The Sunday, April 19, 2020

* The Boston Globe

For draft-eligible players, the opportunity to impress scouts vanished overnight

Peter Abraham

Virginia Tech lefthander Ian Seymour, a junior from Westborough, was 3-0 with a 2.21 earned average in his first four starts this season. Switching from a two-seam to a four-seamer led to him striking out 40 over 20⅓ with only five walks.

Seymour was flying up the draft boards of major league teams. Then the season came to a sudden stop because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We were getting ready to play Miami at home, a huge series, then everybody started looking at their phones and we saw what was going on,” he said. “It was like, ‘What do we do now?’ ”

The same was largely true for Wake Forest lefthander Jared Shuster, a junior from New Bedford who was 2-1 with a 3.76 ERA in four starts and piling up thanks to improved command of his secondary pitches.

Both had put themselves in position where continued success would surely have vaulted them into early rounds of the draft.

Now? They just don’t know. For draft-eligible players in college or high school, the opportunity to impress scouts vanished overnight.

“It’s unfortunate for our whole team because we had been working hard,” Shuster said. “We’re all in the dark about this. But people staying safe is more important.”

Clearly baseball is a secondary matter in the context of a national health crisis and the rising death toll. But once baseball is able to get going, the draft will be a historic one in the context of the sport because of the changes agreed to by and the MLB Players Association.

No date has been announced for the draft beyond it will not be held as originally scheduled on June 10. Executives expect it will be in July.

Instead of the usual 40 rounds, there will be a minimum of five and a maximum of 10. Undrafted free agents will be limited to a $20,000 signing bonus.

Counting compensation picks, a five-round draft would encompass 161 players. There were 1,217 selections last season.

For players such as Shuster and Seymour, it’s an anxious time. They are permitted to speak to scouts, but teams are not allowed to make in-person visits or watch video of workouts.

Ascending prospects are left hoping that the initial impression they made this season will be enough.

Shuster returned home and is throwing with Wake teammate Ryan Cusick, who is from Sudbury. Seymour stayed at his off-campus apartment and is working out there.

At 6 feet 3 inches and 210 pounds, Shuster has ideal size for a lefty. He also diligently worked with the Wake Forest coaches to improve his mechanics. That led to improved control and his fastball jumping up to 97 miles per hour.

Wake’s high-tech pitching lab gave Shuster a better sense of how to exploit his and . He had 43 strikeouts in 26⅓ innings as a result.

“You can see what parts of your delivery to fix and track that with the numbers,” Shuster said. “You can see how you improve over time.”

Two scouts, who asked for anonymity, said Shuster could be among the first 30-35 picks.

Seymour ended his season with 14 strikeouts in six innings against Georgia Tech on March 8. After two solid seasons with the Hokies, he had a 2.49 ERA for Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League last summer and carried that into season.

“I felt like last summer was the first time I had all my pitches working,” said Seymour, who may have pitched his way into the second round. “That gave me a lot of confidence. Once I got back to school, everything was about how we could do as a team and fitting into that.

“I just wanted to have fun and get better. Our team was great like that. We came to the field every day to get better.”

Tech was 11-5 when the season ended. Now Seymour and some teammates are left playing catch.

“Just keeping my arm in shape and throwing a fake every few days,” he said. “I’m taking my classes online and staying home. That’s all you can focus on.”

Baseball America lists Shuster 47th on its list of the 400 best draft prospects. Seymour is 96th.

Seymour and Shuster grew up Red Sox fans and would love to get drafted by their favorite team. But the main goal is just to get selected and start a journey that is certain to have some uncertain steps at the beginning.

Even if MLB teams can restart their season, minor league teams could remain shut down until 2021.

“I don’t have any idea what will happen. It’s really strange not knowing when my next game could be,” Seymour said. “But hopefully I get a chance to play pro ball. That’s my dream whether it’s with the Sox or anybody else.”

READY TO GO Roenicke must manage emotions

At 63, Red Sox manager could have retired after last season. He has been in since 1977 and certainly has earned that right.

But he decided to return as bench coach, then he actively pursued the manager’s job when had to step aside. Roenicke felt he was the best choice to lead the players through what was shaping up to be a difficult transition.

Now, with the season on hold, Roenicke is home in California and admittedly a little cranky at times.

“At this time of the year, I am not comfortable with just saying, ‘I know I’m at home and enjoy yourself.’ I just can’t do it,” he said during a get-together with reporters on Zoom this past week.

“I should be out there with the guys and trying to manage the team. It’s really difficult to sit here and relax and enjoy it. It’s not comfortable. Every morning I wake up and know I’m not supposed to be here.”

RELATED: Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke believes there will be a baseball season Because he so wanted to manage this particular team, Roenicke said it has been difficult seeing the last few weeks go by.

“You work so hard and we got everybody close to being ready in ,” he said. “I was looking really forward to managing and being with the guys and then all of a sudden, boom, a complete stop. That part of it makes it tough.”

But Roenicke also understands the staggering death toll from the pandemic and hardship caused by so many people losing their jobs is far bigger than baseball.

“That’s way more difficult than what I’m dealing with. So that keeps me in a better perspective about what I’m doing and how I feel,” he said.

Roenicke is using some of his downtime to talk to his friends in the business — Bud Black, Joe Maddon, and Mike Scioscia in particular — to discuss how best to conduct the next version of spring training whenever it gets scheduled.

“It’s nice to have other guys I can talk to about it other than our front office and coaching staff,” Roenicke said.

A few other thoughts on the Red Sox:

▪ Roenicke didn’t have too much information on the condition of Alex Verdugo, who was unable to participate in spring training as a stress fracture in his back healed.

But Verdugo posted a video on Instagram that showed him taking full-force swings at balls on a tee. So that’s progress considering he wasn’t taking cuts remotely like that last month.

▪ Roenicke mentioned how much the Sox liked righthander Austin Brice for a role in the bullpen. Brice was acquired from the Marlins in January after being designated for assignment and worked 6⅔ scoreless innings in spring training, striking out 10 with one walk.

“Our bullpen, I felt it was going to be good,” Roenicke said. “We had a lot of really good arms. [Brice] was a nice look for us, to see what he could do in spring training. He threw the ball great.”

▪ According to , the Red Sox are expected to sign 16-year-old Dominican Miguel Bleis. He’s 6-2 and one of the best athletes on the international market.

▪ It has now been 100 days since Major League Baseball launched its investigation into the 2018 Red Sox and the charges of illegal sign-stealing.

Obviously, commissioner Rob Manfred and his deputies have pressing issues to deal with involving the pandemic and what comes next. But it’s time to wrap this up.

▪ Major league players contributed $937,100 to help fund 4 million meals for needy school-age children who are normally fed at school but are now home.

Nate Eovaldi and worked together to contact their Red Sox teammates for donations. of the Cardinals, Kyle Gibson of the Rangers, and country singer Garth Brooks worked with MLB to get the initiative going.

▪ Congrats to Amanda and Kevin Pillar on the birth of their second child, a son. Jetson Michael Pillar joined the team on Tuesday.

CHIP OFF THE BLOCK Remembering Hank Steinbrenner

The Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is more history than reality these days. The players are chummy before games and mutual respect flows between the ownership groups and front offices.

The last on-field dustup of any note was the fight between and the immortal Tyler Austin early in the 2018 season. Bill Lee vs. Graig Nettles it was not.

The atmosphere surely would be different had Hank Steinbrenner maintained control of the Yankees.

Steinbrenner, who died on Tuesday after a long illness, ran the Yankees from 2007-08 with a streak of impetuousness that made him a popular figure at the time.

Steinbrenner insulted on his way out of town and once told reporters about the arbitrary deadline he imposed on trade talks for Johan Santana before informing general manager .

“What a bunch of [expletive] that is,” Steinbrenner snarled in 2008 when asked about the “Red Sox Nation” marketing slogan.

Sox principal owner John Henry, who also owns the Globe, goaded Steinbrenner into more comments by sending him a Red Sox Nation membership card and a team cap signed by David Ortiz.

Hank looked and sounded a lot like his father, . As a beat writer covering the Yankees at the time, it was fantastic. Need a story? Call Hank. He would opine on most any subject.

But the Yankees finished in third place in 2008, ending a 13-year run of playoff appearances. Hank was quietly moved to the side and his brother Hal Steinbrenner took over as managing general partner.

Hal only occasionally grants interviews and guides the Yankees with a steady, determinedly noncontroversial approach. It’s boring, but it works.

The Sox-Yankees rivalry — and, really, baseball in general — needs more personality whether it’s on the field or in the owner’s box. Hank Steinbrenner had plenty of that.

ETC. Dennehy had his 'Catch’

Brian Dennehy, who died Thursday at the age of 81, won two Tony Awards and was known for his roles in a wide assortment of films including “Cocoon,” “Rambo,” “Silverado,” and of course the all-time cinematic classic “Tommy Boy.”

For baseball fans, Dennehy may be best remembered as manager John Schiffner in 2001’s “Summer Catch.”

The film, set in the Cape Cod League, was a poorly reviewed romantic comedy starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel. Dennehy played the manager of the Chatham A’s.

Dennehy did his homework for the role, inviting the real-life Schiffner out for dinner before filming started. Both happened to have homes in eastern Connecticut at the time.

“He was a really nice man and was so gracious,” said Schiffner, who managed Chatham for 25 years. “We talked about baseball and he told some stories. It was a great night.”

Schiffner was a bit aghast when Dennehy’s character lit up a cigarette in the dugout while managing the team. But he thought his portrayal was otherwise on the money.

Ten years later, Dennehy and Schiffner happened to cross paths at a different restaurant. Schiffner went over to say hello and it took Dennehy a few seconds to remember him.

“He kind of squinted at me and then said to the people he was with, ‘Hey, I played this guy!’ It was a fun moment,” Schiffner said.

“Summer Catch” included cameos from Hank Aaron, Carlton Fisk, and Ken Griffey Jr.

Extra bases Indians manager Terry Francona isn’t too concerned with the details of how baseball will come back. “We’ll do whatever we’re supposed to do,” he said. “Like always, the teams that handle adversity usually put themselves in a better situation to win than the other teams. That’s part of why I like our guys so much because I think they’re willing to handle adversity. This would just be another area of that. If you see baseball at some point that means that our country is coming back to a sense of normalcy, which is great. And then for us to have a season, we’re all going to have to be willing to be flexible.” … is riding out the pandemic at home in Nashville playing video games and going for long walks with his wife and daughter. He told Dodgers radio voice Joe Davis in a recent interview that putting on a new uniform in spring training was difficult. “It was weird, man. It was weird,” Betts said. “It took my mom calling and saying, ‘You look good in blue.’ I accepted it. It was super weird, but it didn’t take long to get used to.” … The parking lots at Angel Stadium and Dodger Stadium are almost full. Rental car companies, who are doing little business, needed the space to park cars that are normally on the road … Roy Halladay had a Hall of Fame career and made approximately $150 million. But a report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that he had high levels of amphetamines, morphine, and an antidepressant drug when he lost control of his small plane and died in 2017. Halladay was 40 at the time and only 3½ years into retirement. For some players, leaving the game is harder than playing it. The incident remains a painful reminder that we never really know what is going on with even the most successful of players ... Happy birthday to Jackie Bradley Jr., who is 30. Bradley has 16.1 WAR since 2014, more than any Red Sox player during that time other than Betts (41.8) and (21.2). Another good defensive outfielder, Rick Miller, is 72. Miller played for the Sox from 1971-77 and again from 1981-85. Jose Cruz is 46, Spike Owen is 59 and Frank Viola is 60. Cruz played for the Red Sox? Indeed, for a grand total of four games in 2005 before the Dodgers claimed him off waivers.

A look at the economics of sports in a post-pandemic world

Alex Speier

By the time the ink dried on ’s nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees in December, the possibilities for Mookie Betts seemed extraordinary. Could the outfielder, perennially among the best position players in baseball, vault above the $400 million bar?

Four months later, the context for that question and so many others has changed drastically, the landscape for the entire sports and entertainment industry and the economy in which it resides upended. Professional sports leagues in the United States have no present and, like the environment in which they reside, confront a stormy financial future that will stretch beyond the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For years, professional sports have been an almost constant cash cow, the ka-ching of cash registers seemingly echoing at sports arenas and during broadcasts. There’s a reason franchise valuations have skyrocketed, with teams now routinely coming with price tags measured in billions.

But as is the case across the economy, the global health crisis may create not merely ripples but tidal waves in the sports industry with repercussions that could be felt well beyond the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season.

What will happen to free agency? If teams go without any additional revenues from games this year, or additional games without fans, will they look to slash payrolls?

There is little doubt the factors that will dictate future contracts will be very different than the ones that existed even last winter.

“The psychic income and ego-driven aspects of the sport will still be there. If this were a purely rational business run as a public company would for maximization of shareholder value, yeah, I think you’d see profound effects. But I think there’s always been a break between that motivation and that approach with professional sports. They’ve always operated on a different level, and I think they’ll continue to do that,” said Vince Gennaro, associate dean at NYU’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport. “But I do think it will be harder to envision a $400 million contract right now. Would [Mike] Trout have gotten $400 million next year if he were purely in the free agent market, if he were maybe the one guy who could command that number? I don’t know. [Bryce] Harper might have gotten $240 [million] instead of $330 [million].”

“I think we’ll be feeling some of the reverberations from [the pandemic] for a couple of years.”

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred told The Associated Press this week, “there’s no question that what’s going on now will have an impact on ’21.” Some sports economists believe that even that portrayal understates the future that now confronts the sports world. The consequences of job losses, the expansion of the money supply, and ballooning federal deficits will reshape the economy — including the sports economy — well beyond this year.

“I think we’ll be feeling some of the reverberations from [the pandemic] for a couple of years,” said Smith College professor of economics Andrew Zimbalist. “They will diminish over time. How this unwinds itself is, I think, there’s probably going to be many factors, most of which are somewhat imponderable from the standpoint of an economist or public policy maker. It’s not going to be easy street where we have calm economic markets and you have everything flowing the way that we did six months ago.”

No one knows what that will mean for how sports leagues operate. Player salaries and free agency represent exercises in the unknown, with industry sources acknowledging they can do little more than throw darts when trying to imagine how markets might work when the conditions in which they operate are experiencing radical change.

Leagues face a 2020 season with diminished revenues from lost games while hoping to avoid the even grimmer scenario of losing either an entire postseason (NHL, NBA) or an entire season (MLB, perhaps the NFL). If there are games, many or all will be played without fans in attendance in 2020, resulting in the loss of ticket, concession, and merchandise revenues.

A best-case scenario in 2020 might feature only partial crowds to allow sports venues to space fans in a way that mitigates public health risks. That still would result in significant losses of earnings that may lead teams to seek changes to what they pay players.

Professor David Hollander of NYU’s Tisch Institute for Global Sport suggested that all leagues may have to open their collective bargaining agreements to redefine how players and owners do business. Zimbalist anticipates owners will slash player salaries to offset losses.

“The rational way to deal with that is to say to the players, ‘Look, you get paid in our system according to how much revenue you generate. You’re going to generate on average 40 percent less because we’re not getting gate, concessions, and sponsorship revenue. So we’re going to reduce everyone’s salary by 40 percent. And since we’re going to play only 75 percent of the games, we’re going to reduce your salaries by another 25 percent.’ That’s perfectly rational. That’s the only way to do this,” said Zimbalist. “Keep in mind that the players, no matter how much they kick and scream, have next to no bargaining power.”

That process won’t be easy. Already, there are signs that MLB and the MLB Players Association will clash over the question of further salary reductions in 2020.

When attendance restrictions are eventually lifted, fans may have suffered devastating job and income losses that could force all entertainment industries — including sports — to re-imagine their business models.

“People are suffering withdrawal. But it’s not happening in a vacuum. It cannot be discussed in a vacuum.”

“I don’t underestimate the hunger to return to our national addictions, to things like college football, March Madness, nightly Major League Baseball, the all-consuming NBA, the Sunday ritual of NFL football,” said Hollander. “People are suffering withdrawal. But it’s not happening in a vacuum. It cannot be discussed in a vacuum.”

Television revenues — mostly locked in on long-term contracts — should remain considerable, and diminutions in public activity could result in even greater value to in-home entertainment such as sports.

“With increased isolation, sports have the least to worry about. Their TV ratings and the need for fresh content for that audience carrying out a functional isolation is far, far greater with [the public] being at home in front of their televisions than ever before,” said agent . “With the revenue streams from that, the contracts that should be reopened are the media deals, not the CBAs. The labor force is going to create a revenue stream that may be dramatically different for the media rights than they were before.”

Moreover, leagues can look to offset losses from game attendance by re-examining what they offer fans who aren’t in stadiums, arenas, and ballparks.

Will the crowds return to fill the seats at Fenway Park? Or will the Red Sox, like the rest of the sports world, have to contend with a steep reduction in game attendance and revenues? Will the crowds return to fill the seats at Fenway Park? Or will the Red Sox, like the rest of the sports world, have to contend with a steep reduction in game attendance and revenues?STAN GROSSFELD/ GLOBE STAFF “Attendance revenues may go down substantially but these people are going to have disposable dollars to spend on their passion for sports,” said Gennaro. “What if the Red Sox can sell a virtual season ticket, through VR, a kind of enhanced MLB At-Bat version, that has maybe a third of the games in virtual reality? You can control your view — you’re sitting behind the Red Sox dugout, that will be a whole other revenue stream that will be a partial offset. I think we’re going to see some things on the media side through technology and innovation that will compensate somewhat. I think attendance will be even less of a percentage of revenues than it is today. Even if we didn’t have the virus, I think that would be the case. Now it will be exacerbated.”

Inevitably, the other side of the pandemic will yield a different sports landscape. For now, with the crisis at a crest that has made it impossible even to play games, it remains too early to know what it will look like.

* The Boston Herald

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the Boston sports flag flies proudly in Italy

Steve Bulpett

The most ardent Red Sox fan may not live in Boston. Or Massachusetts. Or New England. Or even the United States.

Massimo Oriani has long been a writer for La Gazzetta dello Sport, the oldest daily sports paper in Italy and on the continent. But longer than that he has been a devoted follower of the Stockings and, really, all the Boston clubs. But especially the Olde Towne Team.

“I definitely consider myself the biggest Sox fan in Europe,” says Oriani, whose home office is nothing less than a shrine to the Fenway Nine. “I don’t know about the world, but I’d say I’m on the podium.”

These days, however, it’s a little difficult for the 55-year-old scribe. He was still trying (and largely failing) to get over the Mookie Betts trade when the COVID-19 crisis brought far more serious matters to the planet. From his home in the town of Meda, 15 miles north of Milan, Oriani pines for the time when the Sox’ salary strategy was his greatest cause of emotional discomfort.

He wonders when he’ll be back in the States to cover his 14th NBA Finals and 22nd Super Bowl for La Gazzetta. He wonders when he’ll again be able to cross-reference the schedules of the Celtics, Patriots, Bruins and Sox and plan his trips to Boston to catch the optimal number of games.

From where he sits now, such events are hard to picture.

“Surreal,” Oriani says of the current state of affairs. “It feels like living in a horror movie. My small town — 27,000 people — has not been hit that hard, but overall our region, Lombardy, has been the hardest hit in Italy. I can truly feel the pain, having lost a dear friend to the virus.

“I’ve not left my house since March 8, having only gone out to the grocery store that is literally outside my door. We are on lockdown ’til May 4, but even then we don’t know how life will go on. Definitely not even close to what it was before.”

Beyond the games and the work, says Oriani, “I miss the social interactions.”

To know Massimo is to understand just how large an understatement that is.

“Maahs” is the guy you engage in the Garden press room conversation after your early deadline work is done. His enthusiasm and insight makes the chat so enjoyable that you eventually find yourself checking the clock, being startled and rushing out to catch the opening tip. If you are lucky.

Yes, Oriani is wise enough to see through any wayward actions by players or management, but getting older has cost him none of the child’s passion for the games.

“My uncle married a girl from Sandwich, and I started coming to the Cape when I was 14, in 1979,” Oriani says. “Her mom taught me the rules of the game, as I asked why everybody seemed to be so excited about this Red Sox team I knew nothing of.

“It was love at first sight. Or love at first sound. As she did not have cable, I’d listen to the games on the radio. To this day Joe Castiglione’s voice takes me back 40 years. Then my sister moved to Hyannis in the ’80s, and I became a regular in the Boston area.

“My first time at Fenway was October 5, 1985, Sox-Brewers with Oil Can Boyd pitching. I witnessed in person the ’04, ’07 and 2013 , going to every game, (and) Opening Day with the banner ceremonies in ’05, ’08 and 2014. I was there for (Carlton) Fisk and (David Ortiz) Papi’s number retirement, for the back-to back-to-back-to back home runs vs the Yankees on April 22, 2007, for the Fenway 100th anniversary game. I was at Fenway for the 1999 All Star Game, when Ted Williams came out on the golf cart, a moment I will never forget. And I was there when Manny (Ramirez) went for a bathroom break in the Green Monster and they had to wait for him to come back out to restart the game.

“Of course, always in the same spot: standing room in the State Street Pavilion right over the sign for Section 6 with my friend Ken Greenwood, who’s been an usher for over 50 years and my dear friend for over 20. Overall, I’ve seen the Sox play in person 287 times, 247 at Fenway, 38 on the road plus the two games in London last summer. My ‘record’ is 168-119, not too bad.”

And like many Red Sox fans, his world turned in 2004.

“Oh boy, life has definitely changed. For the better, for sure,” says Massimo, who calls the first World Series championship “the single happiest moment of my life. At the same time, sometimes I miss the days when we were ‘special,’ that feeling of togetherness especially at Fenway that only us -– longtime suffering Sox fans, wait ’til next year fans -– had. Must mean I’m getting old… Now we are spoiled, but, hey, I’ll take now over pre-2004 any day of the year.”

But his Sox joy can be pierced quickly. Want to see an Italian get a little Vesuvi-ous? Asked Mass how he feels about trading Betts.

“Livid!” he says. “To the point where I’m not that upset that they are not playing right now. I’ll get over it, but it hurts.”

His reaction to Tom Brady’s departure is more muted.

“Sad,” Oriani says, “but we all knew it was coming, as much as we tried to convince ourselves it might not happen. Just grateful for 20 amazing years, something that will not be duplicated ever. Tampa is my second team now. I’ve been blessed to see him win five of the six Super Bowls in person, (and) the comeback against Atlanta ranks right up there with the greatest joys of my life.”

He’s witnessed more championships with the Sox and Pats, but Oriani’s ties to the Celtic front office are perhaps stronger. It started in 1999 when he was covering the Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul. Massimo became friends with Chris Wallace, who would eventually be the general manager of the Celts but was then working for the Heat.

“I used to send him VHS tapes of Sasha Danilovic, who eventually ended up signing with Miami,” Oriani says. “Then he moved to Boston, and in 2007 he invited me to watch the NCAA Tournament in Waltham, where I got to know Frank Burke, Mike Zarren, Ryan McDonough, Steve Pagliuca and all the other wonderful people I’ve been lucky to call friends over the last 13 years.”

Oriani was hoping to be watching the Celtics in the playoffs this weekend — if not in person, then on television.

“It’s sad,” he says. “I know there are more important things right now, but I was truly looking forward to the playoffs and seeing what this young and exciting team could do. It’s been great to see them come together after last year. Of course, not having Kyrie (Irving) around helped, but it was not all his fault. The young players have really matured.”

In all the best ways, Massimo hasn’t.

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox expected to sign international free agent outfielder Miguel Bleis, Baseball America reports

Christopher Smith

The Red Sox are expected to sign amateur international free agent outfielder Miguel Bleis during the 2020- 21 signing period, Baseball America reported.

Baseball America considers the Dominican Republic native, who is listed 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, as one of the top prospects on the international market.

BA’s scouting report on the 16-year-old notes, “Bleis is one of the top athletes in the 2020 international class. He has a sleek, athletic frame with high physical upside. He glides around center field with an easy gait and long strides, with average speed that might tick up as he gets stronger along with a strong arm. He has a quick bat with gap power and a chance to turn more of his doubles into home runs once he gets stronger. The Red Sox are expected to sign Bleis, who trains in the Mejia Top 10 program.”

As new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tries to rebuild the Red Sox farm system, it’s important he hits on several international free agents and draft picks in the coming years. Baseball America ranked Boston’s farm system No. 20 entering spring training.

The new signing period begins July 2 each year, but the 2020-21 period could be pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has suspended the MLB season indefinitely.

Boston Red Sox NESN schedule: Watch strike out 79 batters and allow one run in six starts (54 innings)

Christopher Smith

Six dominant starts by former Red Sox ace Roger Clemens will air on NESN this coming week (Monday through Saturday). Both his 20- games will be featured.

In the six starts, Clemens combined for 79 strikeouts and allowed just one run in 54 innings.

The only run? Mariners DH Gorman Thomas bashed a solo homer against Clemens in the seventh inning of his first 20-strikeout game to give Seattle a 1-0 lead. But Dwight Evans crushed a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. The Red Sox ended up winning 3-1.

NESN’s Roger Clemens schedule this week:

Monday at 6 p.m.: Red Sox vs. Athletics on April 20, 1994. Clemens hurled 9 shutout innings and struck out 10.

Tuesday at 6 p.m.: Red Sox vs. Mariners on April 29, 1986. Clemens struck out 20 batters for the first time and allowed one run.

Wednesday at 6 p.m.: Red Sox at Rangers on July 25, 1988. Clemens struck out 14 in a complete-game shutout.

Thursday at 6 p.m.: Red Sox vs. Indians, Sept. 10, 1988: Clemens tossed a complete-game, one-hit shutout, striking out five.

Friday at 6 p.m.: Red Sox at , Aug. 26, 1991: Clemens hurled a complete-game shutout, striking out 10.

Saturday at 6 p.m.: Red Sox at Tigers, Sept. 18, 1996: Clemens’ second 20-strikeout game in a complete- game shutout.

Ex-Boston Red Sox Wade Boggs wonders if he had coronavirus, caught it from (report)

Christopher Smith

Wade Boggs went to the hospital in the middle of the night during March because he felt sick and was diagnosed with pneumonia. But reflecting back, he wonders whether he had coronavirus and possibly caught it from Red Sox ace Chris Sale, the Tampa Bay Times reported Sunday.

Boggs told the Times he hopes to take an antibodies test to see if he had COVID-19.

Sale — who Boggs spoke with during spring training — missed time at the beginning of camp because of what was believed to be pneumonia, but Sale now wonders if he had the virus. He’s also interested in taking an antibodies test to see if he had it.

“It’s crazy to look at my symptoms and think about the symptoms of people that have the COVID-19 virus, and some of the similarities,” Sale said April 7. "We may never know, but I’m definitely hoping not.”

Boggs shook hands and had a “a lengthy conversation” with Sale at an event for sponsors and limited partners in Fort Myers, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The 61-year-old, whose No. 26 is retired by the Red Sox, also told the newspaper he feels fine now but he had a “really rough” recovery.

* RedSox.com

NESN airing best of 'Rocket' all week

Ian Browne

Fresh off a week of David Ortiz’s classic games, NESN will shift gears to another Red Sox all-time great for the coming week with “The Best of Roger Clemens”.

Each night from Monday through Saturday -- starting at 6 p.m. ET -- NESN will air a vintage Clemens performance from his 13 years of dominance for the Red Sox.

Here is a look at the schedule of games.

Monday: April 20, 1994, at Fenway against the Athletics. Synopsis: The Rocket fired a complete-game two-hitter with 10 strikeouts to stymie the A’s in a 2-0 victory. Steve Karsay also pitched a complete game in defeat. John Valentin came through with the big hit.

Tuesday: April 29, 1986, at Fenway against the Mariners. Synopsis: Every Red Sox fan in their 40s or older knows this game just by hearing the date and the opponent. It is the night a 23-year-old Clemens set a Major League record with 20 strikeouts with one of the most electrifying pitching performances you will ever see. However, a win was in doubt until Dwight Evans came through in the seventh. The final at Fenway: Red Sox 3, Mariners 1.

Wednesday: July 25, 1988, at the Rangers. Synopsis: During the height of "Morgan’s Magic," Clemens produced one of the gutsiest performances of his career. In the searing heat -- the game-time temperature was 100 degrees -- Clemens went the distance and struck out 14 in a 2-0 shutout. How many pitches did he throw? Try 162. Knuckleballer Charlie Hough also went nine innings, giving up four hits.

Thursday: Sept. 10, 1988, at Fenway against the Indians. Synopsis: This gem by Clemens was more about efficiency than dominance. The big righty fired a one- hitter on just 86 pitches to beat Bud Black and the Indians, 6-0. The hitting hero? Evans again.

Friday: Aug. 26, 1991, at the Athletics. Synopsis: In yet another complete-game shutout by Clemens that included 10 strikeouts and three hits allowed, the Red Sox downed the A’s, 3-0. Jack Clark and a promising young outfielder named Phil Plantier both went deep to support Clemens.

Saturday: Sept. 18, 1996, at the Tigers. Synopsis: Leave it to Clemens to be the first to tie his own record of 20 strikeouts in a start. This performance at Tiger Stadium has added significance. It wound up being the final victory for Clemens in a Boston uniform. And with it, he tied Cy Young for most career wins (192) and shutouts (38) for the Sox. Both those records still stand. Boston’s starting in this game? A September callup named .

* Bostonsportsjournal.com

MLB Notebook: With no games this spring, Red Sox prepare for a draft like no other

Sean McAdam

The months of April and May are traditionally some of the busiest for the baseball scouting community.

It’s the time to travel to tournaments, a chance to get another look (or three) at a player, an opportunity to finalize reports and get closer to decisions for the June draft.

It’s still busy now, but in a much different way. There’s no travel because, well, there are no games to attend, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

So, like everyone else in the game, scouts are working just as hard, but doing it from their homes. And instead of sitting on a folding chair behind home plate, their radar guns at the ready, they’re doing their work from home, laptops fired up, poring over video.

Welcome to the brave new world of scouting remotely.

“It’s obviously very unique in so many ways,” said Mike Rikard, the Red Sox vice president of scouting. “It’s an uncommon circumstance to say the least. But we’re just trying to do our best at this time — do all the work so that we’re prepared for whichever direction Major League Baseball wants to take this as far as the guidelines, rules and parameters.”

Rikard, newly-promoted scouring director Paul Toboni and the team’s roster of amateur scouts and cross- checkers are flying by the seats of their pants. They don’t know exactly when the draft will be held — only that it will be held sometime between June 10 and July 20. They don’t know how many rounds it will feature — only that it could be as few as five.

And because they don’t know exactly how many rounds there will be, they don’t know the exact amount of their draft signing pool allotment — dictated by a number of factors, which include where a team finished in the standings, whether they receive revenue sharing and whether they were over any luxury tax thresholds. Various reports have the Red Sox slotted for approximately $6 million in a five-round draft.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.

“It certainly presents unprecedented levels of challenges,” Rikard said. “But one of the things that we’re comforted by is that we’ve always gone to great lengths and taken great pride in how we scout the summer leagues (like the Cape Cod League) and the fall seasons. You’re never prepared for something like this, but you do make sure you prepare for injuries and you want to always do your best to build up a really extensive background history with each player.

“We’re really confident that we’re going to be prepared for those reasons. We’ve got a lot of players who we got really good looks on in the summer and the fall. While it’s not ideal to not have to those last looks, we still feel that in many cases, we know the players very well.”

What’s missing, however, is a chance to see, say, a high school pitcher who may have made huge strides since his junior season, evolving from an interesting prospect to more of a certified one. Rikard cites former first-rounder as someone who would have once fit that description.

“That happens quite a bit with high school pitchers,” said Rikard. “They can kind of evolve quicker than other demographics. And then there’s always that college player who you always liked, but kind of turns the corner by the end of his (junior) season and has moved into a different grouping.”

For all college players and the vast majority of high schoolers, there’s ample video to evaluate, and scouts can do that from home. But it doesn’t begin to replicate seeing a player in person.

“The video part of it is tremendously helpful,” said Rikard, “but it still doesn’t supply the whole picture. A lot of times, you don’t get the angles that we typically like to see when we’re at the ballpark. There’s a lot of things that we look for, from a scouting perspective, between innings — not only with pitchers, but hitters and fielders. You miss the interaction in the dugout, kind of outside-the-lines, that can be very important.

“Just as importantly or more, you’re not getting batting practice, workouts, infield and practice — a lot of those things that can be revealing in putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Video doesn’t fill in all the blanks.”

Another element being sacrificed in the coronavirus-era is getting to know a player away from the field. Scouts like to familiarize themselves with a prospect’s family, friends, off-field habits and interests and personality.

“The more intimately a scout can have a relationship with the player,” said Rikard, “the better chance we have to be right on makeup and character traits. Ever since I’ve been here (Rikard’s history with the team dates back to 2004), dating back to Theo (Epstein) and Jason McLeod (former scouting director), we’ve always considered that part of our process to be very, very important.”

One fascinating element to this draft will be what happens after the five or so rounds, when the rest of the players are available to sign as undrafted free agents and creating a mad scramble among teams to sign players capped — this year — by maximum signing bonuses of $20,000. In that regard, it could more closely resemble the pre-draft era (1965), when a free-for-all existed for all the available amateur talent.

One unintended consequence from this year: a number of very good high school players — those not quite good enough to go in the first five rounds — may choose to honor their college commitment rather than accept just $20,000 in bonus money.

Another potential fallout is that some college juniors could elect to return to school for their senior year. Even with no real leverage as seniors, many college players could expect to do better than $20,000 if they’re drafted in 2021, when a sense of normalcy begins to return to the draft process.

Teams always emphasize “signability” — the likelihood that a player will agree to something close to his prescribed slot value — in the draft process, and that won’t change for 2020.

“You always have to focus really hard on that,” said Rikard, “because if you do make a mistake and select a player you’re unable to sign, it can really ruin your whole draft pool. That’s always been a huge part of the process. At this point, you sort of generalize in regards to the signability possibility, and then as you get closer, you start narrowing in with the player, family and agent.”

Given that this is such an atypical draft, the Red Sox will be relying — even more than usual — on the evaluation skills of their area scouts. With fewer in-person opportunities to evaluate the margin for error slimmer than ever, evaluation and projection become that much more critical. More than ever, the Red Sox have to trust the scouting acumen of their staff.

“Absolutely,” agreed Rikard. “A lot of the onus falls back on what our process has been and the people who spearhead that have always been the area scouts. The scouts and the processes where we’ve built up a good background and had strong convictions, those are the players, in the end, we’ll have the most comfort with. The momentum for our better picks has always been generated by our area scouts.

“In the scenario we’re in now, that’s never been more important. The upper level of our staff — our cross- checkers and people like myself — are not going to have that chance to get those second or third looks in most players. The staffs that have the best process and have a really strong group of area scouts, like us, will put themselves in the best position to hopefully have a good draft.”

One positive consequence of the Red Sox’ disappointing 2019 season is that the Sox will draft at No. 17, their highest spot in the draft since 2016, when they were coming off a last-place finish. Correspondingly, they’ll have a much bigger draft pool of available signing bonus money to spend, giving them a chance to further rebuild a system that has been ravaged by a number of trades made by Dave Dombrowski.,

“In comparison to the other clubs, we’re going to be in a really good spot to do some good things,” said Rikard. “I’m confident, personally, we’re making really good progress in restocking our farm system. We’re getting there. It doesn’t happen overnight. But I’m still confident that this draft is going to enable us the opportunity to continue to layer on some other really good prospects.” ______

On the subject of the draft, here’s a look at some of the best (and worst) for the Red Sox in the last decade:

BEST: 2011

It will be hard for the Red Sox to top this group. That year saw the Sox take (1st round), Jackie Bradley (sandwich pick), Mookie Betts (fifth round) and Travis Shaw (ninth round).

Barnes has become a solid high-leverage reliever, Bradley a brilliant defender with sporadic power and Shaw, though coming off a massively disappointing 2019, is only two years removed from a 32-homer season with a .825 OPS. And, of course, Betts is one of the handful of best players in the game.

Reliever Noe Ramirez (fourth round) has emerged as a nice bullpen piece in Anaheim. Two others — (first round) and Henry Owens (sandwich pick) — reached the big leagues, but didn’t come close to reaching their potential.

OTHERS: 2014

The Sox grabbed (first round) who showed signs of being an impact hitter in his rookie season. They also took Kopech (sandwich pick), dealt in the Chris Sale deal, is considered one of the game’s best pitching prospects even after missing all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Later, they took Sam Travis (second) and Jalen Beeks (12th round), the latter of whom has become a decent back-end starter with Tampa Bay.

WORST: 2013

With their first two selections, the Sox took two pitchers. Lefty was the seventh overall pick, and recently was released by the organization, having stalled out at -A for a number of seasons before also flopping as an outfielder. Behind Ball was Teddy Stankiewicz, taken in the second round, is a non- prospect who reached -A in his seventh pro season at 25.

The best player the Sox took in the entire draft year was Mauricio Dubon, who’s a depth infielder with the San Francisco Giants after being included in the disastrous trade for Tyler Thornburg.

Also: 2012

Immediately after hitting the jackpot in 2011 with Betts, Bradley, Barnes and others, the Sox whiffed.

Here are the first six players they drafted that year: , , , Jamie Callahan, Austin Maddux, and Ty Buttrey. Of that group, only Buttrey (dealt to Anaheim for in 2018) remains a serviceable major leaguer.

The Sox had three players in the first 37 picks and seven years later, only Johnson — a depth starter at best — remains. And the Sox optioned him off the 40-man roster last winter.

BEST PLAYERS DRAFTED BUT NOT SIGNED:

Alex Bregman (29th round, 2012 draft) Mike Yastrzemski (36th round, 2009 draft Hunter Renfroe (10th round, 2010)

* The New York Times

A Return for Baseball Would Require a New Debate

Tyler Kepner

Everybody wants a baseball season. Nobody knows quite how that will look amid the coronavirus pandemic. Those are the only certainties for a sport that has an unbroken chain of seasons with at least 100 games stretching back to the 19th century.

But as more and more hopeful hints have emerged this week — from Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, and from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, who both publicly touted the feasibility of playing in empty ballparks — a distressing backdrop still looms: If teams cannot sell tickets, how much will the players be paid?

“The issue over pay without fans is going to get ugly,” said a top baseball official of one team, who insisted on anonymity to speak candidly about league matters. “It’s very real. Owners will claim they’d lose money by playing without fans if players get their full per-game salaries, and it may be true. They’re going to want a big reduction in pay from players.”

When Major League Baseball and the players’ union agreed on new ground rules for the delayed season on March 26 — the original opening day — they included a stipulation that the sides would “discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites.”

For the owners, that set up another negotiation on pay structure, in an altered economic landscape. The players’ side has a different interpretation of “economic feasibility,” according to the agent Scott Boras.

“The economics they’re talking about is whether they play or not, not what they pay the players to play,” said Boras, adding: “Owners had every opportunity to say, ‘We will also reduce the rate of your salaries if these conditions exist.’ They didn’t, and the reason they wouldn’t is because players would never accept it; they would never agree to the deal.”

The issue spilled into the public discourse on Wednesday when Cuomo told his brother, Chris, on CNN that he had spoken with the Mets’ chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon, about playing games without fans, and that Wilpon had mentioned an obstacle.

“Apparently Major League Baseball would have to make a deal with the players, because if you have no one in the stands, then the numbers are going to change, right?” Governor Cuomo said. “The economics are going to change.”

Wilpon declined to comment through a spokesman, but M.L.B. supported him with a statement that said, “Both parties understood that the deal was premised on playing in stadiums with fans, and the agreement makes that clear.”

In a way, this would be a welcome fight, because in order to have it, baseball would need a clear path to returning. That does not yet exist, and it depends largely on the availability of tests, the spread of the coronavirus and authorization from state and local governments.

The closed ticket windows at the White Sox park.Credit...Lyndon French for The New York Times As things stand, M.L.B. and the union have had no further discussions on the pay structure of a shortened season, because there are too many variables about the conditions.

But the strong feeling from the union is that teams would be obligated to pay the players their regular salaries, prorated to reflect the number of games played. The players have already waived any potential legal claims over additional salary — beyond an initial distribution of $170 million — in the event a season is not played. They made that concession in exchange for a guarantee of service time for a lost season.

But multiple union officials privately dispute the idea that teams would not profit without fans in the stands unless the players take a pay cut. The teams would make less money, to be sure, but they would also have television revenue coming in, and a reduction in expenses related to staging games with fans. And if a regular season is played, a lucrative postseason — the prize for national networks — would follow.

The league estimates that teams get about 40 percent of their revenue from ticketing, parking, concessions and other elements of having fans in attendance — all of which would be lost if games have no spectators. Officials are already bracing for the economic impact, with teams poised to furlough or cut pay for salaried employees by the end of the month, when M.L.B. is expected to suspend the uniform employee contract, citing a national emergency.

Then again, if the game returns, some ballparks may not need to stay empty all season, which would mean another set of complications. What if one state does not authorize mass gatherings, but other states do? How would the sides account for reduced crowds, or having fans only in certain places? And how many fans would come to see, say, the Detroit Tigers play the Baltimore Orioles if the game were held in another city?

With so much unknown about the particulars and the practicality of a season, there is no blueprint to even start talks between the league and the players. But the sides are digging in, behind the scenes, for a potentially awkward confrontation. They just hope to have a reason to fight.