DHL Dan CCXXXI - The Juan Soto Pursuit

Shank doesn't think much of the Red Sox going after free agent Juan Soto:

Red Sox deserve no benefit of the doubt with their Juan Soto pursuit, and other thoughts

Picked up pieces while prepping to watch the Super Bowl-bound Lions on Thanksgiving …

▪ The Red Sox sent a contingent to Orange County last week to meet with outfielder Juan Soto and his agent, Scott Boras. The Sox were represented by Sam Kennedy, Tom Werner, Alex Cora, and Craig Breslow. It’s been reported that the meeting went well, but that no offer was made. Other teams courting Soto include the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, and Blue Jays.

Boston’s toe in the water has seamhead dreamers and innocents convinced that the Red Sox actually have a chance.

Not this typist.

When pigs can fly and cows jump over the moon . . . when hell freezes over . . . when an NBA guard gets called for “palming” . . . when Larry Bird picks up a check . . . when California tumbles into the sea . . .

OK, the Larry Bird quip was funny!

No, You're The Soft One!

Now that the 2024 New England Patriots are firmly below .500 for the season, Shank the Knife returns to his Patriots bashing form:

Jerod Mayo once called his Patriots soft, but he is coaching in a similar fashion

Butch Hobson. Dave Lewis. Rod Rust. M.L. Carr.

Soft team?

How about “soft coaching”?

Patriots rookie sideline boss Jerod Mayo made headlines last month when he termed his team “soft” after a 32-16 loss, its sixth consecutive defeat, against Jacksonville in London.

Highly insulting. There’s not much worse you can say about an NFL player or team. “Soft” is a highly charged word in professional sports, especially football. It’s like telling a Fox News host that he or she is “woke.”

Inspired by the insult and the play of rookie quarterback Drake Maye, the rebuilding Patriots won two of their next three games. They might have won three in a row but were restrained by their hesitant head coach in Tennessee when he ordered a point-after kick after the Patriots cut the Titans’ lead to a single point at the end of regulation.

It's a bit early with the Rod Rust / M.L. Carr comparisons, isn't it? And Shank's then beamoning other people on 'insulting' remarks?

DHL Dan CCXXX - Grogan's Heroes

Shank takes a look back at the last New England Patriots quarterback who ran a lot:

Steve Grogan can tell Drake Maye all about a scrambling quarterback, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while laughing at reports that the Red Sox “have interest” in Juan Soto . . .

▪ Before Tom Brady was born, Steve Grogan was the Patriots’ franchise quarterback. And he ran with the football. A lot.

Tough guy Grogan gave the Patriots 16 hard-nosed seasons, running amok, throwing his body on the line, and living to play another week. When he retired in 1991, Grogan was the Patriots’ all-time passing leader, and his 35 rushing touchdowns still rank fourth in team history.

Like Drake Maye, Grogan was not a fan of giving himself up at the end of a run. There was no “slide rule” to protect quarterbacks in the first decade of Grogan’s career, and when the rule was introduced in 1985, Grogan didn’t like it.

“I only slid once in my career,” Grogan said from his Missouri home this past week. “It was in Pittsburgh. I got hit under the chin and got a concussion and woke up in the shower. I don’t think they even threw a flag on that play. That was the last time I slid.

I think Grogan could've played a few more years with the new rules. I remember he used to get the crap kicked out of him every other scrambling run. Here's hoping Drake Maye's a bit more judicious with his running and sliding.

DHL Dan CCXXIX - Riding The Pine

The Bruins' David Pastrnak got benched earlier in the week, and Shank recalls another Bruins benching:

David Pastrnak’s benching recalls an earlier event that didn’t sit well with Cam Neely, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while calmly reciting Lou Gorman’s mantra: “The sun will rise, the sun will set, and I’ll have lunch” …

▪ Bruins coach Jim Montgomery benched his best player, David Pastrnak, for the third period of a win over the Kraken at the Garden last weekend.

And it was no big deal. After taking responsibility for a bad turnover in the game, Pasta said, “I don’t want to be any distraction to our team,” then two days later led all Bruins forwards with 22:18 of ice time in Toronto.

I don’t remember Manny Ramirez, Tom Brady, or Larry Bird getting benched very often. It’s a hockey thing. And it’s usually not a big deal.

Except for once around here when it was.

In January of 1996, 34-year-old rookie Bruins coach Steve Kasper sat Cam Neely and Kevin Stevens for a game in Toronto that ended in a 4-4 tie. Neely, a nine-year Bruins veteran and alternate captain who was playing in the final year of his career, did not take it well, and neither did Bruins fans.

The Real Deal?

That's what Shank's wondering after last week's New England Patriots loss to the Tennessee Titans:

Love or hate the Drake, you will always remember Maye’s Music City Miracle — and he looks like the real deal

NASHVILLE — Drake Maye did it all Sunday in Tennessee.

All except for the winning part.

One week after being sidelined by a concussion in the first quarter against the Jets, New England’s new franchise quarterback made his fourth career start and did a lot of everything.

With little concern for his personal safety, Maye ran the ball eight times for 95 yards, eschewing the safety slide on most occasions and coming within 5 yards of being the first Patriot quarterback in 48 years to rush for 100 (Steve Grogan, 1976).

Love the Drake!

He completed 29 of 41 passes for 206 yards and orchestrated two second-half touchdown drives.

Love the Drake!

He fumbled twice (losing one) and was intercepted twice.

Hate the Drake!

DHL Dan CCXXVIII - Spooky Thoughts

Speaking of mailing it in, I skipped three of Shank's columns from ealier in the week, so we can get right to a sequel to Shank's infamous book, The Curse of The Bambino:

These Mookie Betts/Babe Ruth parallels with the Red Sox are getting spooky, and other thoughts

NEW YORK — Picked-up pieces while concluding that the Mets, Phillies, and Padres also would have beaten the Yankees . . .

▪ The Dodgers won the World Series Wednesday, and it was Mookie Betts driving in the winning run. Mookie has won two World Series since the Red Sox dealt him for Jeter Downs (released after 14 games), Connor Wong, and Alex Verdugo (traded to the Yankees).

This really is starting to feel like Babe Ruth Redux. Exactly 100 years later.

The Babe came to the Red Sox in 1914, Mookie in 2014.

The Babe won a World Series with the Sox in 1918, Mookie in 2018.

The Babe was sold to the Yankees after the 1919 season because Red Sox ownership needed cash. Mookie was traded to the Dodgers after the 2019 season because the Red Sox wouldn’t pay what the Dodgers were willing to pay him.