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∗ Not long ago, the Red Sox were putting out feelers that they were in search of some offense to save their season, with a willingness to take on a bloated contract to facilitate a deal.
The talk may have been futile, given how hard it is to make a trade months before the deadline. Either way, the search has been called off.
“I haven’t heard a word about them adding,” said one major league executive. “Just selling.”
That makes sense. At this point, the Red Sox could have their pick of any two hitters in the game and it still wouldn’t salvage their season. The team has fallen too far behind to make up ground and the onset of injuries is unrelenting. It may be August before they get Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony back. The last thing they need is absorbing more dead money for someone whose impact will be minimal.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has said the Sox haven’t made a decision on which way they’ll go. But it’s likely that won’t be Breslow’s call in the first place. And everyone knows the Red Sox will be open for business.
The only decision still to be made: how aggressive and complete the sell-off will be.
∗ Giving up two first-round picks was a high price for the Bruins to pay for forward JJ Peterka, but a gamble worth taking.
Selecting 23rd, the Bruins weren’t going to land anybody who could help them this year, or, likely, next year either. And given how competitive the NHL’s Atlantic Division is and how much the other teams have improved in the last month, the B’s faced the very real possibility of losing ground after a significant step forward last season.
There are some red flags with Peterka, including the fact that he’s on his third team in three seasons. But he’s 24, is under control for four more seasons and has the speed and skating ability that too many B’s forwards lack.
∗ Brad Stevens deserves some credit. The Celtics president of baseball operations could have blamed the media for spreading unsubstantiated trade rumors when it comes to Jaylen Brown. Instead, Stevens tacitly acknowledged that the Celts had indeed engaged in trade discussions involving Brown and spoke about how he had “candid” conversations with his star player to keep the lines of communication open.
See? It’s not that hard to tell the truth. It doesn’t require betraying someone’s confidence or offering private details.
∗ That said, Stevens now has his work cut out for him. His efforts to move Brown as part of a package for Giannis Antetokounmpo ultimately failed, and now Brown is awkwardly part of a team that tried to unload him.
All of which brings to mind the failed Alex Rodriguez talks, which would have had the Red Sox trading Manny Ramirez and Jon Lester for ARod, with another deal sending Nomar Garciaparra to the White Sox for Magglio Ordonez. Neither happened. But it’s worth noting that Garciaparra was dealt seven months later and Ramirez was shipped out five years later.
It may be tough for Stevens to put the genie back in the bottle.
∗ Jaren Duran is going to have to learn to ignore whatever it is fans are shouting at him — however distasteful those remarks are. Duran does himself — and his team — no favors when he engages. Let ballpark security handle things.
∗ It’s hard to know what was more disturbing: The insubordination shown by Rafael Devers as he initially refused to come out of a game in favor of a pinch runner or San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello’s pathetic response to the act, who, in the aftermath, said: “I don’t have a problem with Raffy.”
Devers continues to show himself as highly immature and entitled, and yet his selfish behavior is indulged.
∗ You sort of get the feeling that The Athletic is not going to end up looking good in its investigation of Dianne Russini’s behavior. Never mind her personal conduct; stories of Russini using her influence and contacts — FaceTiming an NFL coach in an effort to avoid getting a traffic ticket, for one — don’t reflect well on her or her employer.
∗ The folks behind 162-0.net have created a fun site for baseball fans who fancy themselves general managers. The idea is to build a nine-man starting lineup across the decades after teams pop up randomly on your screen. Warning: this can be extremely habit-forming.
∗ It amazes me that some trades have taken place in the NBA in the last week that include draft picks some seven seasons down the road. What are the odds that the GMs making those deals are around to cash the draft capital they’re acquiring?
∗ So if I’ve got this straight...Jazz Chisholm Jr. believes in taking lollipops with him out into the field, but not a protective cup?
∗ Team executives are fair game when it comes to criticism and evaluations of the job they’ve done, and there’s nothing wrong with pointed and direct questions. But when some local radio hosts openly mock their guests on-air and go for cheap laughs at their expense, it ceases to be informative. And it’s certainly not admirable.
∗ As long as Arte Moreno is around, the Red Sox will never be the worst run team in the American League.
The Angels fired GM Perry Minasian, which wasn’t totally unreasonable given the team’s performance during his tenure. But what emerged in the aftermath is that his interim replacement, former St. Louis GM John Mozeliak, had been working behind the scenes with the team for “weeks” before being officially appointed Friday.
Mozeliak’s then revealed that he’d yet to meet with Moreno. Meanwhile, when the news was announced Friday, the Angels didn’t have Moreno, Mozeliak or team president Molly Jolly available to the media. It was left for manager Kurt Suzuki — famously hired on a one-year deal last winter — to take questions from reporters.
Is it really a surprise that this team is about to have its 12th straight season out of the playoffs?
∗ Congratulations and best of luck to Jimmy Golen, who’s retiring after more than 30 years with the Associated Press sports bureau in Boston.
More Red Sox coverage
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- Experts release Yankees vs. Red Sox Sunday Night Baseball prediction after Grey, Rodón matchup confirmed
- Red Sox’ Jarren Duran on fan verbal altercation: ‘Nothing happened’
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