Friday Four-Pack 3.28.25

The Patriots finally land a top receiver. A potential derailment of a fun Sox season. A terrible sports betting proposal. Pedro shines in NH. Media notes!

When I’m not toiling away at my keyboard for you - the loyal MutStack.com subscriber - I’m lucky to do some other cool things. I get to be an occasional third-chair on the Kirk Minihane Show. I get asked to go on sports podcasts and give not-so-hot takes. I’m lucky that I can coach my kids in a few sports, which allows them to ignore me at home AND on a field/court. I also host and emcee various events across New England.

When I’m preparing for an event, I try to imagine how the night will go. It never goes 100% according to plan, and that’s half the fun of it. Inevitably, things that I would not have planned for or expected will happen—that’s part of the job.

Thursday night at The Brook Casino in Seabrook, NH, the hugs were a surprise. They were also a good reminder about sports and athletes' impact on fans.

Pedro Martinez was the lastest in what has been sort of a Boston Sports Legends series at The Brook. Pedro did a meet and greet with Brook VIPs before the Seasons Showroom was opened to the public for an hour-long Q & A, where I was able to moderate and ask some questions. An overflow, standing-room-only crowd saw well over 300 people jam into the showroom, with many more who could not get in watching on big screens in the adjacent sports and race book.

Pedro was awesome. He talked about reveling in the chance to pitch in baseball’s steroid era. He talked about Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. He talked about convincing the Red Sox to sign David Ortiz after the Twins released him. He talked about helping the Red Sox break through in 2004—about a scene with him and Ellis Burks after the Cardinals' sweep when they both realized, “Mission Accomplished.” 

It was not shocking that he was so good for over an hour on stage, but the emotional reaction from the crowd was.

One guest (in his 30s?) broke down in tears, saying it was his dream to meet Pedro since he was a kid. Pedro left the stage to give the fan a big hug. Another spoke to Pedro in Spanish, saying she was fulfilling her mother’s dream by meeting him - this was before Pedro invited her on stage for a hug and a planned meet-up at next week’s Sox home opener. Another woman told a story of her brother passing months after the Red Sox won in 2004 and how much it meant to him that he had seen that championship. Even Andre, CEO of The Brook, told an emotional story of what the World Series meant to his own family. Andre, of course, got a big hug from Pedro, too.

I was taken aback by it. Chalk it up to years of working in sports radio, where you become less of a ‘fan’ and end up rooting for the best story to talk about for four hours a day, 20 hours a week. Or the advent of sports betting where, at least for me, my favorite team (or golfer) is the one I bet on that day. This was different. This group was just there, in part, to thank Pedro for helping bring a championship to Boston in 2004. Pedro seemed to recognize this to his credit and thanked the fans multiple times for what they meant to him.

I’m guessing Tom Brady would get a similar reaction from fans, thanking him for what he meant in making the Patriots the best NFL team of this generation. I don’t know if Brady would connect with fans the way Pedro seemed to. Or, if any team that Brady was a part of, would it compare to the 2004 Red Sox and get that sort of emotional reaction? I’m not sure. A poll in the NY Times a few years ago found that just 23% of Gen Z considers themselves passionate sports fans. If sports don’t mean as much to this next generation, will any team ever mean as much as the 2004 Red Sox team meant to so many? Probably not? I’m rambling, I know.

Pedro was terrific Thursday night at The Brook. The crowd’s reaction to him—and his own emotional responses—were a cool reminder of what a team and player can mean to someone. In this case, a whole lot of someones.

Now, back to ripping the Patriots, railing on the all the dumb things about horse racing and sports betting, and the usual negativity you expect from this newsletter every Friday.

Actually, the Patriots shocked me in a good way with the Diggs move this week. There is a moronic sports betting proposal in Massachustts. And there might be trouble brewing for the Sox and their best pitcher.

All ahead in today’s Four-Pack.

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On the Patriots FINALLY landing a WR-1…

A couple of things about this signing should be pretty obvious and go without saying.

• Yes, he’s a legit No. 1 wide receiver. He’s not Top 5 in the NFL. He’s not Top 10. He might not be in the top 15 anymore. But when healthy and motivated, he’d the No. 1 receiver on about half the teams in the NFL.

• There’s risk involved. He’ll be 32 years old in November and coming off an ACL injury. Like many talented receivers, he’s had some sideline issues when he doesn’t think he’s getting the ball enough. So yes, it’s in the range of outcomes that there might be a viral video of him yelling at Josh McDaniels or Drake Maye at some point this season.

And knowing all that, they still spend $69 million (and a reported $26 million guaranteed) at the position - and that is the big story here.

The Patriots have been financially risk-averse at the receiver position for far too long. At first, the narrative seemed to be that Tom Brady was so good he could win with anyone. Yes, the team traded for guys like Randy Moss and Wes Welker, but those were not common moves for the franchise. They’d burn a second-round pick or grab a second or third-tier guy in free agency, but they would not spend at the top of the market. But then, even with Brady’s exit and the league trending to a much more pass-heavy scheme the last 7-10 years, the team still stayed away from getting an actual game-changing receiver.

I mean, Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell were the money guys this team spent on at receiver recently.

This is a MAJOR change of philosophy for the organization as a whole. By actually spending real money on the position, they’re acknowledging its importance for the first time in a long time.

Diggs was the receiver who elevated Josh Allen in Buffalo the minute he arrived in 2020.

Allen in 2019: 58.5%, 3089 yards, 20 TD/ 9 INTS, and a 85.3 QB rating
Allen in 2020: 69.2%, 4544 yards, 37 TD/ 10 INTs, and a 107.2 QB rating

Monster improvement. Sure, Allen deserves credit for his own development, but Diggs’s arrival was a big part of that 2020 explosion.

I was generally shocked when the news came down Monday night. I don’t even care why they did it—I’ve seen some speculation that the media and fan criticism of their misses in the WR market before landing Diggs might explain the big-money deal for a 31-year-old coming off an injury. I don’t care; I'm just happy they finally decided to spend money on the position.

For a much deeper dive on the Diggs signing and the impact, you can watch me yap away with the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan on his podcast. I joined him Thursday to celebrate the Patriots finally spending up for a WR-1.

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On the Red Sox suddenly sky-high expectations…

“The vibes were fire 🔥 for the Red Sox Thursday in Texas.” - Jared Carrabis…probably

A very good Opening Day for the Local 9. Wilyer Abreu has a pair of clutch home runs. Rookie Kristian Campbell had a hit in his major league debut. The Rule 5 guy Justin Slaten grabs an easy save. So good! So good! So good!

We gave you a full Red Sox season preview here last week, complete with the wildly square bet of Red Sox OVER 86.5 wins.

Since then, all the national publications have produced their season-long predictions. And it turns out the Red Sox are supposed to win this year.

ESPN is just one of the many places where not only are the Sox supposed to win the AL East, but they’re supposed to represent the American League in the World Series. Wow.

This probably says more about the American League than it does the Red Sox. I’m guessing if the Yankees didn’t lose Gerrit Cole for the season, they’d be getting all the love. Instead, the Red Sox inherit the role as…favorite? Pretty wild off of last season. And the back-to-back last-place seasons before that.

This is good for fans since the team will likely do whatever it can at the trade deadline to reinforce the team and live up to the hype.

This is good for the local media since winning = interest. And since they’re expected to win, you can confidently rip them when they lose, which is nice.

One thing fans might consider getting after the team for right now is the inability to sign Garrett Crochet to an extension. From the great Substack of Red Sox Stats:

An extension deadline was set for Opening Day. Crochet looked like an absolute monster throughout spring training. Now, less than 24 hours before the opener, all indications are that a deal will not be reached.

I’ll wait about a week into the season before letting serious frustration set in, but not figuring this out would be a major organizational demerit on this offseason.

In January, I made a tongue-in-cheek comment about how not signing Crochet now would flip the narrative to which trade window the Red Sox will eventually shop him in. If this isn’t resolved, that’s going to happen a lot sooner than people think. I know, not fun to think about, but this winter has made clear to me that people love hearing the 10,000-foot view about the team when things are rough, but you can see brighter days ahead, but they really, really hate the 10,000-foot view when the vibes are high and there are some hints of trouble on the horizon.

So here you have all these new expectations, and you might have to consider trading the new ace. That will not go over well. And look, we have no idea what numbers have been exchanged between the two sides. If they’re offering $125 million, they’re insane, and even buying out a few years of arbitration would not make that worth it to him.

But if they’re offering the Max Fried deal ($200+ million), and he’s asking for the Yoshinobu Yamamoto deal ($300+ million), then there’s not much they can do.

Imagine the reaction in a few months when the team is in first place and Jeff Passan reports that since Crochet won’t agree to a deal, there are whispers he’s on the trade block. Yikes.

It’s early, and the team did make a deal with Alex Cora after Opening Day last season. But given the team's new expectations, it’s worth monitoring closely how they handle their Ace.

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On a terrible sports betting bill being peddled in Massachusetts…

“What’s up Mut? Do you have any insight regarding the Massachusetts gambling bill that could put stupid restrictions on us? What are they thinking?”

That was the text from a degenerate buddy on Thursday morning just before 10 AM. And while change is coming for sports betting here in the United States, the proposal outlined this week at the Massachusetts State House contains so much nonsense that it’s hard to take seriously.

The bill would ban sports gambling operators from running advertisements during televised events. It would also ban both live in-game betting and player prop bets, which, according to the bill, “public health experts warn are designed to promote addictive behaviors.”

Prohibiting live betting and prop bets would destroy Massachusetts's legal sports betting market. It would send bettors—myself included—right back to offshore or local bookies or across the border to NH, RI, or CT, where those bets are legal.

But I’m just a losing sports bettor. I asked sports betting analyst Steve Ruddock of the great Substack Newsletter, Straight to the Point, for his informed take on the proposed changes.

Massachusetts State Sen. John Keenan pre-filed SD 1657 in January. It was officially introduced and renumbered as S 302 in late February and has picked up two cosponsors: Sen. Lindsay Sabadosa and Sen. Patricia Jehlen. It has been referred to the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies – none of the sponsors are on the committee, which limits its chances of moving forward.

The bill contains multiple archaic policies, including prohibitions on prop and in-play betting, restrictions on advertising and inducements, and a substantial tax hike from 20% to 51%. With so many contentious policy proposals, passage is unlikely in its current form. That said, I can see a massively toned-down version gaining momentum in Massachusetts and beyond.

Notably, the bill has the support of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, the group behind the federal SAFE Bet Act, which was reintroduced by Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) earlier this month. The SAFE Bet Act calls for similar restrictions at the national level.

Furthermore, the Massachusetts bill and the SAFE Bet Act can now complement one another – there is also a similar bill in Illinois by State Sen. Bill Cunningham. These multiple threads enable the PHAI to point to momentum and engage in multiple conversations to determine which restrictions can and cannot be passed.

I actually favor changes to VIP Programs that prey on potential problem gamblers. And I’m sure as hell in favor of sportsbooks losing the right to flippantly ban customers for winning but allowing losing customers to keep firing away. I’m also for sportsbooks showing the real odds of some of these juiced-up, same-game-parlays they love to promote.

But banning live and prop betting? Never going to happen unless Massachusetts is looking to destroy its own legal gambling market.

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On your sports media and sports betting notebook…

➡️ This was the header on the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network page just hours before the team was set to open the season in Texas on Thursday, still referencing the now-retired Joe Castiglione as the lead voice of the team.

They have since updated the page, acknowledging the new broadcast team, led by Will Flemming. Will Middlebrooks, Lou Merloni, Sean McDonough, and Mike Monaco will also be part of the broadcast crew. Castiglione will call some games with Flemming this season, as he wants to stay involved with the team and the broadcast even in retirement. I expect some former players to find their way into the booth and maybe even a new voice or two.

But the scramble to update the website minutes before the baseball season started reflects the last-minute shuffle by WEEI and the Red Sox to put together the 2025 broadcast team and their schedule.

Case in point: The Boston Red Sox's flagship radio station failed to produce a press release announcing the new broadcast team in time for Opening Day.

There was hope that Middlebrooks would handle a large chunk of the games, but that won’t happen this year - he’ll do less than half of the 162. That negotiation might have slowed things down. There’s an expectation that he’ll call more games in 2026. But that left games to fill for 2025.

I’m told that things were still in flux over the last couple of weeks, with the Red Sox having the final say over anyone who might be potentially added to the booth mix. This is the first season that the team is paying the announcers (Audacy had paid them previously), and the team essentially now controls the booth. The same way they control the NESN booth.

This was not a smooth process. Whether the team and WEEI meant to or not, the big production for the new NESN booth (that will feature Merloni) vs. Flemming and the radio team's non-announcement…was noticeable to many. It certainly made it look like they cared more about the TV product, which is probably the case.

We’ll see if there are more signs of that during the season. And let’s see if we ever get a press release announcing Flemming as the team's new radio voice.

➡️ Meanwhile, I heard a lot of Flemming and Middlebrooks on Thursday - it was good. Good energy and was conversational. Flemming had a good moment when he predicted the first Wilyer Abreu homerun. Then, Middlebrooks topped him by calling the type of pitch and its location Abreu might hit out for a homerun later in the game - just seconds before he did just that (video via RedSox Stats).

➡️ Some of the worst Boston sports radio audio this week came from a pair of 98.5 The Sports Hub hosts defending themselves for taking time off. Fred Toucher took a day off because he had to be up early to take his son to the airport. He said he didn’t want to come, partly because he might be overtired and say something he might get in trouble for (watch here). Michael Felger has consistently mocked people for taking vacations. Well, he took a vacation, then got defensive about it. And bragged Thursday about coming back for the “more important” spring ratings period (watch here). Both videos have sparked some serious X.com reactions and show you just how much people care about sports talk radio hosts in Boston. I thought both guys came across as super whiny and pretty defensive. Once again, credit goes to Boston Media Critic for being the best home for Sports Hub clips.

➡️ Golf coverage on TV continues to suck out loud and he’s the latest example. Back-to-back Fridays on the PGA Tour, with the players fighting to make the cut coming down to the final few holes, and there is no TV coverage. None. People are betting on the second-round leader. They are betting on cut/no-cut. We have full-round bets and DFS going. Show us the golf through the end of the round on Fridays! How hard is that???

And with that, we have surely said it all.

Back tomorrow to handicap a pair of big Kentucky Derby Prep races. I hope to have that posted and emailed to subscribers by 11:30 a.m. EST.

Good luck with the bets this weekend. And thanks for reading.

Good weekend.