August 8, 2025

Roman Anthony Agrees To 8/130 Extension; Two Actual Nicknames!

 

The Red Sox signed outfielder Roman Anthony to an eight-year extension worth $130 million.

Anthony, who turned 21 in May, made his debut on June 9. In 47 games, he's slashing .276/.392/.417 for an .809 OPS (126+ OPS, 5th best on the team). His .392 on-base is tops on the team.

Molly Burkhardt (mlb.com) reports:

The extension will begin with the 2026 season and includes escalators that could bring the overall value up to $230 million. The deal includes a 2034 club option for $30 million, as well as escalators for a 1st or 2nd place Rookie of the Year finish, MVP finish (1st-10th) and All-Star selections . . .

Anthony hit .329/.452/.494/.946 in July. He debuted with #48, but now wears #19.

Note: Anthony was born on May 13, 2004. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays and I posted some proto-MUMS.


Nicknames were all the rage during this blog's gamethread heyday, roughly 2007-2011. Most nicknames "these days" (and back then, also) lack even a dash of creativity; slap a "y" to the player's last name or a section thereof and that's it. Those probably shouldn't even be called "nicknames". The Red Sox have a pair of brothers in the minor leagues with excellent (and connected) nicknames.

Worcester (AAA)'s Jhostynxon Alirio Garcia, known as "The Password". B-Ref offers this pronounciation tip: \JOES-tin-son\. Johanfran Garcia, his younger brother (by two years), is currently with Greenville (High A) and has been dubbed "The Username".


In the PCL yesterday, the Salt Lake Bees scored in all eight innings, beating the Las Vegas Aviators 15-12.

Aviators - 021 351 000 - 12 13  1
Bees - 211 142 22x - 15 16  1

August 6, 2025

Schadenfreude 364 (A Continuing Series)

Monday

Texas 8, DAAAYANKEESLOSE 5 (10)
Greg Joyce, Post
When the Yankees acquired two closers at the deadline, they recommitted to Devin Williams as their ninth-inning guy.

Less than a week later, that job is more up for grabs.

A night after Williams blew a save and gave up a run for the fifth time in his last seven outings, Aaron Boone indicated he would be more fluid with who his closer is on a given night.

"A little more open to using some other guys," Boone said Tuesday at Globe Life Field.
Could the MFY be considering . . . closer by committee?
Erich Richter
Devin Williams' time as the Yankees' closer appears to be on thin ice.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was noncommittal when asked about Williams' hold on the closer role after he blew another save on Monday, surrendering a game-tying home run to the Rangers' Joc Pederson

"We'll talk about that," Boone said in an appearance on Talkin' Yanks on Tuesday. . . .

Boone added that his new bullpen pieces, who each closed for other teams before the trade deadline, could be a part of the solution in The Bronx. . . .

Williams did not seem as concerned on Monday about his performance despite his second consecutive blown save, which marked the fifth time in his last seven appearances he has allowed at least one run.

"It was just the one pitch that hurt me. Other than that, I executed my pitches," Williams said after the game.
Greg Joyce
One-third of the Yankees' trade deadline bullpen haul is headed for Triple-A.

The Yankees optioned Jake Bird to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday morning, a day after he gave up a walk-off three-run home run to Josh Jung in a brutal 8-5, 10-inning loss to the Rangers on Monday night.

It marked the second time in three outings since he was acquired from the Rockies that Bird got beat up in a harsh introduction to the Yankees.

He also gave up a grand slam to Kyle Stowers on Friday night in Miami, helping to blow a 9-4 lead on the way to a 13-12 loss. . . .

The early struggles for Bird were just a continuation of what was a rough month of July. . . . [I]n his last eight games as a Rockie, the 29-year-old got tagged for 14 earned runs (with three home runs) across 5.1 innings, good for a 23.63 ERA.
Tuesday
Texas 2, DAAAYANKEESLOSE 0

How It Started

How It's Going

Greg Joyce, Post
Not even Aaron Judge's return could act as a human defibrillator for the Yankees.

Because with the game on the line late for the second straight night, Aaron Boone again turned to Devin Williams, and once again the reliever could not come through in the biggest of moments.

A night after he gave up the game-tying home run in the ninth inning, Williams entered a scoreless game in the eighth inning and gave up a pair of runs that sunk the Yankees in their fifth straight loss, 2-0 to the Rangers . . .

"I mean, I don't really know what to say at this point," said Williams, who has given up a run in six of his past eight outings. . . .

If the Yankees [falling to 25-34 since May 28] get swept by losing Wednesday's series finale, they would fly home out of playoff position altogether.

They are also 6.5 games back of the Blue Jays and 3.5 back of the Red Sox in the AL East.

"Not good," Boone said. . . .

After Nathan Eovaldi finished suffocating the Yankees across eight innings of one-hit ball, Boone called on Williams to handle the bottom of the eighth. . . .

Williams quickly got the first out before Adolis García smoked a fly ball to left field.

Jasson Domínguez ran back on it and then made a leaping attempt just before the warning track, but the ball tipped off his glove and went for a double. . . .

Joc Pederson, who hit the game-tying homer off Williams on Monday night and entered Tuesday batting .132, came up next and drew a four-pitch walk before Williams walked Wyatt Langford on five pitches to load the bases. . . .

Boone stuck with Williams to face the lefty-swinging Rowdy Tellez. . . .

Tellez did swing through two pitches while falling behind 1-2, but then fouled off four pitches as he worked the count full before hitting the 10th pitch into center field for a two-run single. . . .

"You're going to hit some rough parts like that," said Judge, who went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts in his first game back from the IL.

Nathan Eovaldi Completely Dominates Struggling Yankees
Greg Joyce, Post

The last thing a scuffling team needs to see is Nathan Eovaldi standing on the mound.

But that was the case for the Yankees Tuesday night and it went about as expected.

Eovaldi dominated the Yankees, allowing just one base runner across eight shutout innings on a night when they mustered just two hits total in a 2-0 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field. . . .

Anthony Volpe was responsible for the only hit off Eovaldi, recording a hustle double with two outs in the third inning.

Ryan McMahon led off the ninth with a single against Phil Maton, but was quickly erased when pinch hitter Giancarlo Stanton grounded into a double play before Trent Grisham struck out to end it.

Eovaldi . . . became the third opposing starter in the past four games to shut down the Yankees . . .

"We were getting it in play some" [Boone said].

 Aaron Boone's Tone Shift Shows Just How Dire Yankees' Situation Is Now
Greg Joyce, Post

This is generally the time of year, or at least the kind of stretch, when Aaron Boone has been known to offer some version of the familiar refrain: It's all right in front of us.

Except that has been missing from his vocabulary during this road trip from hell, perhaps because what is right in front of the Yankees is a growing list of teams in the playoff race.

Instead, the eighth-year manager, who almost always tries to display the even-keeled nature he wants his team to emulate, has had a shift in tone with more urgency in recent days as this two-month stretch of sub-.500 play by the Yankees grows deeper and the number of remaining games grows smaller.

The season's getting shorter in a hurry," Boone said before the Yankees' 2-0 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday night. "So it's no time for excuses and feeling bad. I know everyone feels like crap, but we got to go take it. Haven't been able to do that on this road trip so far. But we got to do it better."  

ALSO:

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I may have found a couple of guys that could help New York's bullpen:


A naked man wearing nothing but a balaclava and plastic clogs — and carrying a sex toy on a stick — has been startling tourists while wandering around a historic castle in Slovakia.

The unidentified intruder posed for a picture carrying his bizarre prop Monday near Gýmeš Castle, a popular hiking destination in the country, the Slovak outlet TV JOJ reported.

He reportedly apologized to the two female hikers who spotted him, claiming that he thought no visitors would be around on a Monday, and let them take his picture, the outlet said.

"He had a balaclava, a stick, and a dildo stuck to the stick. We were scared of him, but he told us he was sorry, that he didn't want to scare us . . . he thought that since it was Monday, he wouldn't meet anyone," one of the tourists said.

Naked Man In Gimp Mask Caught On Bizarre Video Prowling Quiet Town

A naked man wearing nothing but a black gimp mask and sneakers has been caught on creepy video prowling the streets of a quiet seaside town in England.

Video of the phantom flasher wearing a bondage hood while stalking the streets of Lytham at night has some shaken locals spluttering into their tea.

"It's a gimp mask, I've watched the footage. I've no idea what he thinks he's doing," a resident who didn't want to be named told PA Media.
Note to Cashman: Either of these guys might be able to do better than a 23.63 ERA.

August 4, 2025

Schadenfreude 363 (A Continuing Series)



Ouch.

Friday
Yankees - 000 330 312 - 12 15  2
Marlins - 000 040 603 - 13 12  1
Saturday
Yankees - 000 000 000 - 0  2  0
Marlins - 100 100 00x - 2  4  0
Sunday
Yankees - 100 000 200 - 3  6  0
Marlins - 030 300 10x - 7  9  0
Christina De Nicola, mlb.com
The Marlins handed the Yankees their first loss on the road when scoring 12 runs or more since July 24, 1940, vs. the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. It was the first time the Yankees lost a nine-inning game when scoring 12 runs or more since Aug. 12, 1973, vs. the A's.

Am I going to share those old linescores? . . . You're Fuckin A right I am!

July 24, 1940

Yankees - 602 200 002 - 12 11  3
Browns - 210 322 202 - 14 17  1

August 12, 1973

Athletics - 200 201 620 - 13 12  2
Yankees - 302 402 001 - 12 18  5


The Yankees held leads of six, five and two runs against Miami on Friday, yet surrendered each in a devastating 13-12 loss Friday night at loanDepot Park.

The Bronx Bombers' pen has had its fair share of blowups this year, but even YES announcer Michael Kay could not believe what he watched — especially after the three new touted relievers acquired at the trade deadline each had forgettable first impressions.

"It is hard to believe what we just watched. Oh, my goodness. What a loss for the Yankees," Kay said . . . "All three relievers that the Yankees acquired, that were so touted, that the Yankees acquired, they all did not do their job tonight. And then it ends this way, in a game that the Yankees led 6-0. And we keep digging new holes … and this one goes under the worst loss of the year."

If the Yankees miss out on the postseason, it will be easy to point at Friday's game as the "Well, that's the game that cost them" moment of the season.

All-Star Carlos Rodon received a 6-0 lead and couldn't complete five innings, and reliever Jonathan Loaisiga allowed two inherited runners to score to turn a 6-2 game into 6-4 contest.

New reliever Jake Bird took the field in the seventh with a 9-4 lead, but allowed a grand slam while tallying just one out.

Ex-Pirates closer David Bednar replaced him and surrendered a game-tying homer and a go-ahead RBI single in the disastrous seventh that turned the five-run edge into a 10-9 deficit.

The Yankees rallied to give Doval a 12-10 lead in the ninth but he could not get the job done, with Jose Caballero's costly error putting the game-winning run at third with one out.
Ethan Sears, Post
While the YES Network broadcast was in full misery mode watching the Yankees melt down Friday night, the Marlins' broadcast crew one booth over was taking a victory lap.

Tommy Hutton, the analyst on the FanDuel Sports Marlins telecast, perhaps took some exception to the amount of Yankees fans who showed up in South Beach and let it be known after Jose Caballero's error tied the game at 12-12 in the ninth inning.

"Give me a couple of more looks like that!" Hutton said, as the broadcast cut to a Yankees fan doing a full surrender cobra. "Come on, give 'em to me. Thanks for coming, though!"

The Marlins won the game, 13-12, shortly thereafter on Agustin Ramirez's swinging bunt, which scored Xavier Edwards from third.

It was the first time since 1940 that the Yankees scored 12 runs on the road and lost, as they blew leads of 6-0, 9-4 and 12-10, respectively.

Making it even worse was that four different trade deadline acquisitions played central roles in the disaster.

Pitchers Jake Bird, David Bednar and Camilo Doval combined to give up nine runs (seven earned) in 2.1 innings, while Caballero allowed a base hit in the ninth inning to go under his glove and all the way to the wall, with two runs scoring and Edwards getting to third. . . .
Greg Joyce, Post
The Yankees have a new candidate for the most unforgivable baserunning play of the season.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was doubled off at first base on a high popout to second base in the top of the second inning Saturday afternoon, inexplicably dancing off the base before trying to dive back too late. . . .

Chisholm remained out on the field after the blunder because it was the third out of the inning, but then, when he returned to the dugout after the bottom of the second, manager Aaron Boone pulled him underneath for what looked like a conversation. . . .

Boone was also seen expressing his frustrations with first base coach Travis Chapman in the dugout, likely for not making an over-concerted effort to get Chisholm back to the bag.

Chisholm's mental gaffe was just the latest in a line of many by the Yankees this season. The last one was Austin Wells getting tagged out in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday after thinking there were three outs.
YES Network Team Cannot Believe How Yankees Collapsed Against Marlins: 'Like A Little League Game'
Bryan Fonseca, Post
The YES Network broadcast crew watched in disbelief as the Bombers surrendered 6-0, 9-4 and 12-10 leads on Friday to the Marlins. Miami pulled off a nearly improbable three-run ninth-inning rally to give the Yankees a 13-12 defeat.

As Marlins infielder Xavier Edwards tied the score in the ninth with a hit, assisted by an error in right field from new Yankee José Caballero, the YES broadcast of Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill voiced their shock.

"Michael, you get to a point where you just can't make this up … it's like a Little League game going on out here," O'Neill said.

"This whole game, Paul, kind of has the feel of you're having a bad dream and you cannot wake up," Kay replied.

The game was especially rough for many of the new acquisitions that the Yankees added leading up to the deadline.

Reliever Camilo Doval blew the save and was tagged with the loss in the bottom of the ninth.

Jake Bird only recorded one out and allowed four earned runs.

David Bednar allowed two earned runs.

And Caballero's blunder was effectively the nail in the coffin, as the Marlins won on an infield dribbler moments later.

Greg Joyce, Post
The Yankees arrived [in Miami] Thursday night having won four of their past five games and with some extra juice from a strong trade deadline.

By the end of the weekend, though, they had essentially tripped and spilled the juice all over themselves.

A miserable series came to a fitting end Sunday when Luis Gil sputtered in his season debut, putting the Yankees in a hole they could not climb out of in a 7-3 loss as the Marlins swept them . . . the first time in franchise history the Yankees were swept by the Marlins . . .

And then the offense was quiet again Sunday as the excitement over Gil's return quickly fizzled.

The end result was the Yankees (60-52) falling further into third place in the AL East, 1.5 games behind the Red Sox and 4.5 behind the Blue Jays.

"It's getting to be real gut check time," manager Aaron Boone said. . . .

The Yankees . . . hope to get Aaron Judge back from the injured list Tuesday. But they will need more than the likely AL MVP alone to right the ship, as their struggles have lasted nearly two months, long before Judge got hurt.

Since . . . May 28, the Yankees have gone 25-32, a stretch that accounts for over a third of their season.

They were still a season-high 17 games above .500 on June 12 before going 18-27 through Sunday. . . .

For the second straight day, the Yankees were shut down by a Marlins starter, this time Edward Cabrera, who allowed just two hits and one walk over six innings of one-run ball . . .

Meanwhile, Gil failed to make it out of the fourth inning as he walked four and gave up five runs in 3.1 innings. . . .[He] struggled with his command, falling behind often and driving up his pitch count to 77 before he was pulled.
Dave Blezow, Post
"I felt really, really good, and that's what's important," Gil said through an interpreter Sunday after giving up five runs in 3.1 innings of a 7-3 loss to the Marlins that chased the Yankees away from south Florida as sweep victims. . . .

Gil was pitching for the Yankees for the first time since he started Game 4 of the World Series against the Dodgers on Oct. 29 at Yankee Stadium. . . .

Gil threw 77 pitches . . . 44 were strikes and 33 were balls. Gil threw a first-pitch strike to only eight of the 19 batters he faced. . . .

"That wasn't commanding the way I wanted it," Gil said.

During the [Saturday] FOX Sports pregame show . . . Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez bluntly criticized their former team.

When asked about the Yankees' back-to-back losses against the Marlins on Friday and Saturday, Rodriguez wasted no time calling out the pitching performances.

"You can't make this up," Rodriguez said. "I mean, look, you can bring in nine relievers, it's not going to make a difference. I don't care if you bring back their '98 bullpen with Mariano [Rivera], Mike Stanton, and Jeff Nelson, if your pitchers are going 3.1, 4.1, it's not going to work." . . .

"Here is my biggest concern," Rodriguez said. "You bring in seven guys and you're still miles away from winning a world title. … You've got to restructure this roster. . . . I'm not sure where you go from here." he concluded.

Jeter . . . pointed out the amount of mistakes the team has had in recent games.

"They make way too many mistakes," Jeter said. "And you can't get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams. . . . They had base running mistakes today — you saw the guy getting thrown out at home plate. You can't continue to do it. You have to clean it up."

Additionally, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a base running blunder during Saturday's loss, getting doubled off at first base following a caught pop fly to Miami's second baseman.

Jeter then said that the solution for the Yankees was simple — they just have to play better.
Holy shit! Brilliant analysis, Jetes! But I wish I could hear the Large Father's thought . . .




"Glub. Glub."

July 6, 2025

10,000 Wins


The Red Sox beat the Nationals 10-3 on Saturday afternoon, evening their record at 45-45.

It was the franchise's 10,000th regular season victory. Boston is the second American League team and the tenth major league team to reach 10,000 wins. The franchise has 108 postseason wins.

Here are the franchises with more than 5,000 wins, as of a few days ago.


Also: The second-longest World Series championship drought is 56 years, held by the Brewers and Padres.  . . . Weird.

July 4, 2025

Schadenfreude 362 (A Continuing Series)


Since May 29, the MFY have the worst record in the AL East: 13-19.
Blue Jays   21  10
Rays    19 12
Orioles  18  13
Red Sox  16 14
Yankees  13  19
They were just swept by the now-in-first-place Blue Jays, who scored 36 runs in the four games. Toronto has not been in first place this "late" in a season since 2016.

OH SHIT . . . 



And he waved it in the eminently punchable face of the pompously annoying Michael Kay: "I can think of a certain Yankee broadcaster, in fact, who is gonna have to go on his show [Friday] and admit that the Blue Jays are a first-place team, because the standings prove it."

The MFY are now in Queens, being embarrassed by the Stems. Rejoice!


Yes, back when the subway cars had character . . .

How good it is.

Greg Joyce, Post, July 4, 2025:

In the Yankees' ideal world, you could walk into their clubhouse on any given day during the 162-game schedule and not know whether they are flying high or in a brutal slump.

It is a mindset shared by captain Aaron Judge and manager Aaron Boone, who do not believe in riding the emotional roller coaster of a season. It is why you will rarely see them feeling too good about themselves after big wins or long winning streaks. And it is why they will stick to a similar script after gut punches like Wednesday’s 11-9 loss to the Blue Jays — falling for the 13th time in 19 games — no matter how much it grates the fanbase.

"Any loss is brutal," said Judge, who is never all that interested in acknowledging some being tougher than others, even on a night when the Yankees fought all the way back from an 8-0 deficit . . . only to ultimately still lose.

"I trust this group so much," Boone said. "Even what we're going through right now . . . [the] stretch we're in . . . It's really hard to tell day by day [what's going on] . . . "

Denying reality . . . that's the one thing the Yankees have always managed to do exceptionally well.

Greg Joyce, Post, July 4, 2025:

The Yankees have lost 14 of their last 20 games and are tied with the Rays for second place in the division, but Boone's message was one projecting confidence amid choppy waters. 

[On Thursday] the Yankees went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, making it 9-for-50 across the four [losses]. 

Add in news of a high-grade oblique strain to Fernando Cruz and Clarke Schmidt headed for an MRI tube Friday because of forearm tightness, and the four-game set was something of a test to determine where rock bottom actually is. 

"It sucks when you get your ass kicked in a division-rival series, on the road," Boone said. "But we're ready-made for this . . . We need to do better. . . . We will stick together . . . This will make us stronger . . . I know this group. . . . I believe in our process. . . . Bring it on. You got to embrace the challenging times . . . I know these guys will handle it."

Armed with his trusty Cliche Hose, Boone is a fuckin artist.

Whatever. The rest of us can look at the standings, where there is clear, unmistakable, and wonderful evidence the MFY have been outright shitting the bed for the last five weeks.

July 1, 2025

Wilyer Abreu Cracks Inside-The-Park HR And A Grand Slam (Only 6th Time In MLB History)

Wilyer Abreu led off the bottom of the fifth with an inside-the-park home run. Three innings later, he donged the first grand slam of his career. The Red Sox rode a seven-run first inning to a 13-6 victory.

Abreu became only the sixth player to hit an inside-the-park home run and a grand slam in a game -- and the first player to do it in 67 years. The others:

June 5, 1890 - Jocko Fields, Pittsburgh Burghers (Players League)
July 4, 1923 (G1) - Everett Scott, Yankees
August 4, 1930 - Charlie Gehringer, Tigers
July 4, 1939 (G2) - Jim Tabor, Red Sox*
August 3, 1958 (G1) - Roger Maris, KC Athletics

*: Back on Independence Day in 1939, the Red Sox pounded out 35 hits and 35 runs, battering the hapless Philadelphia Athletics 17-7 and 18-12. Tabor had a great week that afternoon: 6-for-9, double, four home runs (two grand slams), seven runs scored, 11 RBI, and a walk. The 19 total bases boosted his slugging from .419 to .483!

Ian Browne reports: "It was the first inside-the-parker for a Red Sox player since Eduardo Núnéz in Alex Cora's first game as Boston's manager on March 29, 2018 (JoS), at Tropicana Field against the Rays. It was also the first inside-the-park homer for a Boston player at Fenway since Jacoby Ellsbury on Sept. 19, 2011 (JoS), vs. the Orioles."

Abreu is also the first Red Sox player with an inside-the-park and over-the-fence home run in the same game since Pokey Reese (May 8, 2004). [Hey, lady!!! I was at that game!]

Asked which home run was more satisfying, Abreu said, "Obviously the inside-the-parker, but you get tired from it. So for me if you hit the ball and just jog around the bases [for a homer], that's better."