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Red Sox' Alex Verdugo named fourth-best center fielder in baseball heading into 2021 season by MLB Network
Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo has been named the fourth-best center fielder in baseball headed into the 2021 season by MLB Network.
Our top 🔟 center fielders heading into the 2021 season! #Top10RightNow pic.twitter.com/6PJV7ASiys
The 24-year-old, finishing behind the likes of Mike Trout, former teammate Cody Bellinger, and George Springer, only started one game in center field for Boston last year during his debut season with the club.
In said start, which came on the road against the Marlins on September 16, Verdugo went 1-for-1 in his defensive chances, recording a putout on a Miguel Rojas pop fly in the first inning of what would turn out to be an 8-4 defeat.
Per Baseball Savant, Rojas' pop fly off of left-hander Mike Kickham left his bat with an exit velocity of 84.7 mph, giving Verdugo a 99% chance to catch it, which he did after jogging a few steps to his left.
Other than that, the rest of Verdugo's playing time came in 2020 came in left or right field, where he did a decent job showing off his arm strength en route to recording seven outfield assists.
Prior to coming over from the Dodgers in that infamous trade last February, the former second-round draft pick patrolled center field quite a bit for Los Angeles in 2019.
Over a 61-game sample size (52 starts), Verdugo logged 475 2/3 innings in center, where he posted a positive-3 defensive runs saved as well as a 1.1 ultimate zone rating, which translates to an ultimate zone rating of 3.6 over 150 defensive games, per FanGraphs.
In that same stretch of games in center for the Dodgers, Verdugo was worth zero outs above average, according to Baseball Savant, which essentially means he was average at that position defensively.
Even with those numbers in mind, the Arizona native appears to be the frontrunner to become the Sox' everyday center fielder in 2021.
This being the case because Jackie Bradley Jr. still remains unsigned while Andrew Benintendi could apparently be traded any day now.
Take those two options away, and outside of Verdugo, Hunter Renfroe, J.D. Martinez are the only other two outfielders on Boston's 40-man roster who have major-league experience.
Having said all that, it's safe to assume that The Shredder, MLB Network's "player rating formula," ran with the notion that Verdugo will fill the void left by Bradley Jr. come Opening Day in April.
Seeing how Bradley Jr. is a Gold Glove Award winner and one of, if not the best defensive center fielder in baseball, that could be a sizable void to fill, but Red Sox officials seem confident that Verdugo could handle it if given the opportunity.
"I think Verdugo's probably the one who — if we were starting today — would probably be most suited to it," chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said last month when asked who on the Red Sox could play center field on a consistent basis. "But, it's just great to have a group of athletes that you feel confident that they could all cover it."
Red Sox general manager and Bloom's right-hand man Brian O'Halloran echoed this same sort of sentiment when speaking with reporters in early December.
"I think he did a really good job. He's obviously a very athletic outfielder who moves around very well," O'Halloran said of the fiery outfielder. "I have not seen him play center field, but I believe that he could do it. And in terms of evaluations, this year I thought he did a terrific job both offensively and defensively."
Verdugo's manager, Alex Cora, also expressed optimism that the 6-foot, 192. lb. left-handed hitter would be able to handle things as the anchor of the Red Sox outfield this coming season.
"We do believe that he's athletic enough to do that," said Cora, when appearing on MLB Network Radio in December. "He's got the instincts. His first step is pretty good. He can do it… We do feel comfortable with Alex playing center field."
There is still plenty of time for the Red Sox' outfield outlook to change during these winter months, but for now, let's just roll with the idea that Verdugo will be Boston's Opening Day center fielder, likely batting leadoff or out of the two-hole.
Little bit of soft toss tonight pic.twitter.com/J6ikEIpLFQ
— Sirdugo (@sirdugo520) January 13, 2021
(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on January 13, 2021 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2020 season, alex cora, alex verdugo, andrew benintendi, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, center field, center fielders, chaim bloom, dodgers, hunter renfroe, jackie bradley jr, jd martinez, los angeles, mlb, mlb network, outfielders, red soxLeave a comment on Red Sox' Alex Verdugo named fourth-best center fielder in baseball heading into 2021 season by MLB Network
Red Sox among clubs that have 'been involved to some extent in negotiations' with free-agent infielder Marcus Semien, per report
The Red Sox are among the clubs that have been "involved to some extent in negotiations with free-agent infielder Marcus Semien," according to The Athletic's Jim Bowden.
According to club sources #Phillies #Reds #RedSox (2B) #Athletics have all been involved to some extent in negotiations w/free agent infielder Marcus Semien. There are probably more clubs interested due to his versatility, athleticism, & durability, Strong postseason helped him
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) January 13, 2021
Bowden additionally reports that the Athletics, Philles, and Reds have also been negotiating in some capacity with Semien, while "there are probably more clubs interested due to his versatility, athleticism, and durability."
Semien, 30, was projected by MLB Trade Rumors back in November to net himself a one-year, $14 million deal this offseason.
The Bay Area native is coming off a 2020 campaign with the Athletics in which he posted an underwhelming .223/.305/.374 slash line in the wake of finishing third in American League MVP voting in 2019. He clubbed just seven home runs and drove in 28 RBI over 53 games played this past season.
That said, Semien improved his stock in October, as he went 11-for-27 (.407) at the plate while putting up an OPS of 1.151 in seven games against the White Sox and Astros in the American League Wild Card and Divisional Series'.
Bowden notes that this "strong postseason helped him" in terms of garnering interest as a free agent in addition to his past reputation as one of the more solid middle infielders in the American League.
The Athletic's Peter Gammons was the first to report Boston's interest in Semien late last month, tweeting that the "Sox like him" and view him as a second baseman despite his experience at shortstop with the A's.
Marcus Semien would seem to be a fit @2B for Red Sox. Posts up, most G any MLB SS 2018-20. Bigtime Leader. Playoffs erased off-kilter 50 G season. 5th among SS in WRC+ 2018 among SS w/ 1500 PA. College roomie of scouting dir. Paul Toboni. Sox like him, but don't yet know $.
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) December 23, 2020
Gammons added that while attending the University of California, Berkeley, Semien was roommates with Red Sox amateur scouting director and former Golden Bear Paul Toboni. So there is a connection there.
At the time of this tweet, Gammons reported that the Red Sox did not yet know how much money it would take to sign Semien, but perhaps that dollar figure is starting to become more clear as spring training quicky approaches.
As currently constructed, the Sox' 40-man roster is somewhat lousy with infielders capable of playing second base, but none have established themselves of being able to play the position on an everyday basis in the major-leagues. Christian Arroyo and Michael Chavis are among those in the organization that fit this description.
"We definitely have some options internally," general manager Brian O'Halloran said in December in regards to Boston's outlook at second base. "But we're also open-minded. And this is not exclusive to second base. We're open minded to different ways of improving the club."
If they were to sign Semien, who has played 29 career games and has logged 236 2/3 career innings at second (none since 2014), to a short-term deal to primarily play that position, then perhaps the Red Sox' plan would be for the former sixth-round draft pick to serve as somewhat of a bridge to top prospect Jeter Downs.
That all depends on what chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and the rest of Boston's baseball operations department have in store, though.
ESPN's Buster Olney did tweet on Tuesday night that the expectation around baseball was that the Red Sox are preparing to make a series of roster moves to upgrade the club's roster for the 2021 season.
(Picture of Marcus Semien: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on January 13, 2021 January 13, 2021 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags athletics, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, christian arroyo, hot stove, infielders, jeter downs, marcus semien, michael chavis, mlb, oakland, offseason, red sox, second baseLeave a comment on Red Sox among clubs that have 'been involved to some extent in negotiations' with free-agent infielder Marcus Semien, per report
Red Sox manager Alex Cora wants to see Andrew Benintendi return to October 2018 form
Even though spring training is still two months away, it's safe to say the spotlight will be on Andrew Benintendi headed into the 2021 major-league season.
Coming off an injury-shortened 2020 campaign in which he mustered all of two hits in 52 trips to the plate, the Red Sox outfielder has been a focal point in conversations between reporters and club officials since the start of the offseason.
Back in late September, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said he would not let 2020 change his opinion on Benintendi, who he views as having "great, all-around ability." Last week, general manager Brian O'Halloran said something along these same lines to kick off the virtual winter meetings.
"Andrew has proven he's a very capable outfielder," said O'Halloran via a Zoom call. "Obviously it was a tough year for Andrew all around [in 2020]. The injury and sort of a lost season unfortunately due to that injury. We expect that he's healthy, he comes back again. We expect big things out of Andrew. As of right now, he's expected to be our left fielder. Can't rule anything out going forward. But that's the plan for right now."
And on Thursday, Benintendi's manager, Alex Cora, also expressed confidence that the 26-year-old can bounce back next year despite the fact he has been on the decline going back to 2019.
"The Andrew that we saw in October 2018, that's the Andrew we want," Cora said. "I know a lot people talk about the second half [of 2018], I don't think it was that bad. In '19, talking to him, he tried to make some adjustments as far as hitting the ball in the air. You saw him, he became a little bit stronger. He wasn't out of shape, actually, he was in great shape. But, I think his mindset was a little bit different."
After nearly making his first All-Star team while playing a pivotal role for Boston during their World Series-winning run in 2018, Benintendi fell back down to earth in 2019. Over 138 games played, the Cincinnati native posted a .774 OPS and league-average 100 wRC+ to go along with 13 home runs and 68 RBI.
Headed into the 2019/2020 offseason, Benintendi intended to slim down, and he did so. Bloom had even said that he thought the outfielder "looked great" during spring training and summer camp, but that obviously did not translate to positive results.
In addition to a miserable start to the 2020 campaign, Benintendi suffered a right rib cage strain on August 11, which would wind up costing him the remainder of the shortened 60-game season.
While he was playing though, Benintendi was striking out nearly 33% of the time while swinging and missing at a 13.5% clip, both of which were uncharacteristic and career-worsts for the University of Arkansas product.
"Last year (2020), talking to him, he never felt right at the batter's box, although it was 50-something at-bats," Cora said of his conversations with Benintendi. "The swings-and-misses — we talked about it in '19, we saw it in '20 — we need to find a balance between driving the ball and not swinging and missing. I'll take Andrew Benintendi, the complete player. I don't want Andrew to hit 35-40 home runs. I want him to get on base, be fast in the base paths, steal bases, play better defense — the way he played in October [2018] — and if we get that guy back, we're in a good position."
From the time the Red Sox departed from Houston after evening up the American League Championship Series against the Astros on October 14 until the final out of the 2018 World Series was recorded in Los Angeles on October 28, Benintendi batted .303 while scoring nine runs and making multiple superb defensive plays in left field. Boston went unbeaten in all seven games he started. This is the kind of player the club would like to get back in 2021.
"As you know, I'm a big fan of Andrew," Cora added. "At 7:05 or 7:35, I know he gives his best, but we need him to get back to staying level in the strike zone, drive the ball all over the field, run around, and be a complete player. I don't want him to be one-dimensional."
Benintendi, who doesn't turn 27 until July and is under team control through 2022, is about to embark on his fifth full season as a member of the Red Sox organization. He was selected by Boston with the seventh overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft out of Arkansas and quickly rose through the minor-league ranks before making his big-league debut the following summer. The fact that he was a first-round pick proves to Cora that the potential is still there.
"When this kid got drafted, he was probably the best hitting prospect coming out of college," stated the Sox skipper. "Like I always said, those first-rounders, they don't get lucky, they're good. I still believe Andrew Benintendi is a good player. I think Andrew Benintendi is an impactful player, and we got to get him back to that mindset that he had in '18 — and even in '17."
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on December 17, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2021 season, alex cora, andrew benintendi, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, expectations, mlb, offseason, outfielders, red sox, spring trainingLeave a comment on Red Sox manager Alex Cora wants to see Andrew Benintendi return to October 2018 form
Red Sox 'feel comfortable' with Alex Verdugo playing center field, Alex Cora says
Even as the Red Sox remain interested in bringing back Jackie Bradley Jr. this winter, club officials appear confident that fellow outfielder Alex Verdugo can take the Gold Glover's spot in center if needed in 2021.
"One of the great things is [Verdugo, Andrew Benintendi, and Hunter Renfroe] all could do it," chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said via Zoom earlier this week when asked who stands out as the primary centerfield option at this point. "I think Verdugo's probably the one who — if we were starting today — would probably be most suited to it. But, it's just great to have a group of athletes that you feel confident that they could all cover it."
Bloom's right-hand man, Sox general manager Brian O'Halloran praised Verdugo for what he did on both sides of the ball in his debut season with Boston when speaking with reporters last week.
"I think he did a really good job. He's obviously a very athletic outfielder who moves around very well," O'Halloran said of the fiery 24-year-old. "I have not seen him play center field, but I believe that he could do it. And in terms of evaluations, this year I thought he did a terrific job both offensively and defensively."
Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who described Verdugo as the team's 2020 MVP back in November, echoed this same sort of sentiment on Tuesday when appearing on MLB Network Radio.
"We do believe that he's athletic enough to do that," the Sox skipper said of Verdugo's ability to play center field. "He's got the instincts. His first step is pretty good. He can do it."
This past season, Verdugo managed to start just one game in center for now-ousted manager Ron Roenicke against the Marlins on September 16, a contest in which the Arizona native made one putout over eight innings of work.
Prior to coming over to Boston back in February, though, Verdugo actually saw the majority of his playing time for the Dodgers in 2019 come in center field.
Across 61 games in which he logged 475 2/3 innings in center for Los Angeles, Verdugo posted a positive-3 defensive runs saved and 1.1 ultimate zone rating, which translates to an ultimate zone rating of 3.6 over 150 defensive games, per FanGraphs.
Baseball Savant, meanwhile, states that Verdugo was worth zero outs above average as a center fielder last year, which essentially means he was average at that position in terms of defensive capabilities.
With that in mind, it would appear that the Red Sox would indeed benefit from bringing back Bradley Jr. to regularly patrol center field, and there's still time to make that happen.
As of now, however, Boston's current, everyday outfield alignment would have Benintendi in left, Verdugo in center, and the recently-signed Renfroe in right.
"That's a pretty solid outfield," Cora said Tuesday. "But obviously the season doesn't start tomorrow. Let's see what the offseason brings and what Chaim and the group decide to do. But we do feel comfortable with Alex playing center field."
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on December 16, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2020 season, 2021 season, alex cora, alex verdugo, andrew benintendi, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, dodgers, hunter renfroe, jackie bradley jr, mlb, offseason, outfielders, red soxLeave a comment on Red Sox 'feel comfortable' with Alex Verdugo playing center field, Alex Cora says
Blogging the Red Sox presents: A discussion with Brian O'Halloran
To say Red Sox general manager Brian O'Halloran's baseball journey has been unique to this point would be an understatement.
Whether it be studying abroad in the then-Soviet Republic of Georgia, working for an international logistics company in Moscow, or substitute teaching in his hometown, the Weymouth native has certainly seen plenty on his way to spending the past 19 years with the Red Sox occupying the following positions:
Baseball operations assistant (2002-2006)
Director of baseball operations (2006-2010)
Vice president of baseball operations (2011)
Assistant general manager (2011-2019)
General manager (2019-)
A member of four World Series-winning front offices in Boston, O'Halloran, affectionately known as "BOH," recently took some time out of his busy offseason schedule to answer a handful of questions from yours truly via email.
Among the topics discussed were O'Halloran's upbringing in Weymouth, his experience overseas, getting his foot in the door with the Red Sox, what it has been like working under Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington, Dave Dombrowski, and Chaim Bloom, and focusing on team goals over individual ones. Enjoy.
What do your favorite memories of growing up in Weymouth entail?
Brian O'Halloran: That could be a really long answer, so I will try to keep it short! I loved growing up in Weymouth. My favorite memories mostly center around my group of close friends I grew up with, many of whom I am still close with today. This includes a few that I've been friends with since elementary school at the old Hunt School. I have a lot of great memories around sports – youth soccer and little league baseball in particular. Perhaps the most notable is being a member of the 1983 Eagles of East Weymouth Little League, with an undefeated regular season and a hard-fought win in the championship series, two games to one, against a very game Weymouth Elks club lead by head coach and Weymouth sports legend Mark Ducharme.
Is there anything that you learned or picked up while living in Georgia or Russia that you apply to your role as general manager of the Red Sox?
O'Halloran: I think my experience overseas helps me every day. Living and working in a totally different culture, far from home, and meeting people with all different backgrounds, provides great perspective and opportunity for growth as a person. I encourage anyone who can get such an experience to jump at the chance.
What were some of the benefits and challenges of working unusual hours when you first joined the Red Sox?
O'Halloran: There definitely were challenges — some nights I would work until 5 a.m. and then substitute teach in Weymouth a few hours later. I guess the benefit was that I got an opportunity to show my level of commitment to working in baseball.
On that note, does the Red Sox' baseball operations department still work out of the Fenway Park basement?
O'Halloran: No, we are upstairs now.
What role, in baseball, politics, etc., do you think Theo Epstein will pursue next?
O'Halloran: I don't know, but whatever he does, I'm sure he will be successful at it!
Speaking of Epstein, what have been the similarities and differences between working with him, Ben Cherington, Dave Dombrowski, and now Chaim Bloom?
O'Halloran: The biggest similarities are competitiveness and burning desire to win, as well as a love of and commitment to the game of baseball. Of course they are all different personalities with different ways of going about their jobs. I certainly have learned a lot from all of them!
As you see former colleagues such as Mike Hazen and Jed Hoyer become heads of baseball operations for different clubs, do you start to wonder when you will get that opportunity?
O'Halloran: No, not really. Although I am happy for my friends and colleagues who earn such great opportunities. Personally, I am 100% focused on working with Chaim and our group to bring more championships to Boston. I have always tried to focus on team goals over individual ones. When the team succeeds, individuals who have contributed tend to get increased opportunities, either within their current organization or outside it.
Finally, what do your December plans look like now that there will be no in-person winter meetings?
O'Halloran: Our day-to-day is very similar to usual, except we are working from home. We are talking to other teams and agents, looking for any opportunities to improve the team and achieve our goal of building a sustainable, championship caliber team year-in and year-out. It's a little strange not to be able to do that in the office or at in-person winter meetings, but it's 2020, we have to adapt! That includes adjusting to the fact that my office-mates now include two teenagers (doing distance learning from home) and a dog!
Thank you to Brian O'Halloran, who recently teamed up with the Red Sox Foundation to offer fans the chance to win his personal collection of over 20,000 baseball cards in support of the foundation's ongoing commitment to Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion, for making this possible.
That sweepstakes has since ended, but a pretty nice gesture nonetheless.
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on December 14, 2020 December 14, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2021 season, Baseball, ben cherington, boston, brian o'halloran, career, chaim bloom, dave dombrowski, fenway park, mlb, offseason, red sox, theo epstein, weymouth, winter meetingsLeave a comment on Blogging the Red Sox presents: A discussion with Brian O'Halloran
Red Sox could target minor-leaguers with local connections in upcoming Rule 5 Draft
The 2020 Rule 5 Draft, which provides clubs without a full 40-man roster to add unprotected, non-40-man roster players from other clubs, is this coming Thursday.
The Red Sox, having traded left-hander Yoan Aybar to the Rockies and outrighted utilityman Yairo Munoz to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday, have opened up two spots on their 40-man roster as the (virtual) Winter Meetings' closing event draws ever closer.
Opening up those two spots, which brings Boston's 40-man roster down to 38 players ahead of Thursday's Rule 5 Draft, would seem to indicate that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. are going to be busy the rest of the week.
Bloom's general manager, Weymouth native Brian O'Halloran, was rather coy when asked about the possibility of the Sox targeting someone in the Rule 5 Draft.
"I would not rule that out," he said when speaking with reporters via Zoom on Monday.
Right around this time last year, the Red Sox selected then-infield prospect Jonathan Aruaz from the Astros organization in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft. Arauz, 22, was able to remain on Boston's active roster for the entirety of the 2020 season, meaning the club now has full control of him moving forward.
All things considered, it may have been easier for the Sox to keep Arauz on their major-league roster this past season considering how non-competitive they were. Given the team's expectations for 2021, holding on to a Rule 5 player may be a tougher task for a club planning to contend for a World Series title.
"Generally speaking, it's a little bit harder to carry a Rule 5 player when you have a team that's built to compete for a championship and the postseason," O'Halloran said. "It doesn't mean that it's impossible. Circumstances matter, certainly the player matters. Who the player is and whether he can compete and how you think he can hold his own in the big-leagues, what he brings to the table. But it definitely can be more of a challenge for sure."
Again, in Bloom's first offseason as chief baseball officer, the Red Sox did not hesitate to add a Rule 5 player. Doing so this year may be more of a challenge initially, but as O'Halloran said, that possibility cannot be ruled out. Especially when you consider the fact that Boston will have the fourth-highest priority, or fourth overall pick, in this year's Rule 5 Draft since they finished with the fourth-worst record in baseball in 2020.
Regarding who the Red Sox could target in the upcoming Rule 5, there are two players I would like to highlight here, both of whom hail from Massachusetts.
First off, there's Malden native Paul Campbell, who was left off the Rays' 40-man roster last month.
The 25-year-old right-handed pitching prospect was originally drafted by Tampa Bay out of Clemson University in the 21st round of the 2017 amateur draft.
Regarded by MLB Pipeline as the Rays' No. 24 prospect at the moment, Campbell most recently posted a 3.67 ERA and .238 batting average against over 27 outings (20 starts) and 144 2/3 innings of work between High-A Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery in 2019.
A graduate of Salisbury High School in Connecticut, Campbell worked almost exclusively as a long reliever in college, which would likely be his role on a major-league roster in 2021.
Per his MLB Pipeline scouting report, the 6-foot, 210 lb. righty's pitch mix includes a 92-95 mph fastball with elite spin rate, an 89-90 mph cutter, a changeup, and a curveball.
Given the fact that he is still a member of the Rays organization, Campbell likely knows Bloom in some capacity, so there could be something there depending on the Sox' level of interest.
Next, there's West Roxbury native Packy Naughton, who was left off the Angels' 40-man roster just months after being acquired from the Reds in exchange for outfielder Brian Goodwin.
Another pitcher, the 24-year-old left-handed pitching prospect was originally selected by Cincinnati in the ninth round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Virginia Tech.
Prior to getting dealt to the Halos, Naughton worked exclusively as a starter in 2019, posting a solid 3.32 ERA over 28 outings and 157 innings pitched between High-A Daytona and Double-A Chattanooga. He recorded 131 punchouts in those 157 frames of work.
An alumnus of Boston Latin School, the 6-foot-2, 195 lb. southpaw is currently regarded by MLB Pipeline as the Angels' No. 12 prospect. Per his FanGraphs scouting report, Naughton, who has experience as a reliever in college, is "funky and deceptive, hides the ball well, creates tough angle in on righties' hands, and then drops that changeup on them."
His pitch mix — fastball, slider, changeup — may not be all that electric, but Naughton has shown the ability to record outs in crucial situations while also being quite athletic for a pitcher. At the major-league level, he could undertake "a multi-inning relief role a la Ryan Yarbrough."
So, here we have just two candidates with local connections that the Red Sox could consider taking in Thursday's Rule 5 Draft. There are other interesting unprotected prospects up for grabs as well, such as former first-round draft pick Riley Pint, but for the time being I simply wanted to highlight Campbell and Naughton.
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on December 8, 2020 December 9, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 40-man roster, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, mlb, offseason, packy naughton, paul campbell, red sox, rule 5 draftLeave a comment on Red Sox could target minor-leaguers with local connections in upcoming Rule 5 Draft
Red Sox expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, per report
The Red Sox are expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, according to Boston Sports Journal's Sean McAdam.
Sugano, 31, has been posted by the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, effective Tuesday morning at 8 am eastern time, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
BREAKING: RHP Tomoyuki Sugano has been posted by the Yomiuri Giants, effective at 8 a.m. ET Tuesday. Deadline to complete terms of an agreement is 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 7. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 7, 2020
The veteran hurler is coming off a 2020 campaign in which he posted a 1.97 ERA and recorded 131 strikeouts over 20 outings and 137 1/3 innings of work for Yomiuri.
In his eight-year professional career, Sugano has taken home two Sawamura Awards — the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award — in 2017 and 2018 as well as the Central League MVP Award in 2014.
A six-time All-Star in Japan, Sugano is projected to be a No. 3 or No. 4 starter stateside as he becomes one of the better starting pitchers available on the free agent market.
As you may already be aware, the Red Sox are a team in need of starting pitching this offseason. General manager Brian O'Halloran said as much when addressing reporters via Zoom earlier Monday.
"There are certainly a number of starting pitching options out there of various stripes, and also, of course, there's a trade market," said O'Halloran. "Several of those pitchers have signed but there are plenty of opportunities to delve into that market further, either via free agency or trade. Starting pitching and pitching in general is an area we'd like to improve and add depth to. We continue to work on that."
Sugano would certainly fit that need given his accomplished career in Japan. But, as McAdam notes, "the Red Sox won't be alone in their bidding" for him.
More specifically, per McAdam, "While multiple industry sources confirm the Red Sox have extensive scouting reports on the righthander and intend to be aggressive in their pursuit, other teams — including many big market teams, have similar levels of interest."
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel predicted over the weekend that a two-year, $24 million deal could be enough for a team to land Sugano's services as a result of the revenue losses Major League Baseball and its clubs suffered in 2020.
Of course, any club interested in pursuing Sugano, such as the Red Sox, will beginning on Tuesday have until January 7 at 5 pm eastern time to negotiate a contract with the 6-foot-1, 183 lb. hurler.
Should be something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on December 7, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, free agency, free agency rumors, hot stove, mlb, offseason, pitching, red sox, tomoyuki suganoLeave a comment on Red Sox expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, per report
Red Sox offseason: Dustin Pedroia will have 'the say in anything going forward with his career,' GM Brian O'Halloran says
Though his future is undecided at the moment, the Red Sox have remained in contact with Dustin Pedroia over the course of the offseason, general manager Brian O'Halloran said Monday.
Pedroia, 37, has played in just nine total games since the start of the 2018 season on account of undergoing three procedures on his left knee over the last three years.
"We talk to Dustin and his agents all the time," O'Halloran told reporters via Zoom. "I wouldn't get into the specifics of any of those conversations, but I understand the question."
The Sox reinstated Pedroia from the 60-man injured list and added him back to the 40-man roster in late October, but that does not mean the second baseman will be ready to play in 2021.
"Dustin's not a healthy player right now," O'Halloran said of Pedroia. "Anything with Dustin, first of all, we'd keep those conversations private. And Dustin's going to have the say in anything going forward with his career."
Entering the final year of the eight-year, $110 million contract extension he signed with Boston in 2013, Pedroia did not play at all this past season and has not been with the Sox consistently since Memorial Day 2019. At that time, the four-time All-Star decided to halt all baseball/rehab activities and return to his Arizona home to assess his future.
With all the uncertainty surrounding his status moving forward, Pedroia would seem at serious risk to lose his spot on the Red Sox' 40-man roster, which currently sits at 39 players.
As the virtual Winter Meetings commence this week, one would thing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is going to continue to reshuffle his team's roster, and freeing up Pedroia's spot could certainly help with that.
All that being said, Pedroia remains one of the more iconic figures in recent Red Sox history. The former second-round draft pick out of Arizona State has collected 1,805 career hits, a Silver Slugger Award, four Gold Glove Awards, an MVP trophy, and three World Series titles over the course of an illustrious 14-year major-league career.
Because of all those accolades and what he means to the franchise, Pedroia will certainly have plenty of influence on how his situation is handled by the team as the offseason continues.
"As a Red Sox great and someone who I have had the pleasure of knowing for many, many years now," said O'Halloran, "we would give Dustin the respect of having input on everything that goes on with him and keep any conversations we have with him private."
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on December 7, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2021 season, alex cora, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, dustin pedroia, mlb, offseason, red sox, winter meetingsLeave a comment on Red Sox offseason: Dustin Pedroia will have 'the say in anything going forward with his career,' GM Brian O'Halloran says
Dustin Pedroia's Red Sox career could be nearing its conclusion
Dustin Pedroia's time on the Red Sox' 40-man roster could be coming to an end relatively soon.
The 37-year-old second baseman was activated from the 60-day injured list along with five others late last month, which brought Boston's 40-man roster up to 37 players.
Clubs have until this coming Friday, November 20, to protect Rule 5-eiligible minor-leaguers from this year's Rule 5 Draft, or in other words, add them to their 40-man roster.
As currently constructed, the Sox have three open slots on their 40-man with upwards of 50 prospects in need of Rule-5 protection. Obviously, the math does not check out here, and the majority of those 50-plus minor-leaguers will be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft come December.
There are however a select handful of Red Sox prospects who will need to be protected, as they are regarded as some of the more promising young players in the club's minor-league pipeline.
Left-hander Jay Groome, right-hander Bryan Mata, infielder Hudson Potts, outfielder Jeisson Rosario, right-hander Connor Seabold, and catcher Connor Wong are the six key prospects in this scenario.
Groome and Mata, both of whom signed with the Red Sox in 2016, are regarded by MLB Pipeline as the top two active pitching prospects in Boston's farm system.
The other four — Potts, Rosario, Seabold, and Wong — have all been acquired by the Sox via trade(s) within the last 12 months, so it's highly unlikely the club would want to risk losing any of them.
There could be other, lesser-known minor-leaguers the Sox consider worthy of a 40-man roster spot, as was the case with lefty Kyle Hart last year. But, for the sake of this exercise, let's assume that the Red Sox have six players they would like to add to the 40-man with only three vacancies to work with.
This means that, in some capacity, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom will presumably look to reshuffle his team's 40-man roster between now and Friday.
Players who are currently on the 40-man could either get traded, designated, or outrighted within the next five days, but those same players could also help another team if they wind up in the right situation.
There is plenty of risk involved in this process, but there is one route Bloom and Co. could take that could help mitigate that risk just a little bit. That being, take Pedroia, among others off the 40-man roster.
The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reported last month that Pedroia and the Red Sox "are prepared to talk soon about a mutual understanding that would end his playing career."
Though WEEI's Rob Bradford later added on to that report by stating that "nothing" had yet to have been discussed between the two sides, a mutual agreement of some sorts here certainly makes sense from the Red Sox' point of view.
Pedroia, a former MVP, has played in just nine total games over the last three seasons on account of issues with his left knee. He's undergone three knee surgeries since 2017.
As he enters the final year of the eight-year, $110 million contract extension he signed with Boston back in 2013, it appears that the former second-round draft pick will be unable to play in 2021, or again, on account of how inactive he has been recently.
With that in mind, the Sox may look to reach some sort of settlement with Pedroia so that they can get out from some of the $12 million they owe him next year while also freeing up a 40-man roster spot for someone who can consistently contribute.
This is not exactly a fun scenario to consider, as Pedroia has proven to be one of the Red Sox' undisputed leaders and all-time greats in his 15 or so years with the club, but it may be time to move on and have the four-time Gold Glover transition to a front office or coaching role within the organization, if possible.
Red Sox general manager Brian O'Halloran addressed this very issue in September, and he emphasized the notion that Pedroia will have a say in what the future holds for him as a Red Sox.
"I don't think that any one particular roster spot is something I would focus on as a problem and certainly not when it's Dustin Pedroia," O'Halloran said. "We're going to talk to Dustin and he's obviously going to have the most say in where things go from here. No. 1 is making sure he's as healthy as he can be for the rest of his life, really. And certainly we want to talk to him and see how he's feeling and see where he wants to go from here."
In short, Friday's Rule 5 deadline will serve as a key indicator for where the Red Sox currently stand with Pedroia and the four-time All-Star's status moving forward.
Other players are likely to get moved around, too, but Pedroia is without a doubt the most significant figure whose spot on Boston's 40-man roster could be in jeopardy. We will have to wait and see what Bloom and Co. have in store.
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on November 15, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2021 season, alex cora, all stars, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, contract extension, contracts, dustin pedroia, gold glove, injured list, mlb, mvp, ownership, red sox, surgeryLeave a comment on Dustin Pedroia's Red Sox career could be nearing its conclusion
Chaim Bloom felt Alex Cora was 'right choice' for manager in order to move Red Sox forward
Upon his hiring last October, Red Sox chief baseball officer got the chance to become familiar with Alex Cora, who he likely presumed would be his manager for the foreseeable future.
Instead, as a result of his involvement in the 2017 Astros' illegal stealing of signs, Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways in January.
That left Bloom with a rather sizable hole to fill at the managerial position in a relatively short period of time.
Ron Roenicke, Cora's bench coach the previous two seasons, eventually landed the job in February, but he served as more of a stopgap as anything upon his dismissal from the club in September.
Again, Bloom was tasked with finding the Red Sox' next manager, this time with a little more time do so and a greater number of candidates to consider.
One of those candidates, Cora, could not be interviewed until after this year's World Series ended, so that left Bloom with about a month to contemplate who else may be qualified for the job.
"When we started the process after the season, we spent a lot of time coming up with a really good list of candidates," Bloom said at Cora's re-introductory press conference Tuesday. "We vetted them very thoroughly, we talked to a number of people."
Still, even when interviewing external candidates such as Sam Fuld or James Rowson, Bloom knew he wanted to talk to Cora before arriving at any final decision.
"I knew at that time that I wanted to have some kind of conversation with Alex when it was okay to do so, which wouldn't be until after the World Series," he continued. "I really didn't know then if he was, in my mind, in real consideration for the job. I just thought it would be good for me, good for him, good for the organization since we really hadn't spoken since everything happened in January."
So, Bloom, general manager Brian O'Halloran, and Cora talked. That dialogue, by all accounts, was initiated by Bloom, and it led to a group of Red Sox officials flying down to Puerto Rico to speak with Cora in-person at his home.
"When the time came time to speak with him, we had a lot of different things to work through," said Bloom. "We were able to have some really intense conversations. Obviously, everything was happening quickly within the week-plus after the World Series, but we got to work through a lot of things. It was really just a question of trying to get as much information as I could to see Alex in full; everything that he had done, good and bad, and everything that he might do."
Of course, Cora was viewed as one of, if not the favorite to return to Boston even before his suspension had ended. That was mainly due to how highly Red Sox ownership thinks of Cora, which led to speculation that the likes of John Henry, Tom Werner, and Sam Kennedy would overrule Bloom on this matter if the latter was not in on Cora.
Speculation aside, Bloom assured the masses on Tuesday that he had full backing from ownership regardless of the decision he made on this matter.
"First and foremost, it was important that they play a role," Bloom said of Henry and Co. "They're responsible for the entire organization. I respect that there's a lot of different opinions out there on Alex on what he did and what that should mean for any organization that might think about employing him. And it's obviously important, since [ownership] is responsible for the organization, for me to know how they felt. To understand that if it was something baseball operations saw fit to do, that it was something they would support.
"Obviously, if that weren't the case, it would have obviously been a different process," he added. "So, not only do I think that that was appropriate, I actually think it was necessary to know how they felt. They also made sure I knew that if I or baseball ops. felt differently, then that was okay, too… They were emphatic that it's very important that this be a baseball operations decision and they would fully back whatever decision we came to."
At the end of the day, or last Thursday to be more specific, Bloom and his team ultimately decided that Cora's strengths, such as his ability to effectively communicate information to players, outweigh any red flags that come with the hire, such as history with the Astros.
"I felt he was the right choice to move us forward," Bloom said of Cora. "The goal in this process for me was to find the right person to lead the Boston Red Sox."
Cora has already shown that he can move the Red Sox in the right direction before, as evidenced by leading the club to a World Series title in 2018. The 45-year-old will now get another shot to lead a team that looks quite different from the one he initially left nine months ago.
How Cora and Bloom's relationship continues to develop over the course of the offseason and into spring training should be interesting to monitor as well.
Author Brendan CampbellPosted on November 10, 2020 Categories Baseball, Sports, UncategorizedTags 2020 season, 2021 season, alex cora, Baseball, boston, brian o'halloran, chaim bloom, fenway park, manager, mlb, press conference, red sox, ron roenicke, sam kennedyLeave a comment on Chaim Bloom felt Alex Cora was 'right choice' for manager in order to move Red Sox forward
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Frans Jurgens was born in Nijmegen in the Netherlands in 1969. He studied at Henley Management College and Canisius College, and started his career with Brewin Dolphin as an assistant portfolio manager in 1990. Frans then worked in a range of roles including analyst, financial analyst and portfolio manager at W.P. Stewart & Co, Comgest SA, Arthur Andersen AG and Teslin Capital Management. In 2007 Frans joined Juno Investment Partners as a portfolio manager. He is a CFA Charterholder. Outside of fund management he enjoys shooting, tennis and going to the theatre.


Since 2001, DeSales' MBA students have had the opportunity to travel abroad as part of the study tour classes periodically offered in the MBA program. Our students have traveled to Germany, Romania, Peru and India to experience first-hand the global business world. They gained valuable knowledge regarding that country's business environment through meetings with business executives, senior government officials and company visits. Since globally-involved companies look to employ professionals who have a better understanding of other cultures and customs, the students were also given a taste of the country's cultures with trips to places like the Taj Mahal, Macchu Picchu, Cologne, Delphinarium and even a day long bike tour in Maastricht, Netherlands.
The MBA program would like to continue offering study tour trips. In the last year, students from Romania and Peru have visited the U.S. on study tours developed by the MBA program to experience our American business and culture first-hand. As further global connections are made, more study tours will be offered and additional cultural/economic learning experiences made available. Our goal is to continue broadening our global focus as an MBA program and train globally-minded business professionals ready for the current and future business world.
If you have participated in one of our study tour classes or would like to suggest items for future trips, we would love to hear from you! Forward your feedback to christina.hicks@desales.edu.


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Criterion Announces October 2016 Releases
Tricks and treats from Criterion.
By Staff on July 15, 2016 5:23 PM |
In October, Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is available as a standalone from Criterion and also together in Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro with previous entries in the Collection with Cronos and The Devil's Backbone. There's a two-fer from Robert Altman as McCabe & Mrs. Miller joins the collection and Short Cuts gets a high-definition upgrade. Other new titles include Richard Linklater's Boyhood and Luis García Berlanga's The Executioner. Read on to learn more about them.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (#827) out Oct 11
This unorthodox dream western by Robert Altman (Nashville) may be the most radically beautiful film to come out of the New American Cinema that transformed Hollywood in the early 1970s. It stars Warren Beatty (Bonnie and Clyde) and Julie Christie (Don't Look Now) as an enterprising gambler and a bordello madam, both newcomers to the raw Pacific Northwest mining town of Presbyterian Church, who join forces to provide the miners with a superior kind of whorehouse experience. The appearance of representatives of a powerful mining company with interests of its own, however, threatens to be the undoing of their plans. With its fascinating flawed characters, evocative cinematography by the great Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Heaven's Gate), and soundtrack that innovatively interweaves overlapping dialogue and haunting Leonard Cohen songs, McCabe & Mrs. Miller brilliantly deglamorized and revitalized the most American of genres. The special edition features are:
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary from 2002 featuring director Robert Altman and producer David Foster
New documentary on the making of the film, featuring actors René Auberjonois, Keith Carradine, and Michael Murphy; casting director Graeme Clifford; and script supervisor Joan Tewkesbury
New conversation about the film and Altman's career between film historians Cari Beauchamp and Rick Jewell
Featurette from the film's production, shot on location in 1970
Q&A from 1999 with production designer Leon Ericksen, hosted by the Art Directors Guild Film Society
Archival footage from interviews with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, in which he discusses his work on the film
Gallery of stills from the set by photographer Steve Schapiro
Excerpts from two 1971 episodes of The Dick Cavett Show featuring Altman and film critic Pauline Kael
PLUS: An essay by film critic Nathaniel Rich
Boyhood (#839) out Oct 11
There has never been another movie like Boyhood, from director Richard Linklater. An event film of the utmost modesty, it was shot over the course of twelve years in the director's native Texas and charts the physical and emotional changes experienced by a child named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette, who won an Oscar for her performance, and Ethan Hawke), and his older sister (Lorelei Linklater). Alighting not on milestones but on the small, in-between moments that make up our lives, Linklater fashions a flawlessly acted, often funny portrait that flows effortlessly from one year to the next. Allowing us to watch people age on film with documentary realism while gripping us in a fictional narrative of exquisite everydayness, Boyhood has a power that only the art of cinema could harness. The director-approved special edition features are:
New 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Richard Linklater, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New audio commentary featuring Linklater and nine members of the cast and crew
New documentary chronicling the film's production, featuring footage shot over the course of its twelve years
New discussion featuring Linklater and actors Patricia Arquette and Ellar Coltrane, moderated by producer John Pierson
New conversation between Coltrane and actor Ethan Hawke
New video essay by critic Michael Koresky about time in Linklater's films, narrated by Coltrane
Collection of portraits of cast and crew by photographer Matt Lankes, narrated with personal thoughts from Linklater, Arquette, Hawke, Coltrane and producer Cathleen Sutherland
PLUS: An essay by novelist Jonathan Lethem
Pan's Labyrinth (#838) out Oct 18
An Academy Award-winning dark fable set five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, Pan's Labyrinth encapsulates the rich visual style and genre-defying craft of Guillermo del Toro. Eleven-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero, in a mature and tender performance) comes face to face with the horrors of fascism when she and her pregnant mother are uprooted to the countryside, where her new stepfather (Sergi López), a sadistic captain in General Franco's army, hunts down Republican guerrillas who refuse to give up the fight. The violent reality in which she lives merges seamlessly with a fantastical interior world when Ofelia meets a faun in a decaying labyrinth and is set on a strange, mythic journey that is at once terrifying and beautiful. In his revisiting of this bloody period in Spanish history, del Toro creates a vivid depiction of the monstrosities of war infiltrating a child's imagination and threatening the innocence of youth. The director-approved special edition features are:
Newly graded 2K digital master, supervised by director Guillermo del Toro, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Alternate DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Audio commentary by del Toro from 2007
New interview with del Toro by novelist Cornelia Funke about fairy tales, fantasy, and Pan's Labyrinth
New interview with actor Doug Jones
Four 2007 making-of documentaries, examining the characters, production, special effects, themes, and music of the film
Interactive director's notebook
Footage of actor Ivana Baquero's audition for the film
Animated comics featuring prequel stories for the film's menagerie of creatures
Programs comparing selected production storyboards and del Toro's thumbnail sketches with the final film; visual effects work for the Green Fairy; and elements of the film's score
Trailers and TV spots
PLUS: An essay by film critic Michael Atkinson
Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro out Oct 18
Throughout a career that encompasses both visually arresting art-house hits and big-budget Hollywood spectacles, director Guillermo del Toro has continually redefined and elevated the horror genre with his deeply personal explorations of myths and monsters. These three Spanish-language films, each a tale of childhood in troubled times, showcase his singular fusion of the fantastic and the real. Drawing inspiration from a rich variety of sources, from Alfred Hitchcock to Francisco de Goya, the gothic-infused stories collected here—populated by vampires, ghosts, and a fairy-tale princess—make evident why del Toro is considered the master cinematic fabulist of our time. The director-approved special edition features are:
High-definition digital restoration of Cronos, 2K digital restoration of The Devil's Backbone, newly graded 2K digital master of Pan's Labyrinth, all supervised and approved by director Guillermo del Toro, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack for Cronos and 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks for The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth on the Blu-rays
Alternate DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround soundtrack for Pan's Labyrinth on the Blu-ray
Audio commentaries on all three films
Interviews with del Toro, director of photography Guillermo Navarro, and actors Doug Jones, Federico Luppi, and Ron Perlman
Welcome to Bleak House, a 2010 video tour by del Toro of his personal collections
New piece on Pan's Labyrinth featuring del Toro and novelist Cornelia Funke
Interactive director's notebooks for The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth
Making-of documentaries for The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth
Geometria, a 1987 short horror film by del Toro finished in 2010
Footage of actor Ivana Baquero auditioning for Pan's Labyrinth in 2005
Original Spanish-language voice-over introduction for Cronos
Introductions by del Toro for The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth
Deleted scenes from The Devil's Backbone, with commentary by del Toro
Selected on-screen picture-in-picture presentation of del Toro's thumbnail sketches for The Devil's Backbone
Programs comparing del Toro's thumbnail sketches and production storyboards for The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth with the final films
Piece on The Devil's Backbone's depiction of the Spanish Civil War
Animated comics featuring prequel stories for the creatures of Pan's Labyrinth
Gallery of stills from Cronos, captioned by del Toro
English subtitle translations approved by del Toro
Deluxe box set for the Blu-ray, featuring new illustrations by Vania Zouravliov
Blu-ray: A 100-page hardcover book featuring an introduction by author Neil Gaiman and essays by critics Michael Atkinson, Mark Kermode, and Maitland McDonagh, along with production notes and sketches by del Toro and illustrators Carlos Giménez and Raúl Monge
DVD: Essays by Atkinson, Kermode, and McDonagh, and production notes for Cronos by del Toro
Short Cuts (#265) out Oct 18
The work of two great American artists merges in Short Cuts, a kaleidoscopic adaptation of the stories of renowned author Raymond Carver by maverick director Robert Altman. Epic in scale yet meticulously observed, the film interweaves the stories of twenty-two characters as they struggle to find solace and meaning in contemporary Los Angeles. The extraordinary ensemble cast includes Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Lemmon, and Jennifer Jason Leigh—all giving fearless performances in what is one of Altman's most compassionate creations. The special edition features are:
New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by cinematographer Walt Lloyd, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
Alternate 5.1 soundtrack mix, plus isolated music track
Conversation between Altman and actor Tim Robbins from 2004 Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country, a 1993 feature-length documentary on the making of Short Cuts
To Write and Keep Kind, a 1992 PBS documentary on the life of author Raymond Carver
One-hour 1983 audio interview with Carver, conducted for the American Audio Prose Library
Original demo recordings of the film's Doc Pomus-Mac Rebennack songs, performed by Dr. John
A look inside the marketing of Short Cuts
PLUS: An essay by film critic Michael Wilmington
The Executioner (#841) out Oct 25
This masterpiece of black humor, beloved in Spain but too little seen elsewhere, threads a scathing critique of Franco-era values through a macabre farce about an undertaker who marries an executioner's daughter and reluctantly takes over her father's job so the family can keep their government-allotted apartment. As caustic today as it was in 1963, this early collaboration between Luis García Berlanga and his longtime screenwriter Rafael Azcona is an unerring depiction of what Berlanga called "the invisible traps that society sets up for us." A furiously funny personal attack on capital punishment, The Executioner escaped the state censors who sought to suppress it, and today is regarded as one of the greatest Spanish films of all time. The special edition features are:
New, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New interview with filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar
New program on director Luis García Berlanga, featuring interviews with his son José Luis Berlanga; film critic Carlos F. Heredero; writers Fernando R. Lafuente and Bernardo Sánchez Salas; and director of the Berlanga Film Museum Rafael Maluenda
Spanish television program from 2012 on The Executioner, featuring archival interviews with Berlanga
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by film critic David Cairns
New Releases,
cronos,
ermanno olmi,
guillermo del toro,
luis garcia berlanga,
pans labyrinth,
richard linklater,
robert altman,
short cuts,
the devils backbone,
the executioner,
the tree of wooden clogs
Christ Stopped at Eboli Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Emotionally Captivating
Pitch Black 4K Ultra HD Review: Riddick Starts Here
His Dark Materials: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review: Lyra and Daemons and Bears, Oh My!
Roman Holiday Blu-ray Review: Audrey Hepburn Epitomizes Charm in Italian Locations
Criterion Announces December 2020 Releases
Weathering with You Blu-ray Review: Anime Girls Make the Rain Stop
Beau Travail Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mysterious, Haunting, and Transformative
Shivers is the Pick of the Week
The Devil All the Time Movie Review: Actors Elevate Excessively Grim Crime Drama
Five Cool Things and Two Jules Dassin Films Get the Criterion Treatment

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