For MLB fans

[Hulky]

would they extend Betts or is this a rental

[Gryph]

would they extend Betts or is this a rental

I have a feeling it was mostly the same with Chapman and the Yankees - Cubs. Where management explained like "Hey, this needs to happen and we want you here. Help these guys win so you can help us win tomorrow, go try to get this world series and then we can do our business" kinda things. Then Chapman resigned the next year.

If it was to go Boston's dream scenario the following would need to happen :
--JD Martinez goes off and is dealt at the deadline to a DH needing contender for more salary dump
He brings back either a highly touted pitching prospect or a few dart throw 1-2 year away guys / Backend bullpen guys [Hader possibly?]

--Jackie Bradley is traded for another prospect

--Triston Casas and Bryan Mata DESTROY the minors and get called up

--Red Sox, now under luxury tax enter 2020/21 season with a 300 million dollar centerpiece, very little dead money, and a restructured rotation and begin contending again

[Achilles]

Mookie hated Boston. David Price REALLY hated Boston. Like very openly in our media. The Red Sox fucked up. They signed price for waaaay too much money, and he fucking despised living here. The Boston sports media is more cut throat than any sports market in the nation and I'll eat my hat if you can prove me wrong. Athletes and managers are on record saying it fucking blows working here because it's championship or bust in Boston. Since 2000 I've seen six super bowl wins across nine appearances, four world series wins, one stanley cup across three appearances, and one NBA title across two appearances. I remember saying something bitching about the Red Sox and Hugh was like "you're only thirty and uou've seen four world series titles."

So Mookie and Price fucking hated it here. When Price came here he'd never won a post season game. The people here absolutely impaled him because he blew his first season and only came here for the money.

I ain't saying it's right, but if you come to Boston either win or go home. That isn't my feeling, it's just my observation on the culture here.

[Achilles]

Not for nothing either, but when my dad was eight there wasn't a single year the Celtics had not won the NBA Championship since he was born. If you come here as an athlete in any sport... good luck.

I would not want to come here if I was a pro athlete. That's why Mookie is gone and the Red Sox ate half of Price's historically high salary.

[Hugh]

Yeah I can see that. There’s no denying Boston is the king of the hill in pro sports. I’d have an easier time trying to prove Shaq is a Korean dwarf. It would be hard enough trying to stay mentally and emotionally focused throughout a 200 game, 9 month baseball season. Doing it in front of the toughest fans in baseball is something I can see a lot of players just not wanting to sign up for. Especially since baseball teams don’t really stick together anyway. Players get moved around so much practically everyone is an extended slump away from a new city.
The Mariners suck, and have forever, but we have a beautiful stadium WITH a retractable roof ( no rainouts) good fans, plenty of money and no expectations. People here love the Mariners and we never win. Why not make a shitload of money playing here with no pressure? I mean there’s pressure to perform but nothing like with the Red Sox or Yankees.
Of course you’re never going to win anything here but if you do you’ll be a fucking hero for eternity.
Seriously Edgar Martinez is royalty here. The guy could commit murder on the top of the space needle and not get convicted. He was a career DH who hit a double in the NLCS once and a couple of batting titles. I mean I loved him too but Jesus.

[Hulky]

pretty sure Price won at least one playoff game in Tampa like they did make the WS Im assuming he won a game and I'm pretty sure he won one that year with him Josh Donaldson and Edwin in Toronto

[Achilles]

Price hadn't won a playoff game until a few years into his tenure in Boston. The entire media rhetoric around him here until we won in 2018 is how did this prolific post season choke get this much money.

He was also out for weeks because he, and he's on record saying this, "injures himself playing Overwatch." The reason the Red Sox ate half his salary and included him in the trade is he was just like a cancer in the club house. It was something in the news he was bitching about every day. It was super well known from the onset that he hated Boston. He only came here for the money and literally did nothing but constantly bitch to tbe media.

[Gryph]

Boston fans kinda set their sights a little too high when it came to him to be honest. They were expecting 1968 Bob Gibson, and instead got someone who went 46-24 with a 3.66 era while he was there, won game 5 of the world series, shutting down the Dodgers for 7 innings. If he did that with 28 other clubs, he'd probably still be there.

2016 : 17-9 / 3.99 Era, 35 starts [Ran into the buzzsaw that was the Indians, who went like 41-5 at one point in the season or something insane like that]

2017 : He yells at Eckersley [who is a known cocksucker] team mates applaud him on plane, he injures his elbow, goes to bullpen, shuts down Astros in ALDS 6 1/3rd scoreless and pitched on 3 days rest out of the bullpen later in the series. He refuses to apologize to Eck and gets skewered by fans and media

2018 : 16-7 3.58era, Eckersley bullshit blows out of proportion, media and fans attack him again, he gets blown up by the Yankees [who always hit him hard] then bails out the team on 3 days rest against the Astros when Sale got scratched.

If you remove the one indians and yankees starts, he was 5-7 with a 3.01 Era in the postseason. If it wasn't for Eckersley and his shitty attitude he'd still be a Red Sox and wouldn't have a problem. And it all started because he stood up for his team mate [Eduardo Rodriguez] who Eckersley was insulting on the team plane. And then Eck decided to tweet about it and blow it completely out of proportion. his locker room problems as a cancer was because of Farrel, and they latched onto Price as a lynchpin media wise, when the majority of it was just him not putting up with bullshit. I don't blame him for hating it there

[Spencer 555]

To be fair, we heard plenty of shit about him hating boston since his tampa days when he was in Toronto. I was shocked he signed with the red sox, and fully agree it was for the money.

But from my perspective, he performed adequately to the level of his contract for most teams, and for the most part I think the drama was overblown.

Betts on the other hand is pretty insane to me. I think this trade was a clear ship by your owner. "Get these guys off the team now". Ive never heard of a team trading an mvp caliber player AND an adequate #3 starter on a big contract for practically nothing while also eating some of the contract.

[Gryph]

To be fair, we heard plenty of shit about him hating boston since his tampa days when he was in Toronto. I was shocked he signed with the red sox, and fully agree it was for the money.

But from my perspective, he performed adequately to the level of his contract for most teams, and for the most part I think the drama was overblown.

Betts on the other hand is pretty insane to me. I think this trade was a clear ship by your owner. "Get these guys off the team now". Ive never heard of a team trading an mvp caliber player AND an adequate #3 starter on a big contract for practically nothing while also eating some of the contract.

I forget how many years it is before MLB docks funds from Intl' pool money for being over the luxury tax, but I'm pretty sure the Red Sox were like, this year and that's it close to it. They were at like +50% tax rate