Media Movement All Over The Place

Posted by Bruce August 15, 2008 (6 days ago) at 8:30 am

Last night we learned about the changes at the Globe, which included Tony Massarotti moving over from the Herald, and Chad Finn earning himself a sweet promotion.

This morning, David Scott has more on the move, but also reports on new hires at weei.com, which include Jeff Goodman, Alex Speier and wait for it…Ron Borges.

Ron Borges? 

Seriously? Ken Powers wasn’t available? Mike Barnicle turned them down? Patricia Smith wasn’t interested?

My interest and enthusiasm in their new venture just sunk considerably. They were doing things right all the way up until that point. Michael Felger, Rob Bradford, Goodman and Speier are all relatively young guys who understand how things work in the new age of sportswriting. For the most part they have a fresh perspective on things, and don’t stir up stuff just to get noticed (well, except for Felger.)

Borges throws all that out the window. The quotes from Dennis and Callahan in Scott’s piece are just nauseating. Yeah, I’m sure Bill Belichick is shaking in his shoes at the thought of Borges back in Foxboro. That’s provided of course that he knows how to get there. He hasn’t been seen down there in a long time, even before his (wink wink) retirement from the Globe.

I had high hopes for this new weei.com. Borges just about kills it for me. You hire him, you lose your credibility. Simple as that.

Bad move, guys.

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The Red Sox hitters are surely sorry to see the Texas Rangers pitchers leave town. Boston finished off the sweep of the Rangers with a 10-0 victory at Fenway Park last night. The Red Sox scored 37 runs in 3 games off the Rangers…

Globe beat reporter Amalie Benjamin has the game story. Jeff Horrigan has the Red Sox continuing their hot hitting since the Manny Ramirez trade. Paul Kenyon has the Red Sox finishing off their roundup of the Rangers. Jeff Goldberg has Daisuke Matsuzaka once again letting the runners on, and once again not letting them score. Bob Stern has the Red Sox pounding the Rangers one more time. Garry Brown has more on the demolition at Fenway. Phil O’Neill has another big inning leading the way for Boston.

Tony Massarotti has David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis proving to be a formidable 3-3 combination. Barbara Matson has Ortiz especially sorry to see the Rangers go. Ortiz has regain his power stroke in this series, and even enjoyed an early departure last night. Still, I can’t help but remember the reaction from the media when Pedro Martinez left the ballpark early after a start. I’ve got absolutely no problem with Ortiz (or Pedro) going home early, but it’s interesting to note the difference in reaction. Steven Krasner analyzes the lack of success by the Rangers pitching in this series. Massarotti says that the Blue Jays will provide a much stiffer test for the Boston bats.

Marty Dobrow has a minor league notebook in the Globe, and examines a rash of oblique strains in the Red Sox organization. Rich Thompson’s minor league notebook has Bartolo Colon on the road back to the majors.

Benjamin’s notebook has Jon Lester trying to help out Clay Buchholz. Horrigan’s notebook has Dice-K once again walking a tightrope last night. The ProJo notebook has more on Matsuzaka. Goldberg’s notebook says that Kevin Youkilis is making a case for league MVP. Brown’s notebook has Paul Byrd getting ready for his first Red Sox start tonight. O’Neill’s notebook also makes the case for Youkilis as AL MVP.

Patriots

Over on Patriots Daily, Scott Benson examines whether the Patriots can or will carry five running backs on their roster.

Christopher L. Gasper has a look at the Patriots signing of veteran safety John Lynch. Christopher Price has more on the Lynch signing. Carolyn Thornton says that Lynch could end up being a big presence in the Patriots secondary. Eric McHugh thinks Lynch should fit well here. Jennifer Toland writes that Lynch could fill the void left by Tank Williams being placed on IR. Mark Farinella looks at this year’s carbon-dated addition to the Patriots roster.

Karen Guregian says that adding Dom Capers to the coaching staff might be the best move the Patriots made in the offseason. Thornton has rookie QB Kevin O’Connell doing all he can to learn from Tom Brady. Guregian has more on the rookie learning how to play the position in his first NFL camp. Farinella has a look at Kenny Smith, who gets a feature written about him for the second day in a row. Thompson has punter Chris Hanson secure in his role with the team.

Price tells us what to watch for during Sunday night’s game. Ian M. Clark has a Ruud family reunion on tap for Sunday night. Mike McMahon looks at former Boston Patriot Daryl Johnson going into the Morgan State Hall of Fame.

Gasper’s notebook has Jason Webster getting close to returning to action for the Patriots. Guregian’s notebook has more on the signing of Lynch. Toland’s notebook has Dean Pees talking about some of his young players on defense. McHugh’s notebook examines the impact on he safety depth chart that the Lynch signing will have.

Misc

Steve Bulpett and Marc J. Spears report on the Celtics signing first round pick J.R. Giddens.

Spears also has the United States’ men’s basketball team taking care of business with Greece yesterday.

Mark Blaudschun has a media column on NBC Sports reporter Bob Neumeier. Neumy mentions that WEEI wasn’t “fair” in their contract offer to him, which is why he left his show with Dale Arnold.  

There’s a Bay playing ball in Olympics

Posted by Mark Newman August 7, 2008 (2 weeks ago) at 10:00 am Her name is Lauren Bay Regula, pitcher for Canada's women's softball team and sister of new Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay. While Jennie Finch of the U.S. team has been commanding most of the pre-Games attention over softball, it's probably a good idea to get to know this left-hander.

Pregame notes: Lugo on the mend

Posted by Projo Sox Blog August 2, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 6:46 pm By Joe McDonald Journal Sports Writer BOSTON _ Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo ran for the first time today since he suffered a quadriceps injury on July 12. He was in the clubhouse earlier today with an ice pack around...

Rehab for Colon, Aardsma

Posted by Projo Sox Blog August 2, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 5:43 pm By STEVEN KRASNER Journal Sports Writer BOSTON -- Bartolo Colon threw a side session Saturday afternoon, his second in the last three days, and is set to rejoin the Pawtucket Red Sox for a rehabilitation stint. The veteran right-hander, who...

Bay: new to Fenway, but not to Red Sox Nation

Posted by NECN - Sports August 1, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 4:36 pm

(NECN) - Jason Bay may be new to the Boston Red Sox, but he's no stranger to the Sox fan base. He grew up in it.

"I had a Red Sox onesie when I was growing up," the Britich Columbia native told reporters, noting that his father was a diehard Sox fan.

In his bedroom as a kid? Posters of Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski.

And Bay remembers his only trip to Fenway as a member of the Red Sox, for the atmosphere - and the rendition of 'Sweet Caroline'. He noted the atmosphere between Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, where the Pirates visited on the trip, was totally different.

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Theo, Tito say Bay is a great fit

Posted by NECN - Sports August 1, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 4:22 pm

(NECN) - Red Sox Manager Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein held a press conference to discuss the recent block buster trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It also sent Sox outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the three team-deal, the Red Sox acquired outfielder Jason Bay from the Pirates. Bay will be introduced Friday night against the Oakland A's. Bay will be hitting in the number 5 spot, behind Mike Lowell.

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Bay: ‘I’m not going to be Manny’

Posted by NECN - Sports August 1, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 4:12 pm

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - "Fire away."

With those two words, Jason Bay met the Boston media for the first time in a Fenway Park news conference as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Bay says he arrived in Boston after a "sleepless" night, finding out only after the trade deadline passed at 4 p.m. that he had actually been shipped to Boston.

"I didn't know anything more than what everyone was writing," Bay told reporters about how he followed a day that had him reportedly shipped to Tampa at mid-afternoon, before the Boston trade was finalized.

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Francona: Team already looking ahead after trade

Posted by NECN - Sports August 1, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 4:09 pm

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - Prior to introducing jason bay as the newest member of the Boston Red Sox, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona met the media, and for the first time, Frnacona acknowledged that his team had lost its focus before the trade of Manny Ramirez. But he said the team was already looking ahead in a Friday afternoon team meeting.

"We discussed how we're going to go forward," Francona said of the meeting. "I thought it was an exciting time to stand in fromt of your players and feel like that."

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Epstein: Now we feel like a team

Posted by NECN - Sports August 1, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 4:07 pm

(NECN) - Red Sox Manager Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein held a press conference to discuss the recent block buster trade that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It also sent Sox outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the three team-deal, the Red Sox acquired outfielder Jason Bay from the Pirates. Bay will be introduced Friday night against the Oakland A's. Bay will be hitting in the number 5 spot, behind Mike Lowell.

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Still Feels the Same

Posted by Mike Giardi August 1, 2008 (3 weeks ago) at 8:07 am

So I’ve had a night to sleep on what the Sox did late yesterday afternoon. And my gut feeling now is the same as then: Theo had to do it, but boy, this deal sure reeks of desperation and looks not lopsided, but at least heavily listing in the Dodgers and Pirates favor.

At what point during all of this did you think the Sox would have to include two Major Leaguers (Hansen and Moss), and two draft picks that would have been in the top 40 (when the Sox offered Manny arbitration at the end of the season) and the 7 million dollars all to make sure Manny wasn’t in that clubhouse this afternoon?

You keep hearing addition by subtraction, and having been in that locker room this last week, there’s no question there’s validity to that comment. But now there are no more excuses, except for that inconsistent bullpen. The onus shifts directly onto the players, their manager, and - if this goes poorly - GM Theo Epstein and the ownership that green-lighted such a move. Not a comfortable spot to be in, especially in this ravenous region, but that’s why they get paid the big bucks. As I wrote sometime in the last 36 hours, this is another career-making trade for Theo, and despite the discontent with Manny over these last two months, fans and some in the media will write revisionist history should the season continue to go south.

Me, I continue to believe that the Sox may not be as talented an offensive team as they were the last time Francona wrote out the lineup card, but at least the clubhouse won’t have that festering stench caused by the sullen slugger. That could be huge, mentally, going forward. No more wondering if Manny will ask out of the lineup, or, like he did last Friday, ask to go on the DL with knees that checked out a-okay. No more having to look the other way when he jakes it down the first base line on a ground ball, like he did during Lackey’s near no-no. That almost caused both Dustin Pedroia and Terry Francona’s heads to simultaneously implode.

But the flip side is losing one of the best hitters in franchise - in baseball - history. Jason Bay can’t replace that, can he? Bay and Manny’s numbers are comparable, but until we see how the former Buc responds in this atmosphere, we still can’t answer the question: just how desperate was this deal?

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