Whether they intended to start spring training this way or not, the Boston Red Sox have a dilemma playing out on their hands, and playing out in the media at that.
After signing Alex Bregman to a long-term deal, Rafael Devers will seemingly need to move off of third base, which would allow the Red Sox to play one of their top prospects at second. It’s not that simple, as Devers flat-out refused to move off the hot corner, indicating that’s his position.
And while his manager insinuated otherwise, Devers got the backing of a teammate in the opposite corner of the infield. Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, who is a bit of a character himself, bluntly told the media he thinks third base is Devers’ position.
That didn’t sit well with one member of the Boston media.
And according to Boston radio host Tony Massarotti — no stranger to controversy himself — Casas should “shut his pie hole.” While that might not be the worst thing Massarotti has said, considering he came under fire just last October for using an anti-Asian slur, the Felger & Mazz co-host is once again stirring the pot.
“That was Triston Casas? Oh my god, I thought it was Abner Doubleday speaking there — the guy that invented the game,” Massarotti said. “Triston Casas, as we know, invented everything. Although I did hear that Triston Casas has changed his title. He is now Red Sox assistant general manager, first baseman and player/coach—Triston Casas, holding all three positions and titles. I left out scout. I left out that he’s also an organizational scout. He wears many hats in the Red Sox organization, does Triston Casas.
“Shut your pie hole. Shut your pie hole. This guy knows everything. I’ve been saying this for a couple of years. He knows everything. He’s got the answers to everything. He knows it all. He knows, again, he goes through his deliberate routine in the batter’s box, don’t you know? Get in a certain time, every time, counts the pitch clock down, gets ready to go. When he fields a ball in a certain situation, he’s already done all the calculations in his head — even if he makes the wrong decision and tries to get the wrong guy out at third base when there isn’t a force play involved.”
First off, the idea that Abner Doubleday invented baseball is a myth — one that baseball historians have debunked a hundred times over. Secondly, Casas didn’t just offer up his opinion unprompted; he was directly asked “if he were running the team,” in the very answer to the question Massarotti seems so outraged about.
“He is, oh my gosh, does he have all the answers?” Massarotti added. “…This guy’s an A-hole. He’s an A-hole… Seriously, this kid’s got his head up his ass.”
You can say what you want about Casas, his injury history, his tendency to put his foot in his mouth when talking to the media, but calling him “an A-hole” for having an answer to a question is just a controversial local radio host leaning into the shock-jock act.