Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
MLB: Blue Jays at Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI-FM)
MLB: Diamondbacks at Cubs, 2 p.m. (MLB Network)
MLB: Giants at Cardinals, 8 p.m. (MLB Network)
Soccer: Copa America, United States vs. Colombia, 9:30 p.m. (FS1)
Tennis: French Open, 6 a.m. (Tennis Channel), 11 a.m. (NBC)
AROUND THE WEB:
Jose Bautista
— If David Ortiz sticks with his plan to retire after this season — despite his incredible first third of the season — the Red Sox will have big shoes to fill offensively. One national baseball writer suggests the Sox will have a couple of big-name options after the season, and they’ll be in Boston this weekend when the Blue Jays visit for a three-game series.
Veteran baseball writer Jon Heyman, writing for the FanRag Sports Network, wrote Thursday: Both Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion envision the Red Sox as a possible winter landing spot, provided David Ortiz really does go through with his plan to retire. It’s well known that Bautista has sought $150 million for five years, at least, as first reported by TSN’s Rick Westhead. Encarnacion will seek at least four years as a free agent. Toronto offered two.
Bautista, 35, is hitting .231/.361/.472 with 11 home runs, 37 RBIs and a league-leading 40 walks in 54 games. The six-time All-Star was eighth in AL MVP voting last season when he slugged 40 home runs with 114 RBIs and a league-high 110 walks.
Earlier this week he told Sports Illustrated he loves Toronto, insisting, “I’d be stupid to leave,” but he also said he would not take a hometown discount when he becomes a free agent in the offseason.
“I will explore every single option, whether it happens or not with the new regime, to continue to try to stay here,” Bautista said. “That being said, I think teams utilize that a lot against players, [seeking] a discount or bargain price, and I think that’s extremely unfair, especially to have your biggest contributors on the field and try to take advantage of the fact that they like it there and negotiate a tougher deal.”
Encarnacion, 33, is hitting .245/.316/.448 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 55 games. A two-time All-Star, he was 12th in AL MVP balloting last year after hitting 39 home runs with 111 RBIs.
Encarnación apparently has Ortiz’s blessing, as Big Papi said in April that the first baseman/DH would be “a perfect replacement.”
Ortiz, like Bautista and Encarnacion a native of the Dominican Republic, is having a historic season at age 40, hitting .335/.415/.730 with 16 home runs and 51 RBIs. He leads the league in RBIs and slugging percentage as well as doubles (23), total bases (135), OPS (1.145) and intentional walks (6).
— Ousted Baylor football coach Art Briles, speaking publicly for the first time since the school’s athletic department overhaul cost him his job, acknowledged making mistakes in dealing with accusations of sexual violence against his players, adding that his “heart goes out to the victims for the pain that they endured.”
“I have certainly made mistakes, and, in hindsight, I would have done certain things differently,” Briles said. “Keep in mind, the complete scope of what happened here has not been disclosed and unfortunately at this time I am contractually obligated to remain silent on the matter,” he told KWTX-TV. “The report . . . has not been shared with me directly, despite my full cooperation with the investigation. I can only assume that the report, which is not independent, supports the conclusions that the Board has already drawn. I hope to share with you what I was aware of as soon as I can so Baylor Nation can begin the healing process.”
In addition to Briles, school president Kenneth Star and athletic director Ian McCaw have departed since a school-commissioned report by a Philadelphia law firm found school leadership failed to properly handle allegations of sexual abuse, including against football players — two of whom were eventually convicted of rape.
Meanwhile, the Baylor Line Association alumni group on Thursday demanded that the school share the law firm’s complete report rather than the 13-page summary that was released last week.
“The Baylor Family deserves an unvarnished, complete accounting of the facts about how these events were handled,” the alumni group said. “Releasing a detailed factual report is important to assure the Baylor Family that the right people have been held accountable and that those in power are not using misguided notions of confidentiality to shield their own actions.”
— Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was hospitalized near his Phoenix home Thursday, being treated for a respiratory issue that apparently is complicated by the Parkinson’s disease he has been battling since the 1980s.
A spokesman for the 74-year-old said Ali was in fair condition and not expected to begin the hospital for long, but The Associated Press credited two people as saying this issue is more serious than Ali’s previous hospital visits.
Ali’s longtime Parkinson’s doctor did not offer clarification when reached by the AP.
“I can’t really say much more than what’s in the papers,” said Dr. Abraham Lieberman of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On June 3, 1952, as part of a nine-player trade, the Red Sox sent Johnny Pesky, 1950 American League Rookie of the Year Walt Dropo and three other players to which American League team?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We stand by him. He’s been nothing but a great teammate and a great leader for this football team. I understand this is a difficult situation for various different reasons and we’ll just have to see how it plays itself out. But I know the guys in that locker room — we support Tom.” — Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater, on Tom Brady’s battle with the NFL over Deflategate
STAT OF THE DAY: 7 — Home runs surrendered by Red Sox pitchers in Thursday’s 12-7 loss to the Orioles
‘NET RESULTS: Marlins batter Christian Yelich drills a ball into the gap in right-center field for a walk-off win over the Pirates.
Twins leadoff batter Eduardo Nunez hits an inside-the-park home run to give the Twins an early lead over the Rays.
The Mariners rally from a 10-run deficit to beat the Padres, 16-13.
From “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” current and former NBA stars real mean tweets.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Detroit Tigers
SOOTHING SOUNDS: Curtis Mayfield, who died in 1999, was born on this day in 1942.