Kings’ first round pick. Yes, please.

Welcome to the Brian’s Den Newsroom

Introducing a new feature here at https://www.briansden69.com, the Newsroom. Since there’s going to (hopefully) be a lot going on in my life soon, I think this is a good way to kind of cover a lot of the stories I may not get the chance to talk about, particularly in the sports world. I’m thinking about doing these a few times a week. Let me know your thoughts- good, bad, never do it again? Either way, there’s some good stuff coming up in the near future.

I’m Craving Baseball So Badly Right Now

Folks, it’s officially been Spring for three days. Go outside for two seconds and you can tell the seasons are changing: it’s 42° instead of 41°. The trees are dead and bare. There’s only two more snowstorms on the horizon. Global warming has even eliminated the nasty slush season that used to exist since the snow just melts as soon as it falls now. Just a great time to be alive. More importantly than all that, though, is that baseball is almost here.

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Opening Day is less than a week away and I could not possibly be more excited. I’m starting to get that Baseball Feeling, which is an impossible feeling to describe and I don’t know if anyone has any idea what I’m talking about, but it’s a rush of happiness and anticipation and a bunch of other stuff when I think about baseball at the end of the offseason. I did my fantasy draft already (got Kershaw, if you were wondering) (And Goldschmidt, too) (I know you care). I preordered MLB The Show 18 so I could play it early (already started my career, got picked in the 25th round by the Padres. A true rags to riches story if I’ve ever seen one) because I just needed some baseball in my life. I’m watching Spring Training games, but, just like the players, I’m a little rusty so I’m reacting like John Sterling on routine flyouts. My patented Home Run Feeling, a sixth sense that can accurately predict when home runs are imminent, is still warming up (just called Red Sox prospect Sam Travis hitting one, nbd). I’m using the word feeling way too much, but that’s because, more than any other sport, baseball fandom is all about feelings. The feeling of nostalgia you get when you enter a ballpark, thinking about the first time your dad (or mom, we don’t assume here) took you to a game. The feeling of comfort when you smell those familiar baseball smells: hot dogs, beer, peanuts, popcorn, leather, regional delicacies, and more beer. The feelings you get while watching baseball, a truly unique sports viewing experience. Games are simultaneously boring as hell and enthralling, and playoff baseball is a different animal entirely.

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Not to get all sappy or anything. I’m just jonesing for some baseball. The Red Sox are just about all I’ve got at the moment. Literally every Celtics player is out for the season. UConn basketball hasn’t been playing this deep in a season since I was still in college (yes, yes, I know the women are still there. But getting pumped up about them is like getting hyped the Earth completed a rotation). I’m not a big enough hockey guy to commit to the Bruins. Something happened to the Pats last month, but I can’t seem to remember what. I need the Sox, man. I need J.D. Martinez to hit 10 billion homers. I need Mookie Betts to the best all-around player in the American League who doesn’t play in Los Angeles. I need Chris Sale and David Price to win 40 games between them and strike out a thousand batters. I need Alex Cora to actually understand basic baseball strategy and make people want to play for him. I need ownership to try and monetize every waking moment of the game. I need every game against the Yankees to take four and a half hours. I need to be reminded that the Sox ran Don Orsillo out of town for no reason every time I turn on NESN. I just need baseball back, and I can’t wait much longer.

 

I’d Rather Miss the Tournament than Lose like Cincinnati

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Listen, I know I’m a few days late on this take. So sue me. I’m planning a pretty big move, if you hadn’t heard. but just because I’m tight on time at the moment doesn’t mean I can’t generate scalding takes, and I can’t just sit on this one even if everyone’s already forgotten this game happened: I’d rather miss the NCAA Tournament/playoffs than lose the way Cincinnati just did.

Before everyone gets up in arms, Sports Take Law requires me to establish my own rooting interests: people forget I went to UConn. We did, in fact, miss the tournament. We were the worst team in D-1. Worst offense of all time. Somehow played uglier games than Virginia and Syracuse, who’s entire gameplan is to make games ugly. They were so bad they got a guy who played at UConn and won a title four years ago run out of town (yes, he was very bad and I wanted him gone, but the fact remains). We stink at basketball. You know what we didn’t do, though? Blow a 22-point second half lead in like 30 seconds.

I should also probably state that I hate Cincinnati. They’re UConn’s “rival” in the fact that they’re in the same conference and were both in the old Big East, but they’ve kicked our ass for years, now. I hate that little gremlin Mick Cronin. Guy’s got the worst roid rage of all time despite being like 5’6″ 150 lbs. I have no idea how he gets anyone to play for him. So seeing them totally collapse against Nevada was quite satisfying. One of the worst losses of all time. Cincinnati might as well have been up 50 with five minutes left. They were completely dominating. Nevada had nothing going whatsoever. No game has ever been such a sure thing. But then they just…lost. I’ve never seen a collapse like that. Not the Lakers in the 08 Finals, not the Falcons, not even Virginia. Sure, Virginia panicked after going down 2-0 against a 16 seed, but they just got their butts whupped. Cincinnati had such a stranglehold on the game the announcers had started digging into the garbage time stories with 10 minutes left. It was over. But they lost. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to know you’re going to win but then just stop playing. Talk about embarrassing! Those Cincinnati players must feel absolutely terrible about themselves. Probably going to stick with them until they die. You hate to see it.

But, yeah, I’d much rather just stink than have these losses. These games scar you. I’ve never gotten over Super Bowl 42. I’m willing to bet that one game is the reason I’m such a miserable piece of shit. Then there was Super Bowl 46. And the 2003 ALCS. And the 2010 NBA Finals. And Super Bowl 52. If I was given the option of making it to the big game and losing or missing the playoffs I’d take missing the playoffs 1000000000% of the time. I don’t need that stress in my life. I don’t need one of my teams going down in infamy because they blew it so bad. I mean, one of Cincinnati’s best players fouled out with five minutes left because he was being an idiot. Completely let his teammates and everyone who believed in him down. He’ll never get over it. I’d say it was the worst moment of his life, but after a loss like that, I won’t sit here and say he won’t go into a downward spiral. Anyway, I wouldn’t want any of my guys to have to deal with that. Sure, you have to make a few playoff runs to keep everyone off your back, but no one remembers that the Nuggets missed the playoffs in 2016, only that the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead. It’s all about subverting your own expectations and keeping the pressure off, not trying to be a hero only to get dragged back to Earth in the worst way possible. Aim for mediocre, not heartbreak. Unless you can actually win, then do that.

Cincinnati’s loss was so bad no one even noticed Xavier collapsed just as bad. Rough week for Sam Wyche.

The Only Guide You’ll Need for March Madness 2018

773b17629f714a1b80f19b999bd9faa4-220px-2018_ncaa_mens_final_four_logoHere we are at the end of another college basketball season. Or the start, depending on your level of commitment. I won’t judge. Not too hard, at least. Either way, the NCAA Tournament is starting tonight. Yes, the play-in games count. What better way to warm up? Diving in to the deep end of basketball heaven on Thursday without whetting your appetite first is dangerous to your health. Without prior exposure, getting hit with the same four commercials all day can bury you. You can get used to tuning in to TruTV, even though Tournament games have been on TruTV for at least six years now, so you’re really a giant idiot if you have to ask what TruTV is in 2018 (instances like this make me wonder if I’m the weirdo for retaining information and knowing every channel I’ve ever tuned into). You can slowly expose your body to the terrible food and drinks you’ll endlessly consume over the long weekend. The First Four are a necessary step in the March Madness process, regardless of how bad the games wind up being.

Last year, I gave you a rundown of all 68 teams in the field. Everything you needed to know in one sentence. Why change anything now? Unlike the selection show executives, I see no point in messing with a winning formula. I’m here to guide you in your bracket creation. Need a refresher on who’s in the field? Forget who’s good? Stuck on a pick and need some inspiration? Look no further. With UConn sitting at home for a second straight year, my thoughts on this year’s field are unclouded by bias. It’s time to attack the bracket with a zeal unknown to mankind in pursuit of perfection. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

East Region

  1. Villanova– If Big East games weren’t stuck on FS1 I bet more people would respect Nova.
  2. Purdue– Imagine thinking Purdue was going to do anything in the tournament?
  3. Texas Tech– They’re my annual “All-In on a random team” team, which means they’re out in the first round.
  4. Wichita State– In 2018 PC culture, the fact that Wichita State is able to remain the Shockers is absolutely astounding.
  5. West Virginia– Huggins is making the Final Four this year, I can feel it in my bones.
  6. Florida– Honestly don’t think I watched one second of Florida hoops this season.
  7. Arkansas– Honestly don’t think I watched one second of Arkansas hoops this season.
  8. Virginia Tech– It’s divine March Madness law that Virginia Tech play in the 8-9 game every year.
  9. Alabama– This bracket is a little too SEC heavy for my taste.
  10. Butler– People forget Gordon Hayward almost hit that half-court shot that one time.
  11. St. Bonaventure/UCLA– Not enough colleges have brown jerseys.
  12. Murray State– I still remember being in a random Applebee’s in New York City that time they won on a buzzer beater in the first round.
  13. Marshall– If McConaughey’s there, look out.
  14. Stephen F. Austin– Hey, kind of like Stone Cold Steve Austin, right? Get it?
  15. Cal State Fullerton– How many state universities does California have, 10,000?
  16. LIU Brooklyn/Radford– There are four play-in games. Two of them are in this bracket. This annoys me.

Midwest Bracket (I don’t care if you have it in the same podunk midwest arena, for the love of God call it the North region)

  1. Kansas– Think I could suit up for Kansas and they’d still win the Big 12.
  2. Duke– *sigh* Duke’s probably winning the title this year.
  3. Michigan State– Might have two future NBA All Stars and might lose first round.
  4. Auburn– Auburn stiiiiiiiinks.
  5. Clemson– Trying to figure out the reasoning behind Clemson and Kentucky being the same seed.
  6. TCU– Such a nondescript team.
  7. Rhode Island– Everyone saying Dan Hurley is the next UConn head coach so I’m rooting for whatever result will prevent that from happening.
  8. Seton Hall– Love me some pirate mascots and also Sam Dalembert.
  9. N.C. State– They won the title in ’83, so you know they’ve got the mental makeup to go deep.
  10. Oklahoma– Quite possibly the most fixed selection of all time.
  11. Arizona State/Syracuse– I already know Syracuse will somehow win a couple games purely because they have absolutely no business being in the field whatsoever.
  12. New Mexico State– A popular upset pick, which means they’ll lose by 25.
  13. Charleston– I’m just gonna come out and say it- there’s too much maroon in the bottom of this bracket.
  14. Bucknell– Bison are one of the great American animals, they need more mascot representation.
  15. Iona– I don’t know why, but I always picture Iona’s campus as a big cathedral but they worship Satan instead of God.
  16. Penn– I’m just glad Harvard didn’t make it.

South Region

  1. Virginia– So, so, so boring, but also good.
  2. Cincinnati– If you win the American Conference tournament but no one watches, did it really happen?
  3. Tennessee– I can’t be the only one surprised that they were randomly good this year.
  4. Arizona– Haven’t seen anything this under-seeded since the first time I tried playing Farming Simulator. Bada-bing!
  5. Kentucky– “I know I only recruit highly touted one-and-done guys so we’re young by design, but you can’t blame me, we’re a young team!”- John Calipari after they lose.
  6. Miami– If The Rock has eligibility left, they might make a run.
  7. Nevada– As Greg Gumbel would say, you gotta watch out for all the Wolfpacks out there.
  8. Creighton– Just assume they have a white senior with 2,000 career points.
  9. Kansas State– Starting to feel like I didn’t watch enough college basketball this year because I have literally no opinion on so many teams.
  10. Texas– If they make a run, is Texas Officially Back?
  11. Loyola-Chicago– My sources tell me they play stifling D, which is the first step towards a Cinderella run.
  12. Davidson– Wish college Steph was still around.
  13. Buffalo– Western New York needs something good to happen, just once.
  14. Wright State– Hey, uhh, more like Wrong State, amirite?
  15. Georgia State– Ludacris went to Georgia State.
  16. UMBC– I’m salty they beat UVM, but they also have a fellow Curran on the roster, so I think I’m on-board.

West Region

  1. Xavier– The least-confident one seed in recent memory, which means they’ll win the title.
  2. North Carolina– Kind of forgot they won last year.
  3. Michigan– B1G playing in NYC a week early is the worst thing to ever happen to college basketball.
  4. Gonzaga– The Official Brian’s Den 2018 Champion Pick.
  5. Ohio State– It’d be funny if they played Michigan in the Elite 8. Because they’re rivals, you see.
  6. Houston– Is Houston Street (the New York street, not the closer) being pronounced differently than the city of Houston the most needlessly New York thing of all time?
  7. Texas A&M– Ampersands need to make a comeback.
  8. Missouri– If Mike Porter, Jr. is really all that, Xavier’s getting screwed 2nd round.
  9. Florida State– Always underwhelming in the tournament.
  10. Providence– SMH, the FBI’s investigating the NCAA and aren’t indicting the headquarters of the- BRIAN’S LAWYER HAS ADVISED HIS CLIENT TO REFRAIN FROM MAKING ANY INFLAMMATORY REMARKS FOR HIS OWN SAFETY.
  11. San Diego State– Is San Diego State guilty of appropriating Aztec culture?
  12. South Dakota State– I, for one, am tired of the stranglehold the Dakotas have over American athletics.
  13. UNC-Greensboro– They’ve got a pretty cool logo.
  14. Montana– Have to imagine Montana is a fertile basketball recruiting ground.
  15. Lipscomb– Apparently Lipscomb is in Nashville? Who knew?
  16. NC Central/Texas Southern– Calling it right now- Texas Southern’s making the Final Four.

Are Salacious Combine Questions Just a Way to Weed Out Snitches?

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source– Former LSU running back Derrius Guice said in an interview Wednesday that one NFL team asked about his sexuality and another inquired if his mother was a prostitute at the NFL Scouting Combine that concluded earlier this week. 

‘’It was pretty crazy,” Guice said in an interview on the SiriusXM NFL show Late Hits. “Some people are really trying to get in your head and test your reaction. … I go in one room, and a team will ask me do I like men, just to see my reaction. I go in another room, they’ll try to bring up one of my family members or something and tell me, ‘Hey, I heard your mom sells herself. How do you feel about that?’ “

So this is the big story in the NFL right now. Happens every year. Some prospect gets asked an outlandish, very inappropriate question by an anonymous scout. This time, it’s LSU running back Derrius Guice being asked if he’s gay and if his mom’s a prostitute. In years past, there was Dez being asked if his mom was a hooker, various people being asked when they lost their virginity, what type of underwear they prefer, whether they’d want to play for the Browns, and other intrusive, personal questions no one should have to answer in a job interview. These questions are so uncalled for, in fact, that it makes me think that the coaches and scouts have agreed to ask these questions as a way to find who’s more likely to run to the press whenever something goes wrong.

Think about it: do you want Dez Bryant or Derrius Guice on your team? I don’t. He’s got distraction written all over him. What happens in the locker room/combine interview room stays in the locker room, man. I guarantee whatever team drafts him is gonna have some “anonymous player” leak issues. If he runs to the media every time someone insinuates his mom is a prostitute, what’s gonna happen when he gets called out in a players’ only meeting? A piece in the Players’ Tribune? No thanks. I’ll take the guy who internalizes the weird questions and swallows his feelings like a real man. Think it’s a coincidence scouts didn’t ask Jason Witten if he thinks his mother is attractive?

Listen, the NFL is a brotherhood. We all know this. Everyone gone through this process: you work out in your underwear while older men eye you up and down, then you get asked weird questions to see if you’re mentally tough enough to keep your mouth shut. It’s not that hard. Guice is a talented player, but why should anyone draft someone so fragile? What do you think Mike Singletary would think about players who leak their combine questions?

Enough said. Respect the combine process, dammit.

Red Sox Sign J.D. Martinez

J.D. Martinez

 

Forget about everything I said about the Red Sox not being contenders, because the World Series is back on!!! Who needs Stanton? Who needs Judge? J.D. is in the house and about to hit 10,000,000,000 balls over the Monster this season. A perfect contract, too. And Hanley is TB12 now? 162-0. Let’s gooooooooo.

NBA All Star Saturday Predictions

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Nothing quite like NBA All-Star Weekend. I’m pretty sure I went into this last year, but it’s pretty much always been a huge part of my life, and Saturday Night is the crown jewel. Watching the random specials on TNT starting at like 5 pm bleeding into the actual show at 8 is a time honored tradition in the Brian’s Den. Unfortunately, my All-Star Weekend viewership is taking a bit of a hit this year. For the first time since like, 2005 I had to miss the Celebrity Game (without Tom Cavanagh there’s nothing to miss) and most of the Rising Stars. I’m seeing Black Panther tomorrow, which may turn into an all day affair if the crowds are still absurd. But I’ll always make time for All-Star Saturday. This is a challenging time in my life (nothing bad. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’ll get to it later) and I feel great having the Dunk Contest be my rock in the storm. Anyway, I’m never too busy to lend my prognosticating skills to All-Star Saturday, so let’s dive right in.

Taco Bell Skills Challenge

Field:

Joel Embiid, Buddy Hield, Al Horford, Lou Williams, Andre Drummond, Spencer Dinwiddie, Lauri Markkanen, Jamal Murray

Love me a good corporate sponsorship, especially one with a company as forward thinking as Taco Bell. I may just go out and get some Nacho Fries before the event kicks off. Taco Bell, Live Mas. As far as the actual event goes, got to go Horford, here. Why? Because I’m a Celtics fan, that’s why!

Pick: Al Horford

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JBL Three-Point Contest

Field:

Eric Gordon, Devin Booker, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal, Paul George, Kyle Lowry, Wayne Ellington, Tobias Harris

I’m old enough to remember when this was the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest. Smh these millennials don’t know how good they have it. This feels like a weak field, even though it’s really not. Probably because Steph Curry isn’t here and Wayne Ellington and Tobias Harris are. Oh, well. Although I’m a big Dunk Contest stan, the three-point is more consistently entertaining. A bad three-point is infinitely better than a bad dunk contest. So, I’m sure this will wind up being pretty good, especially if Klay gets it going. Which he will.

Pick: Klay Thompson

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Verizon Slam Dunk

Field:

Victor Oladipo, Donovan Mitchell, Larry Nance, Jr., Dennis Smith, Jr.

I’m also old enough to remember when it was the Sprite Slam Dunk. R.I.P. old corporate sponsorships. Gone, but not forgotten. Apropos of nothing besides dreams of past Sprite Slam Dunks, the 2005 Dunk Contest might be the most underrated ever, both because of Josh Smith’s seemingly forgotten brilliance and the most “I wish Twitter was around for this” moment of my lifetime, Chris Andersen’s never-ending barrage of misses:

How about Magic declaring the Dunk Contest Back way back in 2005! Crazy that it’s been Back so many times since then. I’m actually pretty hyped for this year’s contest. Lot of freaky athletes here. I think any of the four could win (that’s what you call #analysis) but I’m going Dennis Smith, Jr. because I think he can jump the highest (more #analysis). Has there ever been a Dunk Contest with two juniors?

Pick: Dennis Smith, Jr.

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Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts Say There Was Tension in the Red Sox Clubhouse Last Season

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source– FORT MYERS, Fla. — For a team that won 93 games and a division title, the Boston Red Sox rarely seemed to be having any fun last year. Now, as they prepare for a new season with practically the same roster, two prominent players are admitting there were problems in the clubhouse.

Mookie Betts said Thursday that the 2017 Red Sox felt “tension in the locker room.” Xander Bogaerts took it further, describing “head-butts” and “disagreements” and expressing a need for the team to learn from the experience and go forward.

“I mean, we all know. We all know what was going on,” Bogaerts said. “I don’t think I really want to get into details. The quicker we move on is the better for all of us.”

The Red Sox spent 105 days in first place last season and won the American League East by two games over the surging New York Yankees. But they fell in the first round of the playoffs for a second consecutive year, absorbing a pair of 8-2 blowouts in the first two games against the Houston Astros and getting eliminated in Game 4 at Fenway Park.

Mini-controversies were ever present with the Red Sox last season.

In April, television cameras caught second baseman Dustin Pedroia shouting, “It’s not me, it’s them,” at Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado after Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes threw a pitch behind Machado’s head. Left-hander David Price screamed at a reporter in a hallway underneath Yankee Stadium in June then humiliated Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley on the team plane a month later for an innocuous comment during a TV broadcast. In August, a trainer was caught using a smartwatch to relay stolen signs to players.

“I think [there was] just tension in the locker room as far as if things were down,” Betts said. “We could have had more fun. Through the rough times, I think those are the times when we could have had a little more fun instead of being down so much.”

Said Bogaerts: “We had a lot of stuff going on last year, to be honest. We all live and learn. We can’t just sit back and keep reminding ourselves about the past. That’s not something we want to do.”

Uhhhhh, ya think?

Last season sucked for the Red Sox. As bad as a division-winning season could be. Chris Sale was the best pitcher in the league for the first half then just ran out of gas and got destroyed in the playoffs. David Price was hurt all year and his prickly relationship with the very prickly Boston media ruin what should have been a pretty inspirational return to the bullpen. Every week they had a new feud with a different team. I completely forgot about the stupid Apple Watch scandal. Everyone just seemed so out of it and so pouty and everything just sucked. Saying there was tension in the Red Sox clubhouse is like saying LeBron doesn’t like Isaiah Thomas.

But, I don’t know if you heard, but pitchers and catchers reported, which means all the problems go away. They also have a new manager, so now all the problems definitely go away. That’s how it works, right? I’m actually pretty pumped for Alex Cora to take over, but the only way anything changes is if the players actually start caring again. And let’s be honest- unless something crazy happens this team isn’t going to sniff the World Series. The Yankees, Astros, and Indians are all better than them, and the Red Sox big move is probably going to be signing Logan Morrison. Yipee. So, unlike last year, the expectations are pretty much gone. If they just become a fun team to watch and grab one of the Wild Card spots, I’d be perfectly happy with the season. But if this keeps snowballing and becomes Chicken and Beer, pt. 2, then I don’t see how they don’t make even more wholesale changes. Not to spoil my eventual MLB preview, but I’m of the mind that they’ll make the playoffs, if for no other reason than they have a manager with a brain. But, not to dip too far into the Boston talk show host waters, the Sox do a lot of bitching to the media. Maybe tone down the complaining just a little? The team needs a little more mental toughness to ever reach their potential, I don’t think that’s too warm of a take. I think Alex Cora can certainly help with that. If you’re actually enjoying yourself, odds are you’ll play better. But, at the same time, you shouldn’t need to be having fun to play well. If you’re a professional, you should be able to motivate yourself regardless of the situation and not then blame it on outside circumstances. Which is what a lot of Red Sox like to do. I don’t know, I feel like I’m already talking myself out of this season, which I definitely don’t want to do, so I’ll just stop.

TL;DR- Sox need to grow up.