The weekend trade/salary dump by the Red Sox is still the topic of conversation, and attention is turning to how the future will play out for this franchise. What will the 2013 Red Sox look like, who will be the manager, and will they even be competitive?
Where do Red Sox go from here? A challenging reload — but not a rebuild — awaits – As usual, Alex Speier goes deep, look at every area of the team and what options they have.
Red Sox just getting started? – Joe McDonald thinks at the team is only getting started in making changes, but that Bobby Valentine might just survive it all.
Red Sox will make culture change with blockbuster deal – Sean McAdam says that the Sox need to avoid trying for the quick fix.
The most ridiculous thing I saw all weekend was in the Globe Sunday Baseball notes from Nick Cafardo:
Adrian Gonzalez’s comments to ESPNdeportes.com are laughable: “In Boston, there is always a novel — in here, they never talk about baseball; it’s always the same. That’s one of the reasons why I almost never talk to the press here. Very few times they ask me about baseball. But most of the time it’s about gossip, rumors, plots, well . . . a soap opera.” A soap opera created by whom? The media, or by you, Adrian, and your partners in crime?
What’s laughable is that Cafardo and some of this comrades are unable to see that Gonzalez is exactly right. Baseball in many ways for much of the media has become secondary to whatever drama or soap opera can be crafted to fill time on sports radio or generate an appearance on CSNNE or NESN to talk about said drama. Are the players blameless for these dramas? Of course not, but the media takes these things, runs with them and turns them into 10-times whatever they were to begin with.
The Patriots locked in the second half for their tight end duo by coming to terms with Aaron Hernandez on a reported 5-year, $40 million extension which is tacked onto the end of his rookie contract, which still has this season and next to run.
Hernandez signs 5-year extension with Patriots – Tom E Curran looks at the Patriots keeping their dynamic dup intact.
It’s also the first cutdown day for the Patriots, who need to be down to 75 players by 4:00pm. Donte Stallworth is among those who have been cut already, shredding my notion that the Patriots would keep both he and Deion Branch on the final roster.
Breaking the news – Mark Farinella says that you can’t possibly expect to get real news from house organ media outlets like NESN and Kraft Sports Productions.
Why does Belichick trust this man? – After three preseason games, Hector Longo is demanding the head of Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Boston Sports Media Watch 
Here’s a Dino Reverse-Tease from this morning…”after the break a special guest…Lennie Claaaahhk will be with us..”
How bad is Lennie? I’d rather listen to Mut & Merloni.
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And what was the genesis of the Red Sox issues, in the perpetually unchanging mind of one Mr. T. Mazz?
“So Gonzalez goes and the Red Sox still have not won a playoff game since”…..
(wait for it…..)
(WAIT FOR IT…………….)
“they let Mark Teixeira walk out of that room in Texas.”
In completely unrelated news, when Tony Mazz listens to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (the album), he skips all the songs and mainly listens to the run-out track (with the gibberish and such)… because it’s the only track on the album that he knows WILL PLAY FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER UNCEASINGLY UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD NEVER ONCE STOPPING WITH ITS GIBBERISH AND PRATTLING AND NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, CHANGING ITS TUNE OR ITS MESSAGE.
Then he makes a Mark Teixeira reference.
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So, as the talk continues on the “Herschel Walker” of MLB trades, but its interesting to look back at the media part. Since part of this has turned to the media, are they responsible for drumming things up? Why is that? Does it happen in NY? LA? Chicago? Why or why not? Is it just the dynamic here that creates this? Other large markets have 2 major sports networks, 2 major radio stations, and 2 major competing papers, before you get into all the Internet/smaller/national oddities.
However, in all seriousness, isn’t it a job of a professional to know that a big contract in a big market means big expectations? I mean short of media members stalking/dumpster diving where you’re getting into something extreme? I think CHB put it best on Sports Sunday last night: Some seem to think that people stop caring here once you sign a big contract and put up good numbers, even if you’re not winning.
Mike Reiss’ take:
http://es.pn/OmWqrD
@ESPNBoston: Video -What TE deals mean 4 Welker, who will b closing on 32 when sides can finalize deal http://es.pn/SIE9JJ
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Okay… reality time. When the Pats let Seymour go rather than break the bank they felt that with Wilfork, Ty Warren and other young DL’s they could replace/get by without Seymour. In fact for the most part they were right. The issues really came with the aging linebackers, unable to generate edge pressure in the 3/4 coupled with some incredibly bad DB drafting.
If you want to have an issue to worry about try this. Josh McDaniels scares the poop out of me. He is intent on getting the ball down the field to the outside receivers (Brandon Llyodd). As such he is forcing the OL to hold pass blocks longer than they were doing last year under Billy O, who used the TEs and welker to own the middle of the field. Those were all quick developing plays, with a lot of them coming off play action. Daniels did this in 2007, and it was only exposed by the Giants who could get up the fireld before Moss could get down it. I did not like the offense then and I am not liking it now. McDaniels is reintroducing the screen, which is great for countering blitzes but every pass to Ridley or Vereen is one less ball heading the Gronk and Hernandez. Let’s hope the preseason offense has been designed to evaluate players because the lack of balls thrown at the TE’s and Slot receivers in favor of getting the ball down the field and to the edge is more than troubling. It reeks of stubbornness.
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I think you’re reading too much into preseason offensive schemes as they relate to regular season offenses. The offense has, indeed, been working mainly on perimeter routes and screens. But this isn’t a team putting in a brand new offense after a coaching change, and having to adapt all the players to the new system. It’s a mature team that’s contending for a Super Bowl. They work on weaknesses in the preseason, not on an overall offense.
Case in point: look at last year’s preseason. The offense worked the running game hard in the preseason. Commentary then: “oh, the Pats are moving more towards a Giants-style ground & pound offense to take the pressure off Brady”. In truth: team was running in order to establish basic competence in run blocking, such that those play action passes that opened up the middle would actually be effective.
You see Jahsh going away from what worked last year. I see Jahsh practicing techniques that can help negate the blitz, which was the best way to get the Pats off the field last year. I think you’re overly concerned here. But I guess we’ll see in a couple of weeks…
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The only difference, Dave, is I was worried about McDaniels offense last time around. I am still not sure how he escaped the SB without being the villain. The Defense did collapse down the stretch in 2007…but I maintain that the Pats win that game going away if McDaniels does not try and force the ball to Moss the whole first half. They just needed to control the clock and shorten the game. Anyway, you are right, we will see what happens.
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You didn’t like the offense in 2007? Wow… that was one of the greatest offenses of all time. If Brady doesn’t bust up his foot in the AFC Championship game… they win it all. You can take issue with the SB game plan but to make the sweeping comment that McDaniels offense was the issue is a bit much. That offense got him a HC job, set records… and so on.
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I had no problem with the offense. I had issues with the way Josh McDaniel’s called it the last 4 games of the regular season and all through the playoffs. His reliance on Moss at the expense of the “open” receiver I believe cost them that SB. It made both Giants games way closer than they had to be mostly because they scored too fast, which forced the defense to play too much and get tired down the stretch. In any event we will see how McDaniels calls games and we will see if I am right or wrong this year.
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Media hacks are fond of eagerly holding the firehose, but they turn apoplectic when that firehose is turned around and pointed at them. You see ‘thin skinned’ whining in spades from these media hacks because they simply hate losing the ‘high ground.’
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Why does this Hernandez signing have to have ANYTHING to do with Welker’s status? He’s playing under the franchise tag this season. That case is closed. If they want, I believe the Patriots can franchise him again next year rather than give him a long-term deal. If Welker opts not to sign the tender, then he doesn’t play or get paid for 2013. This media meme about “What does the Hernandez signing mean for Welker?” is driving me nuts today. It seems as though the media are trying to turn what should be a positive story (locking up both young stud TEs long term) into a negative by dragging Welker’s “situation” into it. I don’t know which key players on the roster are due for free agency after the 2012 season, and so I don’t know if the Pats would be tempted to use the franchise tag on someone other than Welker, but it would seem to me that right now all of their key players on both sides of the ball (except Welker) are tied up for the long term, which means that the franchise tag for Welker in 2013 is a plausible scenario. Can’t any positive development down in Foxboro–and locking up #81 for the long term surely is a positive development–be treated as such by the media? Does everything have to have a negative spin attached to it? Patriots’ season is by far the worst time of the year for sports media consumers in this town if you ask me.
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