Thoughts on Payton Tolle getting the Game 1 start for the Red Sox in the Wild Card round, my increasing sense that Drake Maye is not the guy, David Pastrnak as the Bruins' "default" captain

Tuesday 9/29/26

Today is a day in which we have Boston Red Sox playoff baseball. Surely that is a good thing in a world where good things get harder and harder to come by.

Much as I love the Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots, a Red Sox playoff game is more special to me than Game 7 of the Finals for the Celtics and Bruins and the Super Bowl for the Patriots would be combined. I am a New Englander through and through, and if you are a true New Englander, there is nothing, sports-wise, like the Red Sox.

The Red Sox are starting Payton Tolle in Game 1 of tonight's Wild Card series as I suggested they might. My reasoning, which may or may not have been theirs: using Tolle and his energy to offset Cam Schlittler, with the veteran Sonny Gray there in Game 2 in case you're facing elimination. Gray deserves to start Game 1, but this is one of those times where the move is totally understandable.

I like the decision. I'm expecting Tolle to be up for this and to bring it. He's bright, strong, he's been through some awful stuff in life and has perspective. He knows what's what. The heat should be there on his fastball, the fire with his compete level. One of the few rookies you'd feel good about in this spot on that stage. He's a mature guy. Won't be scared or rattled. Doesn't mean he's certain to fare well. But if he doesn't, I don't believe it'll be because he isn't mentally ready for this. If you're a true baseball fan, you should be a fan of this guy.

My pick for the series would be the Yankees, but the Red Sox winning wouldn't be much of an upset, if it were an upset at all. These teams are pretty even and this could well be the best first-round series. You have the White Sox playing the Astros. Something isn't right here when you have two of the better teams facing off straight away while the two weakest teams play each other. Will Garrett Crochet be on the Red Sox' Wild Card roster? It must be out. I haven't checked. I'd find it most surprising to see him walk out to that mound, but I felt similarly about Tanner Houck the other day.

Tyron Guerrero went down for the Red Sox the other day while doing his normal workout. You can get hurt at any time. That's a costly loss for them. As I said, the Red Sox' best chance to win these playoffs games and make a run is to shorten games with their pitching. You can envision a formula. Strong start from their top three guys, then the likes of Guerrero, Miller, Whitlock, Chapman. Opportunistic offense. Bit of small ball. Running into some pitches and taking guys deep. A productive Contreras, Abreau, Rafaela. Good defense.

Wanted to fit this in, too: I had written a while ago that Pete Alonso wasn't the type of player who ages well. I appear to have been wrong. He had an excellent year for the Orioles. He's a better player now than he was a few years ago. He's aging well. Leading the league in homers and RBI your first year on a new team in a new league is damn impressive. Wasn't like he hit .228 either.

This guy has a legit chance to get to Cooperstown. You wouldn't have thought that before. Some guys get there "quietly" and then boom, they're a first or second ballot Hall of Famer, like Adrian Beltre. Alonso could be the first baseman version of that. He's a winning player, too. Someone suited for big moments. And he even has some defensive value. This isn't a DH. I look at him now and I wish the Red Sox had gotten him, contrary to what I had said at the time. Mea culpa.

Additional Drake Maye note: in his late seven games, he's thrown ten interceptions, with nine fumbles, five of which were recovered by the opposition. I care much more about the fumble total than the number of times you got it back. That's luck. You already messed up big time. The ball fortuitously bouncing to your offensive lineman doesn't change that.

I'm not sure this player is particularly bright. He wasn't that good in college. That was telling. If you're a good quarterback, you should be able to tear it up in the ACC. You could say, "Tom Brady wasn't good in college!" Yes he was. He also had a strange circumstance with a coach in Lloyd Carr who was screwing him over. That wasn't a good situation for Brady. It probably made him stronger, which helped him later.

Maye is also now making these excuses after the game. He complained about the ball being slippery because there was blood on it. He says that he doesn't want to cite an injury, but then basically does just that. These things are givens. There's no reason to mention them unless you're endeavoring to shirk culpability.

I'm seriously starting to think that it's not going to work out with him. I also think that Stefon Diggs helped make him what he was last year. Diggs wasn't a deep threat, nor was he a slot receiver. He was a kind of in-the-middle man. Maye got to feel like he was playing how he likes to play, but was also more under control because of the nature of Diggs' routes and game and being tethered to both. You won't find this point made anywhere else.

David Pastrnak was officially named captain of the Bruins. The default choice rather than the correct choice. There isn't a captain on that team. And why now? It's the same as last year. The answer: they didn't want to deal with questions on the matter persisting. He was named the captain in order to make something go away, rather than because he's captain material. I don't think he plays like a captain.

This is a future Hall of Famer. As I've noted, his dwindling goal totals are concerning. But he'll get into the Hall easily. He's often not physically invested. I'm talking about taking the body. When he is, you notice the difference. He isn't defensively responsible. Held the door for me at Starbucks. I don't dislike him. I just think if he's your captain, you have your issues. I felt the same way about Brad Marchand.

But man, the creepy ass parasocial people who don't know sports love this. You know, the people who go on HFboards and call Pastrnak "David" like they're roomies. What knuckle draggers these people are. The grammar--oh boy. There comments look like they were written by second graders. The average American. Hell, this is the above average American, because most of these people live in New England where the average person is more intelligent, which is terrifying as a near lifelong resident of these parts.