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Archives for July 31, 2019

Astros Land Greinke at Deadline

July 31, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Major League Baseball pitchers and relievers were traded like penny stocks at the E-Trade kiosk on Wednesday, the trading deadline for players to be swapped under new rules for player movement adopted just this year.

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Most notably, the Houston Astros acquired ace Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a bevy of top prospects and promising farmhands. Greinke is (10-4) with a 2.90 ERA and 0.95 whip in 23 starts (146.0 IP). He is 35 years old and was a 2002 first round back by the Kansas City Royals.

The Astros were buyers at the deadline and improved their depth dramatically. 

The other key acquisition on deadline day was made by the Atlanta Braves as they acquired closer Shane Greene from the Detroit Tigers and Mark Meloncon from the San Francisco Giants.

In all there were 35 transactions made on July 31 alone that involved pitchers. 

Last night’s game winner at the Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox,  LHP Adam Kolaric, was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Boston team GM and Baseball Operations President Dave Dombrowski remained quiet at trade deadline time, opting to watch the reliever trade-frenzy around him and stand pat with a bullpen that is suspect, at best. The Sox (and Rays) bullpens were tested mightily on Tuesday night as 14 pitchers were utilized in the 6-5 Tampa Bay victory. Only three other MLB games in 2019 saw 14 (seven by each team) utilized.

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Filed Under: Boston Red Sox, Boston Sports, MLB Tagged With: MLB

Brady Preps, On and Off Field

July 31, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

FOXBORO – Tom Brady enters his 20th NFL season wondering what’s next. The New England Patriots quarterback is days shy of his 42nd birthday and just over one month away from beginning defense of his sixth Super Bowl title.

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“I think for all of us, we can’t imagine how far we’ve come,” Brady said.

“I never imagined playing one year of pro football. It was a dream to be starting quarterback of a high school football team. … That’s the approach I still take. Nothing is given in this game. In the team sport, if you’re not the best, you have to give the pedestal to someone else. And I’ve got to prove that I’m the best to myself, to my teammates and coaches so I can earn the respect of those guys.

“I look back at last year and say ‘I’ve got to get better in this area.’ That was my offseason focus. Now I get to go put it to the test.” 

Brady said he focused this offseason on getting physically stronger to endure hits in the pocket without losing fluidity in his throwing motion.

With his birthday ahead on August 3, Brady wouldn’t mind discussing his contract with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, should New England be looking for a gift this year.

“None of us are really promised anything. I am trying to do the best I can do today and let those things work themselves out,” Brady said.

Having played in nine Super Bowls and won six, there’s not much debate over Brady’s value even as concerns about Father Time become more prevalent.

“Have I earned it?” Brady asked rhetorically to media huddling around him on the field Wednesday. “I don’t know. That’s up for talk show debate. What do you guys think? Should we take a poll? Talk for Mr. Kraft. No, like I said, we got a great relationship so we’ll see how it goes.”

–Field Level Media

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Filed Under: Boston Sports, New England Patriots, NFL Tagged With: New England Patriots, Tom Brady

NLL Sings, Oh Canada!

July 31, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

NEW YORK – The National Lacrosse League is stretching its brand to include a growing fan base in Canada. As part of the concerted effort, the NLL and Alterna Savings and Alterna Bank of Canada announced a partnership, making Alterna the official and exclusive financial institution for the NLL in Canada. 

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 “The inaugural Alterna Cup will be an exciting competition amongst our five Canadian teams and bring an added twist of competition to delight our tremendous fans in the Great North,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “As we continue to expand our league, it’s essential that we align ourselves with successful organizations like Alterna to make our league even stronger.”

Alterna previously sponsored a pair of NLL teams – Toronto Rock and Vancouver Warriors – and the new agreement for the NLL takes Alterna’s involvement in the sport of indoor lacrosse to a whole new level.

“As Canada’s national sport, lacrosse has been played by Indigenous Peoples for hundreds of years,” said Rob Paterson, President and CEO of Alterna. “Today, lacrosse is an action-packed game that makes for exhilarating yet affordable entertainment for the whole family.” 

The NLL is North America’s largest professional lacrosse league, ranking third in average attendance for professional indoor sports, with 13 teams located in cities across North America.

The NLL experienced substantial growth last season with nearly a million total ticket sales, a 28-percent increase from 2017-18, and 60 percent of ticket sales were from people who never played lacrosse. Digital viewership also rose significantly through Turner and B/R Live, showing substantial increases in total unit sales (up 151 percent from last year), average unique viewers (+27 percent) and average minute audiences (+14 percent).

For the 2019-20 season, a new season-long competition has been created among the five Canadian franchises in the NLL, based on head-to-head competition between the Calgary Roughnecks, Halifax Thunderbirds, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock and Vancouver Warriors. The team with the best record in those games will be crowned the Canadian champion and receive a new trophy called the Alterna Cup.

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Filed Under: SPORTS BIZ Tagged With: NLL, NLL Lacrosse

Sox Desk: Game Two vs Rays

July 31, 2019 by Digital Sports Desk

Tampa Bay Ray at Boston Red Sox

When: 7:10 PM ET, Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

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BOSTON – Offense has not been the calling card for the Tampa Bay Rays this season but the bats have come alive during their current six-game road trip. After coming from behind for the second straight game, Tampa Bay will look to post its second straight series win when it resumes a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Avisail Garcia was 0-for-11 in a three-game series versus Boston last week but he made amends by cracking a solo homer and a go-ahead two-run double in Tuesday’s 6-5 victory. Red-hot Travis d’Arnaud has four homers and 15 RBIs over his last eight games to push the Rays 1 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox for second place in the American League East. Boston dropped to 27-27 at home after squandering a pair of two-run leads and fell to 1-6 in its last seven matchups against Tampa Bay at Fenway Park. Andrew Benintendi has gone deep and collected three hits in three consecutive games, improving to 18-for-35 with four homers and 12 RBIs in his last eight contests.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSS (Tampa Bay), NESN (Boston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Andrew Kittredge (1-0, 3.05 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (9-7, 5.55).

Kittredge will serve as the opener after pitching in that role at Toronto on Saturday, working a season-high three innings and striking out seven while allowing two runs and five hits. Kittredge, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief versus Boston a week ago, will be followed Ryan Yarbrough, a nine-game winner who permitted one run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Friday. He beat the Red Sox with 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball on June 8.

Porcello improved to 4-0 in July last time out, posting his only quality start of the month by holding the New York Yankees to three runs and six hits over six innings. He is unbeaten over his last five turns mainly because Boston’s offense has amassed a staggering 69 runs during that turn. Garcia is 11-for-27 and Matt Duffy 9-for-21 against Porcello, who fell to 14-11 with a 3.50 ERA against the Rays after allowing four runs over six innings on June 7 at Fenway.

WALK-OFFS

  1. Rays OF Tommy Pham was scratched from the lineup Tuesday due to a sore hand.
  2. Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers is 19-for-46 during a 10-game hitting streak.
  3. Rays CF Kevin Kiermaier (thumb) is expected to be activated off the injured list Wednesday.
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Filed Under: Boston Red Sox, Boston Sports, MLB Tagged With: Boston Red Sox, MLB, Tampa Bay Rays

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