* Before the start of the season, the Red Sox envisioned the heart of their lineup would consist of Rafael Devers, Trevor Story and Triston Casas. There were real questions about the bottom half of the batting order, the thinking went, but at least the Red Sox would have that reliable trio near the top.
Injures soon took care of that idea. Story suffered a major shoulder injury in the eighth game of the season and is lost for the year. Last month, Casas joined him on the IL with a ribcage injury that will sideline him until late June — at minimum.
Tyler O’Neill has been a nice surprise through the first five weeks, though his durability remains an open question. And the rest of the lineup is mostly dotted with first- and second-year players still trying to establish themselves.
That means Devers is going to have carry the offense for a while. On Saturday, he came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, but struck out to end the threat. It happens.
But when speaking to the media postgame about the at-bat, a key turning point in the game, Devers seemed to bristle at the line of questioning and became defensive. Devers has to understand that, as the team’s best hitter and (easily) the Red Sox’ highest-paid player, there are certain expectations for him. He’s also the longest-tenured player on the roster and the only one left from the 2019 championship team.
Again, no one is expecting Devers to deliver in every spot. But he has to understand that he’s now the hitter opponents are going to game-plan for, and whether he delivers or not, he’s going to be asked about those situations.
His 10-year, $313.5 million contract makes him the face of the franchise, and with that comes some accountability.
* It should be fascinating to see who replaces Jack Edwards as the Bruins’ TV play-by-play voice on NESN next fall. Figure that Alex Faust, who has local roots (Northeastern grad), extensive NHL experience (L.A Kings) and a foot in the door as a NESN fill-in, will be in the running. Judd Sirott, who’s been the team’s radio voice for the past seven years, might be another name on the list.
One potential candidate to consider: Tom Caron. Caron has carved out his own niche as Red Sox’ studio host, but has done plenty of hockey play-by-play before (Hockey East, Beanpot) and might be intrigued by a career change.
* Say this about the NFL: they sure know how to market their product. What other league could build up a schedule reveal as an honest-to-goodness Event. There will be the usual “leaks” to friendly outlets about the season opener and other showcase games, followed by a slow trickle about the first weekend. And then, the big announcement.
When you’ve reached the point when millions of fans are salivating about when they can watch your product, you’ve done your job.
* For the most part, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith largely ignores baseball in his many hot takes. This week, he waded into the waters and rolled out not one, but two idiotic statements. First, he expressed genuine (?) surprise that baseball players suffer injuries then suggested Mike Trout’s knee injury was somehow “karma” for not demanding a trade to a contender. I think I liked it better when he deigned not to care about the sport.
* An awful of Celtics fans seem to be taking the Kristaps Porzingis injury very casually, with the belief that the Celts can easily reach the Finals without him. Are we sure about that?
* The lengths to which some MLB teams are going to hype the entrance of a closer in the ninth inning has gotten way out of hand.
* Maybe some NBA reporters should tell Patrick Beverley that they don’t interview players who are so replaceable that they’ve been with more than a half-dozen teams.
* Make all the geriatric jokes you like, but I think the notion of the Rolling Stones (Mike Jagger and Keith Richards each having turned 80) and Neil Young (age 78) still touring is a great thing.
* It’s been a while since anyone enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame like the Phoenix beekeeper. Earlier this week, Matt Hilton removed a swarm of bees that had nested in the backstop behind the plate, enabling that night’s Diamondbacks-Dodgers game to be played as scheduled at Chase Field. He took a victory lap in the bullpen cart, then got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
* Sure, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. But the potential for the Bruins and Celtics to both be facing off against New York rivals in their respective conference finals would make this a pretty fun spring, would it not?
* It should be fascinating to see what happens with the ABS (automated balls and strikes) system and Major League Baseball. The labor agreement between the umpires and MLB expires after this season, and it seems likely that the introduction of ABS in the big leagues will be a bargaining chip in negotiations. Word is that while some major league umps would be OK accepting the ABS in exchange for bumps in pay and contributions to the pension system, many are steadfastly opposed to the challenge system, now being tried out in the minors.
* Here in the U.S., Disney World is marketed as The Happiest Place on Earth. In Canada, they have the most miserable: It’s called Maple Leaf Square. Points to those folks for persistence, I guess.
* If Kyle Teel turns out to be as good as everyone thinks, then the Red Sox will have a very valuable trade piece in Connor Wong this winter. Wong won’t even be arbitration-eligible until after the 2025 season and a team would be getting four years of control with him. Wong already had the reputation as a good defender. If he maintains the offensive improvement he’s shown this season, the Sox could get a haul for him.
* I suppose a trade could still be made, but how is it that, for the second straight year, the Patriots failed to acquire a No. 1 receiver in the offseason? Other than addressing the quarterback situation, it was the most obvious need on the roster. They had plenty of cap space, loads of cash and a full complement of draft picks and still came up empty.
Maybe Drake Maye turns out to be the Real Deal, and his selection will start the Pats back on the road back to contention. If you don’t get the quarterback right, nothing else matters. But spare me the talk of “weaponizing the offense.”
