The Red Sox's necessary gamble, plus poll results on the Savannah Bananas

New York Times

16 hours ago

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I am forever fascinated by the newish trend of MLB general managers betting early on prospects, circumventing baseball's archaic arbitration system — in which a player is ineligible for free agency for six seasons — by buying out those arbitration years. It's a simple yet expensive wager:
The Red Sox made their biggest bet of this era yesterday, paying young star Roman Anthony $130 million over eight seasons after just 46 games at the major-league level. Two facets here:
Things are looking up in Boston, both in the future and in the present, where the blazing Sox have won seven straight.
We saw tremendous interaction from you all yesterday about the apparently beloved Savannah Bananas, as if that were actually in question. After asking you if MLB should take some pointers from the roving band of theatrical baseballers, here's how it shook out:
I have to be honest: I know support for the Bananas runs deep, but I didn't know it was that serious.
Two final thoughts on the phenomenon:
Let's keep moving:
MLB's first female umpire gets the call
Jen Pawol, a minor-league umpire, will become the first female umpire in MLB history when she calls the Marlins-Braves game on Saturday. Pawol has risen steadily through the minors and has called Triple-A games since 2023. She's also been behind the plate in MLB spring training games. Very, very cool. Read more about her here.
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Osaka's comeback continues
Naomi Osaka is on to the Canadian Open final, her first WTA 1000 final since 2022, after beating Denmark's Clara Tauson in last night's semifinal. It's a big step back for Osaka, who's struggled of late. Her foe in the final: Victoria Mboko, the sport's burgeoning superstar.
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We are a few days late to this, but oh boy (buoy?), it's very worth a look.
Last week, the Seattle Kraken's beloved mascot Buoy was helping film a promotional video, which placed the adorable troll fishing in the middle of an Alaskan river with Kraken forward John Hayden. Then a bear popped out of the woods and launched into the water:
TROLL NARROWLY ESCAPES BEAR ENCOUNTER🤯🧌🐻
*no trolls or bears were hurt in the making, always respect wildlife in their natural habitat 🩶 pic.twitter.com/WBvw9RFkS0
— Buoy (@SEAbuoy) July 31, 2025
Let me be clear that no one was hurt in this encounter before I tell you I've cackled at this video on and off for hours. Seeing the fixed, goofy face of a hockey mascot running away from a literal bear is funny every day of the week.
Just look at his face again:
This reminded the Pulse braintrust of another unfortunate Seattle mascot incident, when the Mariners' Mister Moose crashed into the Kingdome outfield wall and fractured his ankle. No more dangerous mascot outings in Seattle, please.
Almost done:
📺 LLSWS: North Carolina vs. Asia-Pacific
6 p.m. ET on ESPN
The winner here advances to the bracket final, which essentially acts as a semifinal. If you're enjoying the Little League change of pace this week, throw this on tonight.
📺 NFL: Raiders at Seahawks
10 p.m. ET on NFL Network
Welcome to Week 1 of the NFL preseason, which features three games tonight. I like this one best for us because it's on national TV and we get a glimpse of the Pete Carroll-coached Raiders. See the whole slate here.
Get tickets to games like these here.
I loved this a lot: On the September 2008 game that was supposed to feature Randy Johnson pitching against Greg Maddux. Both were scratched, making way for two rookies … Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw. Make time for this.
Brian Flores is a madman, the perfect antidote to today's NFL offenses. Ted Nguyen and Alec Lewis broke down how the Vikings defensive coordinator created a 'living, breathing virus' that vexes opposing coaches.
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Richard Deitsch has an exclusive interview with ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro about the network's news yesterday. His comments are worth a read.
Seth Emerson has lessons from Netflix's docuseries on SEC football. It's on my list for this weekend.
Wait, how can Manchester United afford to buy Benjamin Sesko? Chris Weatherspoon has answers.
'No Free Lunch' welcomed Dan Le Batard onto the show for what I thought was a fascinating conversation. Watch here.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Britt Ghiroli's story on the Savannah Bananas, naturally.
Most-read on the website yesterday: Speaking of Man Utd spending, David Ornstein reports the club contacted Brighton about midfielder Carlos Baleba
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