The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Red Sox summer has been an unforgettable one so far
The boy got a new version of Monopoly for Christmas, which we just got around to playing during a summer vacation lull this week. It’s called Monopoly Ultimate Banking. Instead of cash, players get a credit card and an electronic ATM that keeps track of every financial transaction.
It actually speeds things up quite a bit. While a traditional game of Monopoly lasts roughly nine hours, we finished in 20 minutes.
But it eliminated the most enjoyable part of the game — squirreling away money under the board to instill false confidence in your opponents, who think you’re about to go broke.
And it should be noted there’s something a tad unsettling about swiping an imaginary credit card and watching your funds slowly dwindle away. The only thing that would make the game more realistic is nightly phone calls from the Parker Brothers collection agency.
⏩ Another day, another mind-blowing grand slam. So it goes for the Red Sox, who continue to pile up wins in impressive fashion for what’s already been an unforgettable summer.
The Sox have the most explosive pitcher, power hitter and position players in baseball. Chris Sale is worth a dozen strikeouts every time he takes the hill. J.D. Martinez was a brilliant free agent signing that replaced everything Boston was lacking in power a year ago. Mookie Betts is so good he’s toying with opposing pitchers; his grand slam on the 13th pitch of an at-bat Thursday night was like watching a lion wear down a gazelle before pouncing.
Sure, it’s only July. Two more months of baseball remain. The Red Sox are on pace to win 113 games they haven’t quite shaken the Yankees, hanging in despite a revolving door of injuries.
But it’s shaping up to be an historic season in Boston. And, as we’ve seen throughout a near flawless first half, it should continue to be fun to watch.
⏩ Media in Boston are doing their best to convince us no one in Beantown is all that interested in the Sox’s success. Now that the team has shed the lovable loser tag and become a deep-pocketed juggernaut, according to a few esteemed writers, fans just aren’t that interested. Could have fooled us.
⏩ Attendance is down in baseball. It’s down in nearly every other pro and major college sport, too. Owners aren’t fretting. The NFL’s total revenue was over $17 billion last year; MLB was over $10 billion, according to Sports Business Journal. Expanded TV and media rights deals ensure teams are making big money even if fewer fannies are in the seats.
⏩ As someone who watches a ton of baseball on TV, the worst part of the experience is the intrusive strike-zone box overlayed on the catcher for every single pitch.
⏩ There’s been no formal announcement and officials at Yale offer no comment. But, rest assured, artificial turf at the Yale Bowl is imminent. The upcoming season is expected to be the final one with natural grass.
We hear the amended plan now includes the installation of miles of heating coils beneath the turf, a state-of-the-art system that allows Yale to control surface temperature to keep snow and moisture from accumulating.
The Bowl’s grass surface is set below sea level, making it difficult to maintain. It’s typically a muddy mess by late fall, especially when it rains. Several professional stadiums in cold-weather regions, including Minnesota, Green Bay and New England, also use undersoil heating systems.
Yale and Brown are the only Ivy League schools still playing on grass.
Once the turf is installed Yale plans on working with the CIAC to play host to the high school football state championships. High school football was a major draw at the Bowl from the 1930s through 1957 — a record crowd of 40,504 watched Hillhouse and West Haven play on Thanksgiving Day in 1948.
The last high school game played at the Bowl was in 1984.
A new scoreboard with video capability is also being discussed to further bring the 104-year old facility into the modern age.
Permanent lights at the Bowl aren’t part of the current plan. Yale is content to continue with temporary lighting for night games, which it has used the past few seasons.
⏩ One major contributor to the Red Sox success is relatively unheralded. Bethel’s Matt Barnes, also a UConn product, has become one of the best set-up relievers in baseball.
⏩ As of Saturday evening there still wasn’t an official announcement. But Quinnipiac coaches Rand Pecknold and Bill Riga let the cat out of the bag. Reid Cashman, who starred as a player and assistant coach at Quinnipiac, was hired to the coaching staff of the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals as an assistant. Cashman spent the past two seasons as an assistant for the Caps’ AHL affiliate in Hershey.
⏩ The Montgomery Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, announced a “Millennial Night” for next weekend. Those in attendance will receive participation ribbons and can utilize selfie and napping stations at the ballpark. To the surprise of no one, there was plenty of blowback on social media from those offended by the promotion. Perhaps the team noting plenty of avocados will be available at the concession stand was taking it too far?
⏩ Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are playing a $10 million, winner-take-all match. This would be a lot more interesting to me if the money at stake was coming out of their own bloated bank accounts.
Maybe they can take a cue from Monopoly Ultimate Banking. Rather than the boring presentation of an oversized novelty check, they could install an ATM just off the 18th green for a ceremonial cash withdrawal.