No idea where it stands in terms of the the most lopsided extra inning games in ML history, but the Giants scored nine in the 11th to be beat the Cubs.
That is one of the most situation-blind interviews I’ve ever heard from an athlete. If I were one of his teammates I’d be hunting for him in the locker room with bad intentions. Guess that kind of clubhouse justice doesn’t happen any more, though.
To me it's not so much the selfishness as the self-own. Like, you're really not a good enough hitter and baseball player to bounce between DH and 1B? When you supposedly would rather be playing 3B, badly?
Not sure it really matters for the team, they end up with a weak bat at either post and might be better off with the utility guy at 1B. But nevertheless....
The Red Sox have a lot of outfielders, including Yoshida who is on the IL but was the DH last year. It would definitely be a better lineup with Devers at 1B and someone else at DH.
Let's say a player on a first place team in March/April is hitting over .400 with 10 home runs, more than an RBI per game, an OBP over .500, and and an OPS over 1.4. He is going to win the MVP, right?
No, because that's not Aaron Judge, whose March/April OPS was "only" 1.282. The player above is Tony Perez in 1970, who finished 3rd in MVP voting that year. He cooled off. Judge probably will, too.
Yeah but Tony Perez had a career .804 OPS. Judge's is 1.019 (which is about where Perez ended up that year. 990).
And Tony lost to a player on his own team!
I'm sure he'll cool off but he was already the MVP two of the last three years.
As a resident of NE, I hear a lot of the Boston sports news despite my best efforts to avoid it.
The comments by Devers continues a history of tension between this player and the organization.
He was signed long term for his real talent as a hitter, but also within the context of letting both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts go and the organization receiving well deserved fan & media criticism of cheapness and poor talent evaluation. Xander was allowed to walk as a FA and the Betts trade (Betts + David Price for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong) has not been popular.
As a 3B, Devers has struggled the last several years which led to the signing of Bregman who is an upgrade there. Devers did not go to DH willingly, much public back and forth with the organization and tension with Craig Breslow in particular (Bosox Head of Baseball Operations). Alex Cora, the manager who was extended to a big contract too for this season, has laid low during the conflict.
Devers also struggled at the plate as a DH to start the season, but has recently been hitting much better. Now, with the injury to Casas which was really ugly, there have been internal discussions with Devers on considering 1B. Devers comments blow into the public eye again, targeting Breslow once more. Not a good look at all. Breslow has taken the high road trying to mediate the situation with who is supposed to be their core star player. Devers likely worried about how learning the new position with impact his hitting, but the organization asking for a more team oriented approach. Devers saw how Bogaerts and Betts were treated and may not have a high level of trust with TPTB, but they did give him the money (respect) and have expectations he will play ball (pun intended) with them.
The organization is helped by two prospects (Kristian Campbell & Marcelo Mayer) doing quite well in the farm system that could learn the 1B position perhaps easier than Devers. The permanent DH does provide a spot for Devers, but IMO what player would turn down a chance to learn a new position and thus make himself even more valuable to his team? That is the strange thing about Devers' attitude.
I don't know. To turn to the Phillies discussion on this board about the possibility of moving Turner to the OF, the conclusion, reinforced by Winkelman, was that it's just not something you do in mid-season, because the player needs time to learn and develop instincts for the new position. In Devers favor, he wanted to be a position player this season and management insisted that he would only DH. If they need another position player, how about Bregman to 1B and Devers to 3B for the rest of this season and then make the swap in off-season? Signing Bregman was the initial kick in the head to Devers. Yes, he got a big contract, but he didn't sign that deal to be a DH at his current age. He could have gotten a big payday elsewhere.
That is a very valid point, but not everything falls so neatly into off-season vs in-season buckets. Boston is in a very competitive division and fighting to make the playoffs. Can they wait until the off-season to train up Devers? Not really because, by then, Casas or someone else will be ready to play 1B and the need will be gone.
The need is now. Casas is going to miss considerable time and they need a regular 1B which they do not have on the bench. They could call up Campbell or Mayer or someone else and have them learn on the fly, but we know it is hard enough transition to the Majors without learning a new position too.
From the team POV, the culture they are working on instilling with the players is what the Phillies already have due to leadership from guys like Harper, Schwarber, Wheeler etc. Bregman is another step in that direction, coming from Houston that had that team ethic as well.
Again, a very valid point, but Devers only wants to be a position player on his OWN terms. It was 3B or nothing. Bringing in Bregman made it clear that conversation was over which ticked Devers off I'm sure. I cannot blame him for that, but, once the decision is made, one can pout or make the best of it. DH is not a bad gig, he gets to hit which is what he wants to do most and what he is really good at doing. The team gets a better defensive 3B and another good bat in Bregman. Win-Win.
Bregman to 1B is not a bad idea and could be a way to smooth over the issue, but Devers is bad at 3B and everyone knows it. The whole point of Bregman was vet leadership and a better 3B. Moving him to 1B negates half of the value and puts the team back at square 1 with Devers.
I think, once the discussion of Turner going to 2B or the OF comes along, he will be open to the possibility because it will be clear he can no longer play a passable SS and/or clearing up his defensive struggles would help him focus on his offense. You're right, that is not where Devers is in his career which is why this is a trickier problem for Boston.
It's a different discussion for different positions. Moving between DH and 1B shouldn't be that hard and should be in every player's quiver. And a 3B should be able to play 1B fairly easily, just ask Alec Bohm or Kody Clemens (who is primarily a 2B).
I think the issue with Turner is less how it would affect Turner as, I don't believe that the Phillies have a better SS to replace him, not to mention the Phillies don't have a vacancy in LF or CF. It's all based on exaggerating Turner's shortcomings (as well as Kepler and Marsh's and Rojas's) and overrating Sosa's ability as an everyday player.
Next year the Phillies currently have no one under contract for LF or DH, and may also be ready to get a new 3B, and it becomes a whole different picture set of options (plus MIller might be the new SS).
In Devers' defense I looked at his minor league record and he has never played 1B ever. Not even an inning. With Bregman on board they really should have introduced this in Spring Training. And I am a little shocked the Red Sox did not even give him a handful of games in the minors. Most corner-only players get some 1B time regularly in the minors even if 3B is their primary position.
At the end of the day it does come down to ego. While I still believe Harper and Boras might blanch if the Phillies ever pay another position player more money, and he's alsoless open to being somewhere different in the batting order, he has done everything they've asked him to do positionally and has also said he'd go back to RF if the Phillies wanted to sign a 1B. (That his selflessness might also take away Nick's job, and technically took away Rhys's, well.... he can't help that!)
Whereas Devers seems to think that being the highest-paid player on the team means he should also get more say, and feels disrespected.
I try not to be judgmental about things like the Devers situation. We don't know everything that's gone on, including what the nature of the Red Sox communication with him was. There is the outward appearance that they didn't communicate well with Devers during the Bregman negotiations, even though there is no way Devers should play 3B over Bregman. In the recent communications, did they ask Devers how he felt about playing 1B, or tell him they wanted him to.
That said, this is not a good look for Devers, especially to us Phillies fans who have seen Harper stay at 1B even though he probably would rather go back to the OF. There are many superstars over the years who have switched positions for the good of the tam--Betts, Ripken, A-Rod, Altuve, etc.
One might think that what the previous Sox regime did (letting Betts and Bogaerts go and supposedly telling Devers he would stay at 3B for 10 years, which seems like a silly thing to say to anyone let alone a mediocre defensive player) shouldn't matter. It does look worse when Mookie, a better player than Devers, has moved all over the place since he went to the Dodgers without a whimper.
I'm pretty sure Devers thinks he's better defensively than he really is (I wonder what Bohm, Castellanos, and Turner think of their own defensive abilities). And it's understandable that he feels jerked around being asked to change positions twice in three months. But it makes me more appreciative of the attitude of the Phillies players, especially Harper, who is leading by example. I am somewhat optimistic that Turner will willingly change positions when the time comes (I don't think it's now).
Respect, like many things, is a two-way street.
On the one hand, the Sox' recent treatment of other key players may have raised legitimate concerns with Devers. But on the other hand, Devers is not treating his current teammates with the respect they are due - as teammates. He's prioritizing himself over his team.