*Have the Red Sox learned their lesson?
After being either unable or unwilling to retain their own top homegrown players — good morning to you, Marcus Lynn “Mookie” Betts — the Sox have taken a far more aggressive approach of late to signing their top young talent.
When Craig Breslow was hired as chief baseball officer, he prioritized changing the narrative. Last year, in the span of a few weeks, he extended pitcher Brayan Bello (six years, $55 million) and weeks later, did the same with outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela (eight years, $55 million).
In each case, Breslow bought the Sox some cost certainty for years to come and also successfully bought out several years of free agency for both players.
Now, it would seem, the Red Sox are on the verge of doing it again. As MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported Saturday, the Sox are deep in discussions on an extension with Kristian Campbell, which would make three members of the team’s young core secured for the near future.
Remember: the risk to the team is almost negligible on these deals. Bello’s AAV (annual average value) is a tick over $9 million annually. Contrast that with what pitchers get on the open market and it’s obvious how little liability there is for the club. Even if Bello doesn’t progress one bit over the next few years, the Red Sox have, at minimum, a league-average starter for well below-market value.
The same can be said for Rafaela, who, like Bello, is an unfinished product. But his speed, defensive skill and throwing arm are already all plus or plus-plus tools at the cost of less than $7 million annually.
Those kinds of figures can be absorbed easily for a team with the Red Sox resources. And now comes Campbell, whose future is filled with promise and versatility.
There’s another benefit to these kind of commitments: they send a message to others in the organization that the Red Sox are willing to commit to their best, homegrown players.
And that, having been stung before by allowing great talents like Betts to leave, they’re doing everything they can to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
*Two words on the prospect of the Bruins hiring John Tortorella as their next head coach: God, no.
Tortorella is a walking soap opera, creating drama everywhere he’s gone, including, just recently, Philadelphia.
He makes himself the story and ignites feuds with everyone in his path — players and media. The talk shows would love him and he’d supply sound bites almost daily. But he’s the last thing a rebuilding Bruins team needs.
Sure, he won a Cup — but that was better than 20 years ago. The game has changed. Tortorella hasn’t.
Hard pass.
*I get a kick out of draftniks getting all worked up about the length of an offensive lineman’s arms. Are teams looking to protect the quarterback or running a tailor’s shop?
*Lookalikes: new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm and comedian Bill Engvall. Check it out.
*If the fact that the Red Sox — and other teams — now have four or five different uniforms bothers you, here’s some advice: don’t buy one. Don’t buy one for your kids or grandkids. It only encourages them.
*When Don Sweeney and Cam Neely say the Bruins aren’t in need of a rebuild, you have to ask: Are they, like, watching the games?
The Bruins just finished up a miserable road trip that saw them lose to both Anaheim and San Jose, arguably the two worst teams in the league — non-Bruins division.
They’ve lost eight straight, and were outscored by a combined margin of (23-7) on their recent five-game road trip. They’ve ceased being competitive.
*It’s a pleasure watching Rafaela play center field, and in particular, his throws from the outfield. On Friday night, he gunned down a baserunner at third, and a little later, uncorked a near-perfect throw to the plate which reached Connor Wong on one hop.
Rafaela’s arm isn’t just incredibly strong, but also, astoundingly accurate. You don’t often see those two qualities together.
*Now that they have Stefon Diggs signed, sealed and delivered, the Patriots almost have to go with a left tackle with their first pick, no? The defense has been sufficiently built up, they have a true weapon for Drake Maye, and now they need someone who can keep the quarterback upright. The only question is whether they can drop back in the first round and pick up some extra draft capital in the process.
*The recent injuries to Jaylen Brown (knee) and Jayson Tatus (ankle) aren’t of much concern on the final weekend of March.
But these are exactly the kind of things that can linger if not treated properly. Rest them both now. The Celtics are essentially locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, unable to move up or down in the standings. No sense pushing either of the Jays the rest of the way.
*The first week of the baseball season isn’t even complete and already, I’m sick of the “This-could-be-the-last-year-baseball-is-on-ESPN” narrative.
*It’s only been three games, but the Red Sox’ defensive play in the early going has been encouraging.
The infield is turning double plays, Alex Bregman is showing far more range that Rafael Devers at third, and the outfield play was already stellar.
If the Red Sox can keep the mistakes to a minimum and not hand opponents extra outs most nights as they too often did in recent seasons, it will be far easier for them to compete in the division. They don’t need Gold Glove play at every position — just the ability to turn the majority of balls in play into outs.
So far, so good. The only error through the first two games was not really an error (catcher’s interference by Carlos Narvaez) at all.
*It’s been going on for decades, but the idea that the NHL allows teams to add top college players to their roster with two weeks before the end of the season is just downright bizarre.
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