In Boston, Nick Cafardo writes a “great injustice in Red Sox history was corrected this week” when Red Sox Chair Tom Werner called Baseball HOFer Wade Boggs to tell him his No. 26 “will be retired in a ceremony May 26 at Fenway Park.” Cafardo: “Just why Boggs was denied this honor for so long remains unclear. Is it coincidence that the decision to honor Boggs coincides with Larry Lucchino’s departure as team CEO and president?” There is “no doubt that Boggs going to the Yankees and riding the horse in celebration of the Yankees’ championship in 1996 never sat well with the Red Sox.” The team’s “snubbing of Boggs is so silly.” The Red Sox had “turned their back” on Boggs (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/22).
MONEY FOR NOTHING? YAHOO SPORTS’ Mark Townsend noted the Dodgers’ $43.6M luxury-tax bill is “not the most efficient way to run a business,” but Dodgers President Andrew Friedman and GM Farhan Zaidi have “spent the last 12 months working toward a roster that works best for them.” Even if it “meant spending some extra money to make a player or two go away, or to land an extra prospect, they were willing to do it.” Most importantly, they “had the approval of ownership as the payroll continued shooting upward.” Townsend wrote it will be “interesting to see" which teams pay the luxury tax in '16. With MLB “enjoying record revenue again this season, there's definitely money to spend and still plenty of players available to spend it on” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/19).
DON'T STOP NOW: THE MMQB’s Peter King addressed Falcons Owner Arthur Blank and suggested he give the team's front office "one more year.” Blank and GM Thomas Dimitroff “agreed to import pass-rush specialist Dan Quinn as the head coach.” King: “This is year one of that. Dimitroff and Quinn have great rapport.” Along with Assistant GM Scott Pioli, this team “deserves, at minimum, one more draft and free-agency period to progress in a division that’s had every team in it win at least two division crowns” since ’05 (MMQB.SI,com, 12/21).
LION'S SHARE OF THE BLAME: In Orlando, Paul Tenorio noted “about two dozen protesters set up across the street from Orlando City’s offices” on Friday, “sparked” by the team’s decision to cut ties with assistant coach Ian Fuller. The “effect was meant to illustrate to Orlando City's leadership that the fans remained unsatisfied with the lack of information provided by the club” (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 12/18).
