Author: Scott Frizzell

2018 Baseball HOF Ballot: The Hitters

2018 Baseball HOF Ballot: The Hitters

Posted by | Nov 22, 2017 |

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) released their Hall of Fame ballot yesterday. Over the next few weeks, Boston Sports Extra will make our case for who should and who shouldn’t, as well as who will and who won’t get elected. This is a follow up to the article covering the pitchers. A Messy Situation The Hall of Fame process has become a messy situation in recent years. Thanks to the steroid era, the ballots have been overloaded with quality players. There is a disagreement on how known steroid users should be treated in the voting process. This trickles...

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Red Sox Greatest Third Basemen of All-Time

Red Sox Greatest Third Basemen of All-Time

Posted by | Nov 18, 2017 | ,

Making the way around the infield, my next installment in the series comes at the hot corner. Making the top five there will be a couple mainstays, a couple players from a century ago, and one I think you all will remember watching play. There were a couple options for the last spot, guys who weren’t with the team a real long time but made a big impact. But that’s what the honorable mention section is for at the end. Wade Boggs Wade Boggs is by far the greatest third baseman in franchise history. He leads the team at...

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Red Sox Greatest Second Basemen

Red Sox Greatest Second Basemen

Posted by | Nov 15, 2017 | ,

Red Sox Greatest Second Basemen The keystone position is next on the agenda for my series of Red Sox articles. Unfortunately, the top player has just passed away. At the age of 99, Bobby Doerr passed away on Tuesday. He was the oldest living Hall of Famer. Doerr played against Lou Gehrig, and faced A’s teams managed by Connie Mack, who was born in 1862. RIP to the great Bobby Doerr. Bobby Doerr Doerr spent 14 seasons with the Red Sox, which spanned his entire career. He missed the 1945 season, while serving his country in the war. He...

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Red Sox Greatest First Basemen Ever

Red Sox Greatest First Basemen Ever

Posted by | Nov 13, 2017 | ,

Continuing on with my series of articles, I make my way to the five greatest first basemen in the history of the franchise. After delving into the statistics, I found that picking the top five was not very difficult. The only arguments to be made, would be the order of the five, and the honorable mentions. Jimmie Foxx Foxx was a beast, hence his nickname, “Beast.” One of the most powerful right-handed bats of all-time, Foxx hit his 500th career home run by the age of 32. A decline in eyesight, drinking problems and a broken rib, aided in...

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Best Catchers in Red Sox History

Best Catchers in Red Sox History

Posted by | Nov 10, 2017 | ,

Best Catchers in Red Sox History This article covers the five greatest catchers in Red Sox history. With the Red Sox all-time pitching staff completed, it is time to move on to the positional players. Quite frankly, there is a steep drop-off after the first few, so there could be some debate as to who makes the top five. There is no debate on the top two. Carlton Fisk Carlton Fisk is the greatest catcher in Red Sox history. His Red Sox career was shorter than it should have been, the Red Sox missed the deadline to tender him a contract in...

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Remembering Roy Halladay

Remembering Roy Halladay

Posted by | Nov 8, 2017 |

Roy Halladay passed away on Tuesday following a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico. At just 40 years old the news was both stunning and heartbreaking. He touched the lives of so many, not only with his feats of greatness on the mound, but with his caring nature. The Beginning of a Hall of Fame Career Roy Halladay came into the Major Leagues in 1998 surrounded by high hopes. He had been a 1st round pick of the Blue Jays in 1995 and proceeded to pitch two excellent games at the end of the ’98 season. But after...

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Best Relief Pitchers in Red Sox History

Best Relief Pitchers in Red Sox History

Posted by | Nov 6, 2017 | ,

To round out the Red Sox all-time pitching staff I will cover their five greatest relief pitchers ever. This is the third installment of my series of articles. Again, this covers how good they were as a Red Sox, and longevity plays into it. Craig Kimbrel was crazy filthy this season, but to be included he needs at least one more great year, probably two. Jonathan Papelbon Papelbon is the best reliever in Red Sox history, and would be their closer on an all-time roster. Papelbon is by far the all-time saves leader in franchise history with 219. He...

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Red Sox Begin Filling Coaching Staff

Red Sox Begin Filling Coaching Staff

Posted by | Nov 3, 2017 | ,

NEW COACHING STAFF On Thursday, the morning after the Houston Astros World Series victory, Alex Cora went to work as the new manager of the Red Sox. The Red Sox added 3 new names to the coaching staff, and still need a pitching and a hitting coach. Bench Coach Ron Roenicke was Alex Cora’s choice to be the bench coach for the 2018 season. Although it may not be a splashy choice, it is likely a good hire. Alex Cora has no managerial experience. Bringing aboard Roenicke, the Red Sox now have a bench coach who managed for over...

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Best Starting Pitchers In Red Sox History: Left-Handed Edition

Best Starting Pitchers In Red Sox History: Left-Handed Edition

Posted by | Nov 2, 2017 | ,

This is the second article in my Red Sox all-time franchise players series. Following up the Right Handers, comes the greatest left-handed pitchers in Red Sox history. Again, this isn’t the five best lefties to ever put on a Red Sox uniform, these are the five who did the most while in a Sox jersey.   Babe Ruth Everyone knows about Babe Ruth. People also generally know he was a good pitcher before he switched to a full time hitter. But just how good was he? Babe Ruth was 20 during his first full season, and won 18 games. The...

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Best Starting Pitchers in Red Sox History- Right-Handed Edition

Best Starting Pitchers in Red Sox History- Right-Handed Edition

Posted by | Oct 30, 2017 | ,

This is the first of a series of historical articles I will be putting out. I will be doing all-franchise teams for Major League Baseball, starting with the Boston Red Sox. Since the Sox are the best, I will go more in depth with them and cover the top five players at each spot. These picks will combine all factors, longevity, peak, influence, etc. To kick things off I will cover the 5 greatest right-handed starting pitchers in franchise history. Pedro Martinez Pedro is the most dominating pitcher I have ever seen. Pitching during the height of the steroid...

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The Red Sox Should Not Trade for Stanton

The Red Sox Should Not Trade for Stanton

Posted by | Oct 24, 2017 | ,

The Boston Red Sox should not trade for Giancarlo Stanton. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy. Stanton is a pleasure to watch.  He hits the ball harder than anyone I have seen. I’ve sent many videos of his home runs to my brothers over the years. With all the following aspects considered however, the Red Sox have better options available to them. The Money The Sox would owe Stanton fat stacks.  Yes, Stanton is an all-world talent and worth a lot of money. Yes, he is still only 27 years old. But other options  can be had...

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Patriots-Falcons Q & A with The Falcoholic

Patriots-Falcons Q & A with The Falcoholic

Posted by | Oct 20, 2017 | ,

I sat down with Dave Choate, Editor-in-chief of The Falcoholic , for a Q & A session discussing this weeks game between the Patriots and Falcons. Below are the questions I asked Dave regarding key matchups in the game. Dave will be posting the other side of the Q & A session on the Falcoholic website this weekend. What is a weakness on the Falcons side the Patriots can exploit? A huge weakness they can exploit right now is Duke Riley at linebacker. If you can get into space, the Falcons linebackers have struggled to make open field tackles;...

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And the New Manager Will Be?

And the New Manager Will Be?

Posted by | Oct 14, 2017 | ,

With John Farrell out as Red Sox manager after five years at the helm, the Sox are looking for a manager for the first time since the Bobby Valentine debacle. Dave Dombrowski will be interviewing for the first time since joining the Red Sox. Farrell made some questionable in-game decisions, it was probably time for him to go. Looking back on his tenure though, he won a World Series while here and three AL East Division titles. Thank you for your work John Farrell. Now, onto the candidates for replacing him. The Favorites Brad Ausmus, in my opinion, is the...

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Red Sox Postseason Numbers Crunch in Bullpen

Red Sox Postseason Numbers Crunch in Bullpen

Posted by | Sep 20, 2017 |

The Red Sox face a roster crunch for the postseason. Many bullpen arms have stepped up down the stretch and pitching well in critical spots. Of course, not a bad problem to have. It does however beg the question, which ones will make the postseason team? Bullpen Arms Craig Kimbrel is obviously on the team as the closer. That’s the number-one bullpen spot. Addison Reed will no doubt set him up. Despite a couple hiccups with the Red Sox, Reed has pitched well since coming over. With reports that David Price will pitch out of the pen in the...

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The Cavaliers Playing Dirty

The Cavaliers Playing Dirty

Posted by | Aug 29, 2017 |

The Cavaliers are playing hardball. In my opinion, they are playing dirty. In trade talks between the Cavs and Celtics, Boston was reportedly forthcoming with all medical information on Isaiah Thomas. The two teams agreed to a trade.  The Celtics would send the Brooklyn Nets first-round pick next season along with Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic to Cleveland in exchange for Kyrie Irving. The two teams forged the agreement based on the understanding of the health of Thomas’ hip. Faulty Memory? A couple days after the trade, news leaked that the Cavaliers had concerns with Isaiah Thomas’...

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How Will Tom Brady Share the Wealth?

How Will Tom Brady Share the Wealth?

Posted by | Aug 23, 2017 |

Tom Brady has a bevy of quality receivers at his disposal for this upcoming season. We all know Tom Brady is not only the best quarterback in the NFL, or even just the best quarterback in NFL history, but in fact the greatest being to ever grace this Earth with his presence. He will get everyone their looks, each receiver will have their day. But how can we expect those receptions to be split up? Wide Receivers Julian Edelman is the old standby at wide receiver. He is Tom Brady’s most trusted target. The two of them know what...

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Can the Red Sox Make the World Series?

Can the Red Sox Make the World Series?

Posted by | Aug 16, 2017 | ,

Five things that need to happen for the Red Sox to win the World Series: David Price comes back healthy and finally wins a couple games in the postseason: Price has notoriously never won a playoff game.   If he could come back and pitch well that would be huge for the Sox. He needs to get the monkey off his back and win a playoff game, and in so doing he would go a long way towards shoring up the pitching staff. Drew Pomeranz has had a complete turnaround, but behind Chris Sale the Red Sox pitcher with...

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