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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Last weekend felt like October baseball at Fenway Park, and ownership needs to respond accordingly at the trade deadline
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Those games — particularly after the Rafaela and Crochet star turns on Friday and Saturday — felt like October games in July. Rafaela's home run was reminiscent in style if not magnitude of Manny Ramirez's walkoff moon shot off Angels closer Francisco 'K-Rod' Rodriguez in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series. The fan response — total and complete jubilation — wasn't much different, either. All that was missing was Dennis Drinkwater getting a great jump and making a beeline for the exit as soon as the ball headed toward the stratosphere. Advertisement (Allow me to note that my favorite moment of that Rays series was when Cora came to get Bello, poked his chest and pumped him up, and sent him off to get his well-deserved ovation. The most poignant moment of 'The Clubhouse' Netflix doc on last year's Red Sox was Cora's heart-to-heart with an emotional Bello about his pitching struggles and his aching loneliness without his family, who remained back in the Dominican Republic last season when his wife couldn't get a visa. The scene made Bello very easy to root for and Cora's people skills — bilingually, no less — very easy to appreciate.) Advertisement It was remarkable — and telling, too — that Red Sox fans lingered in the ballpark, especially after those Friday and Saturday wins. No one wanted to leave. No one wanted to abbreviate the moment. The crowd stood, and cheered, and basked. It did not go unnoticed by anyone that it has been a long time — perhaps as far back as October 2021 — since Fenway has felt so alive, and hope for a satisfying season with a truly likable team has been as realistic and vivid. Or, perhaps we should say, it better not have gone unnoticed by the certain someones that make the personnel and financial decisions with this team. Breslow and his bosses cannot allow this 10-game winning streak and the return of pure joy to Fenway Park to be the pinnacle of this season. Breslow must be allowed to take advantage of this moment — when the starting rotation has found its groove, Related : Advertisement If that means paying the steep price to acquire Twins righthander Joe Ryan — who would slot perfectly as the No. 2 starter behind Crochet — then go for it, absolutely, because he is ideal. If that means adding an expensive arm or two to the bullpen or rotation, yeah, do that. Go spend some of that money that was saved with the Devers deal. This team doesn't need that much help, but Breslow cannot hesitate to go get anyone who will fill a void and help the cause. Breslow's trade deadline maneuvers failed last year. He wasn't as indecisive as predecessor Chaim Bloom, but the decisions he did make resulted in picking up an assortment of spare parts, the Lucas Sims All-Stars. Please, no more James Paxtons or Luis García Jrs. or Danny Jansens this year. This team deserves more than patchwork. In winning 13 of its last 15 games — and The brain trust knows that Fenway will fill up even if the team isn't particularly compelling. That chilly truth has felt like the basis for their business model since the Mookie Betts trade. But they also know that a winning team, one that plays hard and for each other, brings a whole different vibe to Fenway. The old place develops a pulse of its own. It comes to life, and it's something to behold and cherish. Advertisement That's how it felt last weekend. It's how it needs to feel going forward this season. The Red Sox, and Fenway, are back to life. Reward these fans, Breslow, for putting up with the nonsense of the last three seasons. Do what it takes to assure that this team makes the playoffs, and perhaps sticks around a while. Last weekend felt like October in July. And suddenly, it's not that hard to imagine what real October baseball might feel like. CEDDANNE RAFAELA HITS IT OUT OF FENWAY 😤 THE — MLB (@MLB) Maybe those Netflix folks should have stuck around to follow this year's team, too. Chad Finn can be reached at
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Not Every Team Deserves a Netflix Sports Documentary
Last season the Boston Red Sox were the picture of mediocrity, finishing 81-81, dead middle of the American League East Division, and failing to make the playoffs. The Red Sox were expected to be meh, and they were. So my expectations for The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox, an eight-episode docuseries released by Netflix Inc. in April, were low. The idea of spending eight hours rehashing their humdrum season sounded like a chore, even for this Sox fan. At first glance, The Clubhouse seemed like another unnecessary sports doc. Since the breakout success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive and The Last Dance, both of which helped fill the void when most live sports were canceled during the early days of the pandemic, programmers have been clamoring for unscripted sports series. At the start of 2019, according to data from Ampere Analysis, sports accounted for 3% of all newly commissioned documentaries, both upcoming and released. So far in the second quarter of this year, that share is 12%.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Red Sox' Brayan Bello off to strong start with family visa issues highlighted in Netflix series behind him
DETROIT — Anyone who watched the start of Brayan Bello's 2024 season could tell that something was amiss. The ultra-talented Red Sox starter struggled to a 5.16 ERA through his first 21 starts and even had his rotation turn skipped at one point in an effort to clear his head in late June. Some wondered if Bello was putting too much pressure on himself to live up to the six-year, $55 million contract extension he signed during spring training. Others theorized that the lat injury that cost him a couple weeks in April and May might have had something to do with the struggles. It turns out there was something much deeper going on, as the public first found out last month, when the Netflix documentary, 'The Clubhouse' — which chronicled the 2024 Red Sox season — covered Bello's struggles with visa issues as he attempted to get his wife, Anabely de Bello, and two young children to the United States. Advertisement In Episode 5 of the series, titled 'Boston, You're My Home,' Bello opened up for the first time about the impact of spending the entire season away from his family in the Dominican Republic. The revelation cast light not only into a deeply personal situation for the soon-to-be 26-year-old, but also an issue that plagues many major leaguers who play far away from home. 'It's not easy,' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said this week. 'It's part of the game that people don't see and I'm glad people can see it now and understand how it works. It's not because he didn't want them here. They couldn't get here. 'Having your family, it means a lot. It helps you, quote-unquote, detach yourself from what's going on, on the field, either if it's good or bad. Just being a regular dude, be a dad, be a husband. I think that's something he was missing.' In the episode, both Bello and his wife, Anabely, discussed the mental toll of being separated for months at a time. Bello described it as 'very difficult' to not be able to hug his kids or wife for a long stretch. The problem, as explained in the documentary, was that while Bello was able to get a work visa to participate in his third major league season, there were complications getting the rest of the family stateside. The Bellos have a daughter, Bryanna, born in July 2023, and a son, Brayan Jr., born last August. Advertisement 'It was really tough,' Bello said Tuesday at Comerica Park (through translator Daveson Perez). 'When you go to a place and everything's new and your family is not there, it's hard. Especially for me last year, I went through a lot of ups and downs in the season. To be without them was tough. Eight, nine months without that support is hard.' In one of the series' most poignant moments, Bello — in the middle of a period of prolonged struggles — is shown talking with Cora in the right-field corner at Fenway Park before a summer game. Cora, sensing that external factors were weighing on the talented pitcher, tells Bello, in Spanish, that he's there to listen if he ever wants to talk. Cora asks Bello, point-blank, if he misses his family, then jokes that he must miss his wife's cooking. Bello, in an emotional moment, chokes up while pacing around the warning track. Cora hugs him and tells him he loves him very much. 'It was great to get that support from everybody, but I think Alex supported me the most,' Bello said this week. 'I think it's just because he's Latino. He knows how it is. He probably knows somebody that has gone through a similar situation or maybe he has gone through a situation like that himself. I appreciate that support from him.' Bello, who hails from Samaná in the Dominican Republic, was able to return to his home country for an exhibition series last March and while there, participated in a press conference to announce his extension. He went home for the birth of Brayan Jr. in August and spent the offseason on the island as well. The 2025 season will be different for the Bello family, and in a very positive way. The family will be together in Boston. Advertisement 'The process to get a guest visa in the Dominican Republic is a little complicated,' Bello said. 'It's a long process. We stuck with it and were able to get the visa. 'My wife, my two kids and a friend who is coming along, too.' The early returns on Bello's 2025 have been encouraging. Though he walked five batters in 4 ⅔ innings last time out against the Rangers, he owns a 2.01 ERA (and hitters are batting just .228 against him) through four starts since returning from the IL. As he takes the mound Tuesday in Detroit, he'll do so with momentum behind him — and without the same family worries that plagued him a year ago. 'I don't want to put the reason for my struggles last year to be because I didn't have my family,' he said. 'I missed them, for sure, and I missed having them with me. At the end of the day, I'm a baseball player. What happens on the field, that's not an excuse.' Advertisement Bello, an anime and video game enthusiast who tends to go about his business without revealing too much about his personal life to the public, was a surprise star of the Netflix series. It turns out that was a happy accident. 'They were really consistent in asking me if I wanted to share with them, interview with them,' he said. 'They really wanted my thoughts. I think that's the main reason. They were really persistent. 'I haven't seen the series yet,' Bello said. 'I'm waiting for my family to get here so we can all watch it together.' More Red Sox coverage Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Yankees' Rodon Reflects on Fan Behavior After Incident
Carlos Rodon knows what it feels like to be targeted by fans. But the New York Yankees lefthander said what happened to Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran over the weekend is beyond his imagination. Rodon, speaking to Randy Miller, called the harassment Duran faced from a Cleveland Guardians fan "super unacceptable." Advertisement During Sunday's game at Progressive Field, a fan taunted Duran over his past admission that he once tried to take his own life. Duran told the story in 'The Clubhouse' documentary on Netflix, and the reaction has been almost completely supportive. Until that disgusting incident in Cleveland. Carlos Rodon© John Jones-Imagn Images "Dealing with hate is part of the major league life," Rodon said. "It sucks, but it comes with our territory." Rodon has lived through fan hate. He heard boos nearly every time he took the mound during a nightmare 2023 season, when he struggled badly after signing a six-year, $162 million contract. But even in his lowest moments, Rodon said, he never faced anything like what Duran went through Sunday. Advertisement "I know how it feels to be the target of fans," Rodon said. "I felt like I was falling into a hole deeper and deeper and wishing somebody would throw me a rope. But that's a whole different thing, what Duran went through in his life and then came up on Sunday." Rodon wasn't alone in backing Duran. Several Yankees players told they empathized. Cody Bellinger said the fan should be banned for life and Aaron Judge said that fans can boo all they want but don't cross that personal line. 'You can boo and you can say whatever you want about performance, but what happened in Cleveland is taking it too far.' Advertisement MLB and the Guardians are investigating the fan, who could face a lifetime ban. It's the latest incident in baseball where fans have become part of the story. The Yankees fan who tried to rip Mookie Betts' glove away during last year's World Series was banned for life and just last week a fan reached out to touch Tommy Pham as he was fielding a ball at the wall. Related: Is It Time for the Yankees to Move Cody Bellinger Down? Related: Yankees Made One of Baseball's Smartest Offseason Pickups, Insider Reports
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox News & Links: No excuses for the weather
Photo by Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images In the game featuring the third-coldest temperature at first pitch in Fenway's (recorded) history, manager Alex Cora said the team won't make excuses for the cold in their play. 'We don't (complain about the weather) in October.' (Chris Cotillo, Mass Live) Advertisement Garrett Crochet described his Fenway debut as 'terrible.' While he did walk four, his defense did him no favors, and he allowed just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings. (Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald) Jarren Duran answered questions yesterday about mental health and the content in the Red Sox Netflix documentary, 'The Clubhouse'. Jen McCaffrey detailed his answers as well as Alex Cora's supportive responses. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic) Chad Finn sat down with Greg Whiteley, the director of 'The Clubhouse'. Among other things, they discussed Alex Cora's knack for relating to players and knowing what they need in a given moment. This included playing Wilyer Abreu when his grandmother had just died, rather than giving him the day off. (Chad Finn, Boston Globe) Eric Longenhagen broke down new Red Sox outfielder Yophery Rodriguez and the general return that Boston got from Milwaukee in the Quinn Priester trade. Rodriguez started for High-A Greenville for the first time on Tuesday night, logging a double and a triple in five at-bats. (Eric Longenhagen, Fangraphs) Advertisement Tragedy struck in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday when a roof collapsed in a Santo Domingo nightclub, killing over 100. Tony Blanco, a former Red Sox first base prospect, was among those who died. Octavio Dotel, a 15-year veteran pitcher, also was killed in the incident. (WCVB Boston) More from
