The Red Sox have banned beer in the clubhouse

By D.J. ShortFeb 25, 2012, 2:38 PM EST
33 Comments

After the Red Sox collapsed in epic fashion down the stretch last season, reports surfaced that Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester drank beer, ate fried chicken and played video games in the clubhouse on the days they weren’t pitching.

The Red Sox still won 90 games last season and whether drinking beer in the clubhouse had any real impact on the team missing the playoffs is questionable, but new manager Bobby Valentine is doing his part to nip the issue in the bud. No pun intended, I swear.

Per Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com, the Red Sox have also banned beer on the last leg of plane trips. I guess we can assume fried chicken is fair game, though.

Report: Mets sign Wilson Ramos to two-year, $19 million deal

Rob Carr/Getty Images
By Bill BaerDec 16, 2018, 4:55 PM EST
9 Comments

The Mets have signed catcher Wilson Ramos to a two-year deal, SNY’s Andy Martino reports. The total value of the contract is $19 million, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman.

Ramos, 31, split last season between the Rays and Phillies, putting up one of the best offensive seasons among catchers. In 416 total plate appearances, he hit .306/.358/.487 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI.

Ramos will presumably get the lion’s share of plate appearances behind the plate with Travis d'Arnaud backing him up. Grandal was made a qualifying offer, so the Mets would have had to forfeit a draft pick to sign him. And, of course, Realmuto would have cost prospects. Ramos simply costs money.

The Mets were aggressively pursuing a catching upgrade, having been involved in rumors surrounding J.T. Realmuto and Yasmani Grandal, but ultimately settled on Ramos. New GM Brodie Van Wagenen has made a significant impact on the team already, having also added second baseman Robinson Canó and closer Edwin Díaz from a trade with the Mariners.