Boston, MA
Justin Turner thanks Red Sox fans, city of Boston in heartfelt farewell message
BOSTON — In Justin Turner’s mind, returning to the Red Sox after an impressive 2023 season was a “no-brainer.” Alas, the Red Sox front office felt differently, and the veteran DH/infielder is now a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Yet Turner didn’t want to join a division rival of the Red Sox without offering a proper farewell to the city that took a keen liking to him during his brief stint in Boston.
Turner posted 10 pictures to Instagram, accompanied by a long caption thanking the city of Boston and everyone in it.
Dear Boston,
Who knew that in eight short months a Southern California kid and his wife would be embraced by a “rival city” the way we were? The day I signed up to be a Red Sox was the end of practically a decade-long run with my hometown team and I wasn’t sure how difficult making the move was going to be. We almost got off to a rough start just by the jersey number I was going to be wearing on my back. I knew how much the #2, worn by the late great Jerry “RemDawg” Remy meant to the Boston base but I made a promise to wear it with honor and make him proud.
But it didn’t take long to feel the support and love from an entire city, one fastball to the face and I was in haha. From that first game, opening day against the Orioles, the second I stepped in the box to Augustana, I knew I was going to love calling Fenway Pahk my home. The energy the fans brought every single night, no matter who was in town or what day of the week and when it was most likely raining (what a wet summer, right?) was electric. There have been so many great players to call Fenway Park their home and getting in the same box as Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Jim Rice, Nomahhhh, Big Papi and The Laser Show to name a few, was a ‘pinch me’ moment. But it’s you, the fans that make that place so special.
Kourt and I loved every second of being Bostonians and loved our New England adventures with Moon and Rigby. We had huge support in hosting our annual 5K Turner Trot with gorgeous views along The Charles River and finishing at The Hatch. Our favorite thing to do was walk the dogs around the city to new parks and reservoirs and everyone made us feel at home. It is almost insane how many great relationships we were able to build in such a short time. I really would like to name everyone but don’t want to risk leaving anyone out. So thank you to everyone in the Red Sox organization for not only making it an easy transition, but making the city of Boston feel like a home away from home.
See you soon Boston, you’ll always have my respect!
JT
The 39-year-old Turner played in 146 games for the Red Sox, batting .276 with 23 home runs and 96 RBIs. That performance came after Turner signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox, following a nine-year stint with the Dodgers. But Turner’s contract had a player option, and he opted out, collecting a $6.7 million buyout. His eventual deal with the Blue Jays will pay him $13 million, roughly what he was due to make on his Boston contract ($13.4 million), with another $1.5 million tied to playing time and days spent on the active roster.
Boston, MA
Red Sox Icon David Ortiz Urges Boston To ‘Make It Rain’ For Free-Agent Slugger
The Boston Red Sox hive mind doesn’t always come to a perfect agreement on what they want the team to do. That is, of course, unless David Ortiz is asking for it.
A three-time World Series champion, Hall of Famer, and one of the most clutch players of all time, Ortiz is unquestionably on the Red Sox’s all-time Mount Rushmore. Even though he retired in 2016, he’s still closely woven into the fabric of the organization.
Ortiz sees what we all do: this Red Sox team is close to being ready to contend for the playoffs, but there’s one key ingredient missing. He made his feelings known about what he hopes the front office does between now and Opening Day to address that issue.
On Saturday, Ortiz relayed a simple message to the Red Sox: spend whatever it takes to get one more big bat.
“There’s still some guys out there that we can still go for, and I think we have a really good front office,” Ortiz said in an appearance on NESN. “To put a good lineup together nowadays is not that difficult. What you got to do is just make it rain, and you can go pick a few guys. Now pitching, on the other hand, is the toughest thing to put together.
“We got pitching. Pitching can always stop good offenses. The playoff is a playoff pitching (staff) we got right now. We line up a couple of thunders in the lineup to help (Rafael Devers) and the rest of them boys — one good bat would do.”
Ortiz and NESN host Tom Caron both strongly hinted at the end of the interview who that big bat could be: former Houston Astros All-Star Alex Bregman. Manager Alex Cora also signaled earlier in the day that Bregman would be a great fit in Boston.
Bregman isn’t quite Ortiz, but he does have one thing on him: the career record for OPS at Fenway Park. He has a wild 1.245 mark in 98 plate appearances in Boston throughout his career.
When David Ortiz asks for something, the Red Sox would usually be wise to follow through. And it seems he wants Bregman. Will that move the needle in the suites at Fenway?
More MLB: Red Sox Predicted To Land Ex-Padres $28 Million Gold Glover In Free Agency Surprise
Boston, MA
Greater Boston enjoys a light snow, travel not significantly impacted – The Boston Globe
The snow showers come from a weakening system approaching from the Great Lakes that tapped into some of the moisture from a strong storm passing south of New England.
The region was spared the worst precipitation of the storm thanks to persistent sub-freezing temperatures earlier this week, which pushed it south toward its current location off the coast of North Carolina, Nocera said. New England’s light snowfall is on the northern fringes of the storm.
Nocera added that this weekend’s “decorative snow” will not significantly impact ground travel.
The Massachusetts Port Authority issued a travel advisory for flight delays at Boston Logan International Airport. According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, as of around 1:00 p.m. 212 flights were delayed at Boston Logan and another 15 were cancelled.
Margo Griffin, a teaching associate at the University of Cambridge in England, was initially worried about driving through the snow on her way to get coffee in Cambridge, but said the view from the Charles River was worth the trek.
“I thought it might be a problem, but I just decided to go ahead with the plan, and I’m enjoying walking through the snow,” Griffin said.
Other Boston-area residents who spoke to the Globe Saturday morning were happy to wake up to the winter scene on Saturday.
“I am feeling wonderful about the snow. I haven’t seen it in a long time,” said Barbara Delollis, a communications lead at Harvard Business School.
Delollis already made snow day plans.
“We want to go out and have some fun in the snow, and take a lot of pictures and just remember this moment, because we don’t know how much more snowfall we’re going to see in the Boston area anymore with climate change,” Delollis said.
Talia, a Cambridge resident, said that the snow had no effect on her plans to attend synagogue with her two-year-old son Saturday morning.
“It feels nice and seasonal, which is cool because climate change is terrifying,” she said.
Snowstorms can still occur, despite warming temperatures from climate change, Nocera said. Although Saturday’s snowfall cannot guarantee heavy snow this winter, there is a slightly higher chance of snow towards the end of the month as cold temperatures ease.
Materials from previous Globe stories were used in this report.
Boston, MA
Boston College drops Hockey East contest to Merrimack
The second-ranked Boston College men’s hockey team suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to Merrimack by a score of 5-2 in Hockey East action on Friday night at Kelley Rink. The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second, but the Warriors scored the next five. BC falls to 12-4-1 overall and 6-3-1 in Hockey East, while Merrimack improves to 8-10-1 overall and 4-5-1 in league play. The Eagles opened the scoring midway through the first period when Oskar Jellvik one-timed the rebound off an Aram Minnetian shot that was saved by the Merrimack goaltender. Minnetian’s shot fell right into the path of Jellvik for the quick shot into the open net to put the Eagles in front. BC added to its lead shortly into the second period when Brady Berard scored a short-handed goal. Merrimack responded 32 seconds later with a power-play goal to get on the board, before scoring the game-tying goal less than one minute after that. The Warriors took the lead nearly three minutes later when Merrimack scored its third goal of the period. The Warriors scored twice in the third period to push their lead to three. Jacob Fowler made 23 saves while Nils Wallstrom had 27 stops for Merrimack.
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